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Aug 287 min read

Surviving the Smoke: Alberta’s Housing, Mental Health, and Climate Crises Impacting Person’s Facing Homelessness

by Sara McQuaid. Edited by Kareena Brahmbhatt



In 2012, my family travelled across Canada (Turtle Island) on the VIA Rail.  I had the privilege of visiting Jasper, Alberta as one of our final stops before Vancouver. When the train doors opened to the town, the feeling of awe was anything but small. The shadows of the mountains reminded me of how small we are as humans. When describing the town, words like “idyllic”, “postcard” and “awe-inspiring” are often tossed around because there are few words to describe just how impressive it is.

But in the summer of 2024, only a few visitors could experience that magnificent, raw feeling of nature before the chaos. On July 22nd, businesses and organizations shut down, 5,000 citizens fled and 25000 visitors were evacuated from Jasper National Park. A state of emergency was declared as the fires quickly raged out of control. The town was reopened on August 17th, declaring its worst wildfire in a decade with 32 500 hectares burned and 358 of the 1,113 town structures destroyed. Unfortunately, events like this are becoming more frequent as wildfires continue to spread throughout the province, causing emotional and physical turmoil for residents and those facing homelessness. 

Although the Canadian Courage Project proudly operates in the GTA, we aspire to live in a country where all residents live safely with regular access to affordable and safe housing. In today’s article, we will discuss the challenges residents in the province must navigate. The province currently faces a 3-pillar crisis: difficulty accessing mental health services,  climate change, and housing insecurity - that is causing significant harm to residents and hindering the expansion of an equitable living environment.





Pillar 1: The Housing Crisis

Alberta is a gorgeous province with stunning landscapes that have inspired poets, artists and creatives for over two centuries. The province experienced strong average annual economic growth from 1996-2015 with 3.6%GDP growth with the next strongest province being British Colombia at 2.7% and Canada overall experiencing 2.5%. However, its status as a prosperous province of economic development changed after the oil field production declined in 2015, leaving many individuals in the province without work and facing financial hardships. Recovery has not been easy and in 2024, Albertans faced a new challenge: finding affordable housing on an already limited budget. Cities across the province face extreme housing shortages, with Calgary reporting vacancy rates of 1.1% which are expected to drop again in 2025. Edmonton faces a similarly strained market with vacancy rates halving from 4.3% in 2022 to 2.4% in 2023. For those who can find housing, The City Needs Housing Assessment in Calgary uncovered in 2022 that one in five cannot afford their current home with a needed income of 156,000$ to afford to purchase a detached property. With a minimum wage of 15.00$, the prospect of owning a home feels hopelessly out of grasp. It is difficult to break free from the cycle of renting and prevention of building home equity when it is almost impossible to afford a downpayment for a home.


Pillar 2: The Climate Crisis


As summers grow hotter in the West, so does the increased potential for wildfires, forcing people from their homes. Once the fires destroy towns, such as Jasper, this increases pressure on housing and rental markets. Additionally, climate refugees are coming from the provinces of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut when they experience wildfires. This further highlights the need for action, as there is nowhere else for these refugees to go safely when their homes are up in flames. Wildfires constrain the province’s health system, as wildfire smoke damages air quality and aggravates respiratory problems like asthma. Wildfires are incredibly expensive; for example, the 2016 wildfire in Fort McMurray, Alberta caused over 9 billion dollars in direct and indirect expenses like infrastructure, healthcare and environmental impacts.

Protecting Indigenous populations also needs to be considered as they are especially vulnerable to the physical, financial and mental repercussions of the ongoing climate crisis. Many Indigenous reserves are located within common wildfire areas, and researchers have found because of this:  “In Canada…First Nations and Métis people have a higher burden of chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma and COPD (Gershon et al., 2014; Carrière et al., 2017), making them more susceptible to the adverse effects of air pollution overall.” Furthermore, wildfires can disrupt traditional land use, ceremonies, and cultural practices, compounding the financial and emotional toll on their communities which are already under great duress from colonization practices. Indigenous youth are particularly vulnerable, as this combination of environmental instability, historical trauma, and economic strain increases their risk of homelessness. Many Indigenous youth face housing insecurity, further exacerbating mental health challenges and limiting access to essential resourcesThe government has put some measures in place such as the Local Air Quality Health Index, that help all residents to measure air quality and websites such as the Alberta Wildfire Status Dashboard that display current, potential or past environmental threats. To address these challenges, it’s essential to recognize the air quality threat on Indigenous persons and involve Indigenous leaders in wildfire management planning. Strengthening their infrastructure and supporting sustainable land stewardship can help to stop risks and ensure greater resilience in the face of future threats. 







