An encampment near McVicar Creek in Thunder Bay, February, 2025. The total number of homeless in the city rose from 557 in 2024 to 652 last year, with most living in encampments, emergency shelters and transitional housing.David Jackson/The Globe and Mail
The City of Thunder Bay has declared homelessness a humanitarian crisis, averting demands by Indigenous leaders who called on the city to declare a state of emergency.
Indigenous leaders had issued the urgent call last month during a deep freeze of Northern Ontario that put the safety of those experiencing homelessness at greater risk.
On Tuesday, city council approved a resolution passed in a committee meeting last week “recognizing the urgent risks to life, health, safety, and dignity for people experiencing homelessness; the disproportionate impacts on Indigenous peoples; and the broader implications for community safety and well-being.”
A state of emergency, often triggered by events like natural disasters or armed conflicts, forces governments to respond with immediate emergency aid. A humanitarian crisis focuses on combining local efforts when the municipality’s capacity cannot meet the immediate needs of affected citizens.
The Canadian Red Cross told The Globe and Mail it hasn’t yet received any requests from the city but is ready to step in.
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Leaders from the city, Fort William First Nation and Nishnawbe Aski Nation met at the beginning of the month for discussions that included “acknowledging the disproportionate impacts of homelessness on Indigenous peoples,” director of strategy and engagement Cynthia Olsen told city council.
“The recommendation is grounded in the profound human impact we continue to see in our community, including risks to life, health, safety and dignity, despite significant provincial and federal investments in homelessness, prevention and response,” Ms. Olsen said.
“The reality is that the existing systems are not keeping pace with the scale and complexity of need locally.”
Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler of Nishnawbe Aski Nation, a political advocacy group for 49 First Nations in the north, and neighbouring Fort William First Nation Chief Michele Solomon wrote to the mayor last month.
“There will be people sleeping outside tonight as the temperatures reach dangerous levels. People are dying in the streets, in public parks, and bus shelters. We need to be honest and call this what it is: an emergency,” the letter stated.
In January, a First Nations woman from a remote community was found dead in a Thunder Bay bus shelter. Her family said she had been living in a hotel in the city while receiving cancer treatment at the hospital and also struggled with addiction.
According to the city’s 2024 Point in Time count, 78 per cent of the 557 homeless people were Indigenous. The total number of homeless rose to 652 in 2025, with most living in encampments, emergency shelters and transitional housing. Indigenous people make up approximately 13 per cent of Thunder Bay’s population of about 108,840.
A representative of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
City growth commissioner Kerri Marshall told council the declaration of a humanitarian crisis directs city administration to work with Fort William First Nation and Nishnawbe Aski Nation to find solutions, with reports twice a year on progress.
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Ms. Marshall said the declaration “wouldn’t introduce any immediate financial commitments.”
“Rather, it establishes a policy lens through which future reports and recommendations can be considered so that Council decisions reflect the seriousness of the crisis.”
In a statement Wednesday, Mayor Ken Boshcoff said the move “signals the urgency of current conditions and reaffirms a united commitment to building a safer, healthier, and more sustainable future for all residents.”
“We know the current system cannot meet the level of need before us.”
Councillor Kristen Oliver said during last week’s meeting she supports the declaration because it is an opportunity to look at issues of systemic barriers rather simply focusing on visual aspects of tents and homeless people on the street.
“There’s significant work that needs to be done by both the provincial and federal governments, especially on support on the health care side,” she said.