Regina advocates urge province to act on homelessness in city

The orange fences are still up around Core Community Park in Regina’s Heritage neighbourhood, the only obvious sign there was ever a homeless encampment there.

It was taken down about two weeks ago after a handful of fires, and fire officials determined it was too dangerous to continue.

Read more:

• Regina city councillor ‘heartbroken’ as tent camp torn down
• Saskatoon encampment dismantled, residents left unsure where to go
• Regina homelessness, housing shortage worsens, says advocate

Now, a group of activists and local leaders are calling for the provincial government to do more to help the homeless, including the people who had been living there – pointing out that social services and housing falls under the jurisdiction of the provincial government.

Despite insistence from the provincial government that it was offering the people who lived at the camp help, Mandla Mthembu said they have largely been dispersed to other encampments in the city.

“Everyone that used to live (in the park), a vast, vast, vast majority of folks are still without a house, are still trying to access the same services they were accessing when they were here at the park, and are still scrambling to try to figure something out before the winter,” he explained.

Mthembu is with the Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry and said more encampments are popping up and existing ones are growing larger.

Meara Conway agreed, saying her NDP constituency office in the North Central neighbourhood has seen the effects.

“These issues exist, they’ve just been dispersed. People have become more vulnerable; it’s harder to know where to go for help,” she explained.

Conway said the city doesn’t have the resources or jurisdiction to solve the problems on its own and shouldn’t have to make up for what she called the inaction of the provincial government.

Mandla Mthembu with Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry. Nov. 10, 2026 (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

Mthembu, Conway and Ward 8 City Coun. Shannon Zachidniak all said this is a problem becoming more acute as winter temperatures loom.

“The lack of action to treat this issue as a crisis makes it clear that the province isn’t listening,” said Zachidniak.

She said Mayor Chad Bachynski had submitted a proposal to the provincial government in September, asking for investment to address the problem. She also said that she and several of her colleagues had a meeting with a number of cabinet ministers weeks ago to talk about it.

Zachidniak said, in the meeting, she and the others explained how serious things were getting and were told that help was coming.

She said they were also told displaced people from the camp would be provided accommodations while long-term solutions were worked out and that workers would be there every day. However, Zachidniak said she’d been informed that workers hadn’t been at the camp so frequently and that people were only offered hotel stays for a night or two before they were back on the street.

“There was minimal support even during the time of the encampment, in terms of trying to help find folks either temporary or permanent accommodations or housing solutions,” she explained.

So, to try to address the situation as it is now in Regina, Zachidniak and the others outlined four actions they want the provincial government to take immediately.

They want the province to follow through on its commitment to give people from the encampment safe and appropriate accommodations.

They want the government to urgently repair and make available vacant Sask. Housing units in Regina to create more permanent housing options.

The group is also demanding the government listen to frontline organizations, volunteers and people with lived experience to develop solutions.

Finally, the group wants the province to work with the City of Regina to access federal funding to address the situation. Last week, as part of its budget plan, the federal government announced a plan to end homelessness in 10 years, worth one billion dollars.

From the minister

The day after the encampment was removed in Core Community Park, the Ministry of Social Services said its employees were engaging with people to offer services and supports.

On Tuesday, responding to the group’s demands, Social Services Minister Terry Jenson issued a statement.

He said there was engagement with the city regarding the park, including looking at options for a temporary navigation centre to help people get to the appropriate services.

“Ultimately, location options provided by the city were not suitable for this purpose due to zoning requirements, and significant capital upgrades needed. This would not have been possible given the short timeframe,” read Jenson’s statement.

He said while they were having these conversations, the camp was decommissioned and workers offered everyone there supports. The statement said “approximately 50” people accepted various levels of help, including a place to stay that night.

Jenson said the ministry also offered people help the next day, including housing and shelter, addictions and wellness services, Indigenous and cultural supports, ID and documentation, and help with transportation.

He also said the province is actively engaging with the federal government on its recent commitments on homelessness.