Pillar 3: The Mental Health Crisis and Youth Facing Homelessness

The increasing stress of housing insecurity compounded with the ongoing natural disasters nearby has pushed many individuals and families to the brink both emotionally, and financially. There has been a surge of mental health cases as residents may experience depression, anxiety, and trauma of potential displacement. Among those deeply affected by the mental health crisis, are youth between the ages of 15 and 19. The Alberta Medical Association reported that 77% of parents said they saw a decrease in their child’s mental health. The organization's president, Dr. Sam Wong, the organization's president, added doctors are seeing a particular increase in depression and anxiety. For youth, there are not enough mental health counselors and there are only spaces for those in serious need of intervention and there is little in the way of prevention. This gap in mental health services and the compounding pressures of housing insecurity and environmental instability can push vulnerable youth closer to the brink of homelessness. Support is crucial to breaking the cycle of chronic homelessness, particularly for youth who find themselves on the streets due to these overlapping crises.  Proactive preventative action has been proven to be essential in preventing chronic homelessness, as it is a difficult cycle to break free from once a youth has found themselves living on the streets.








Above: The City of Calgary. Source: The Homeless Hub


Solutions: How can we help the province tackle the 3-pillars?


Prevention, regulation and taking action are the key paths to helping those currently living in Alberta facing the aforementioned challenges. Wildfire prevention and education have been part of the province's landscape for decades. In 1958, the provincial government teamed up with Walt Disney to produce a series of documentaries on the effects of wildfires. Out of this partnership, Bertie Beaver was born and he remains the province’s symbol of wildfire prevention. Bertie can also serve as a reminder that while putting out fires is crucial, we must also look at the root causes of these problems and focus on what can be done to prevent the fires before they start. Whether through better housing policies, mental health resources, or environmental regulation, a proactive approach will be key to securing Alberta’s future.




Here are a few ways we as changemakers can help so that all Canadians live in peace, security and environmental stability:


Advocate!

Climate change is causing hotter summers and more wind, which is a perfect storm for creating more dangerous wildfires. In fact, in 2023, the risk for extreme fires was doubled, putting millions of people at risk. Not only that, fire seasons are starting earlier, lasting longer and expanding their emotional, financial and physical impact on persons living in the fire zones. Becoming an advocate for climate change resilience and speaking out on improving our country's law and programs dedicated to fighting climate change is one of the strongest ways you can prevent future fires and prevent residents of all ages from being displaced from their homes. There are so many amazing organizations addressing climate change and advocating for environmental resilience including The Climate Youth Lab or The Environment and Canada’s Climate Change Youth Council. 





Encourage Build Back Better Programs

Write to your local MPs that the government consider housing developments in lands outside of the fire zones and using sustainable materials when building new homes that protect ancient forests. Climate Fast has an amazing template that you can copy and use to promote which projects speak to you the most:  sample-letter-new-prime-minister



Advocate for Fire and Smoke Being Recognized As Threats to Vulnerable Populations 


Protecting Indigenous populations needs to be considered. Indigenous traditions and culture can be part of the solution. Indigenous communities have used a practice called cultural burning: the use of controlled fire that reduces the build-up of forest fuels and they don’t burn as hot as wildfires. Write to PMs using the template above about the scientific power behind culture burning and how its implementation can be an asset in saving lives and reducing harm in the province. Presently, the Canadian government in its “Wildfire smoke, air quality and your health” mandate, does not advocate for vulnerable populations or recognize who is the most at-risk including Indigenous persons, women and children. Highlighting those who are most affected is part of finding solutions.



Conclusion


Thank you for joining us on the CCP Blog! Addressing the interconnected crises of climate change, mental health and housing insecurities and their impact on Albertan residents is crucial for creating a more equitable and resilient future for all living across Turtle Island. While programs like air monitoring and wildfire prevention are movements in the right direction, they must be expanded upon to include culturally informed solutions and stronger support systems. By taking proactive steps now, we can avoid future wildfires and other climate disasters, keep residents in their homes and build stronger neighbourhoods so all can afford housing. Is there a topic you'd like to see us cover? Want to partner with us on a future post? Let us know via Instagram, we would love to work with you!


Works Cited Calgary's already tight rental market expected to be squeezed even further in 2024 and 2025: CBC News: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-cmhc-housing-outlook-rental-real-estate-1.7163804


Open Alberta.Ca:



Increasing inflation to a growing population, Edmonton's rental market is under pressure: CBC News: Edmonton-surging-rental-market-interprovincial-migration-1.7105399


Homeless Hub:


Alberta’s youth mental health crisis is getting worse, but what can be done?Global news:


Dismantling AHS: Mental health and addiction funding and staff shortages mean more reactive care, Edmonton Journal:


Health in a Changing Climate, Health Canada, 2022:

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