Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall in Calgary discussing homelessness

Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall is in Calgary to meet with Calgary Mayor Jeremy Farkas as part of ongoing efforts to address homelessness and addiction.

City of Barrie mayor Alex Nuttall is in Calgary and expected to meet with Calgary mayor Jeromy Farkas with the expectation the two mayors will discuss strategies regarding the homelessness crisis in the two cities.

“We’re talking about our different experiences in the city of Barrie and certainly in Calgary and some of the measures that we’ve to make sure that we’re moving in the right direction on homelessness and addictions,” said Nuttall. “I think it’ll be a great opportunity to learn a little bit more about the Alberta model.”

This is Nuttall’s second trip to a major Canadian city to discuss the topic. In November he met Vancouver mayor Ken Sim.

“I’m just trying to take all of the information I can back and work with the other mayors in Ontario as well as, obviously mayors in Alberta and British Columbia,” said Nuttall. “To bring reform when it comes to interventions.

On Tuesday, Nuttall is also planning to meet with provincial minister Rick Wilson who is the minister responsible for mental health and addictions.

“Just trying to strike up these conversations find out where all of the strengths are with the system that we have in place, but also weaknesses and try to emulate the strengths and mitigate the weaknesses,” said Nuttall.

The mayor hopes the meetings in Alberta will be as productive as the meetings held in Vancouver.

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“It was wonderful to have an invitation from Mayor Sim to discuss some of the strategies that we both have been employing when it comes to homelessness and addictions and providing support for those who need it in our communities, but also ensuring that we have the safety and security that are required,” Nuttall said in an interview with CTV News in November.

Organizations are also continuing to call on all levels of government to help with the ongoing crisis.

In December, Ontario Big City Mayors (OBCM) also calling on the provincial and federal governments to help municipalities with the homelessness crisis requesting that the province of Ontario declare a province wide state of emergency.

Chair of OBCM Marianne Meed Ward spoke with CTV News on January 14 and said its time for the governments to step in and help.

“Municipalities have been doing our part and subsidizing, the areas that are really the responsibility of other governments but it’s not acceptable to leave people on the street and so we’ve been digging deep,” said Meed Ward, “We can’t do this anymore. We need the federal government, we need the provincial government and we need action now.”

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Nuttall is currently the vice chair of OBCM.

The city of Barrie declared a state of emergency on September 9, 2025, and remains under a state of emergency regarding the homelessness crisis.

According to the city of Barrie’s website since January 19, 641 individuals identify as homeless with one active encampment on city owned land.

91 encampments have been addressed since the emergency was declared and February 11, 2026.

The city of Barrie is also no longer the only city in Ontario that has declared a state of emergency.

On February 3, the city of Thorald and Niagara Region declared a mental health, homelessness, and addiction emergency.