REGINA — Regina homeless advocates are calling on the provincial government to utilize empty social housing units for those most vulnerable.
Information obtained by the Ministry of Social Services (MSS) notes that Regina has a 17.28 per cent vacancy rate of social housing units as of mid-November.
“[We’re] calling out the need for social housing and [on the] province specifically [for] just not taking action and not treating this like a crisis that it is,” said homeless advocate Mandla Mthembu during a press conference on Thursday outside the Wascana Street Complex.
Peter Gilmer with the Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry said governments need to make use of resources available to support those most vulnerable, especially during the cold winter season.
Gilmer alluded to three different actions the province can take.
“One is to have enough available social housing where rent is geared to income.”
Gilmer mentioned that people he works with use 80 to 100 per cent of their income towards rent, whereas affordable housing sees people spend 30 per cent or less of their rent.
His second recommendation was rent control in the province, as Saskatchewan is seeing rent continue to increase while other areas of the country continue to decrease.
In their December 2025 report, rentals.ca said Sask. average rent prices rose by 3.9 per cent. Saskatchewan and Atlantic Canada were the only two regions of Canada to see increases.
Recently, the NDP introduced a rent control bill, but the provincial government has publicly stated it wouldn’t support it.
Gilmer also said the Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) program needs to increase its amount for individuals in Regina and Saskatoon ($660/month) and the rest of the province ($600/month).
In a statement sent to SaskToday, the MSS says the number of vacant social units decreased in Regina from 23.2 per cent in 2021 to 17.2 per cent as of recently. As of Nov. 15, the MSS noted 206 social housing units were vacant in Regina due to repairs.
"Removing these units from the count of vacant units available for rent lowers Regina’s vacancy rate from 17.28 per cent to 11.12 per cent," said the MSS.
The MSS is currently undergoing a multi-year plan to repair or renovate 154 social housing units in Regina as part of $9.2 million investment from the 2025-2026 provincial budget. Additionally, $1.5 million from the budget has been allocated for future repairs and renovations of 165 housing units in Regina.
While organizing the event, homeless advocates had also been made aware that the remaining units at the Wascana Street Complex would be torn down.
The MSS confirmed the demolition and explained the reasoning behind it.
"A portion of the property was demolished following fire damage in 2024, and further inspection has determined the remaining 15 units are unsafe. We will explore options to revitalize the site to better serve housing needs in the community."
