‘Our city’s in crisis’: Saskatoon’s unhoused population rises to nearly 2,000

WATCH: More people are homeless in Saskatoon, according to the latest point-in-time count.

The number of unhoused people in Saskatoon has increased by 432 in a single year, based on the latest point-in-time (PiT) count.

The December 2025 survey found 1,931 people who are experiencing different types of homelessness, up from last year’s count of nearly 1,500.

“I wasn’t surprised because most of you have been around the CUMFI head office. There was a tremendous increase in the amount of people, the amount of encampments. And also it was an increase in some violence ... it was a challenging year,” Shirley Isbister, president of Central Urban Metis Federation Inc. (CUMFI) said.

The total 1,931 unhoused people are categorized into six different forms of homelessness, depending on how accessible shelter is for them.

• Unsheltered- 725
• Transitional homes- 444
• Emergency shelters- 327
• Hidden homelessness- 237
• Encampments- 151
• Systems- 47

“They represent different aspects of the system and how people are accommodated within that. But it also helps us understand where the challenges are to navigate between those,” said Leslie Anderson, the director of planning and development for the City of Saskatoon.

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Anderson says the growing numbers show how strained resources are in Saskatoon.

“For example, the number in transitional homes 444, that is a first step out of homelessness for many people. But we have no more transitional housing for people to go into at the moment. So that is definitely a gap in our system where we don’t see people able to transition out of homelessness,” Anderson said.

Isbister says the different categories show that homelessness often looks quite different than people imagine.

“I think people have to understand what true homelessness is. I mean, even the one number of the 237 that are sleeping on somebody’s couch, doing those type of things, they are an imminent risk of homelessness,” Isbister said.

The CUMFI president says there’s an urgent need for more wraparound services in the city to prevent people from falling into the category of unsheltered.

“We know that we do not have the facilities in Saskatoon to be able to feel what’s happening. And, it’s scary. Our city’s in crisis when it comes to homelessness,” Isbister said.

“We need to put every effort into making sure that we have enough dollars to move forward, because capacity in all organizations -- we’re stretched to the limit, and you can only have so many volunteers, and staff can only work so many hours.”