Victoria, BC– The Capital Regional District (CRD), in partnership with the Community Social Planning Council (CSPC), today released the 2025 Greater Victoria Point-in-Time (PiT) Count results [PDF/34.9MB]. The 2025 PiT Count follows prior biennial counts completed in 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2023, and is funded by the Government of Canada’s Reaching Home Program: Canada’s Homeless Strategy.
The 2025 PiT Count was conducted on March 25 and 26 and identified 1,749 people who were experiencing homelessness compared to 1,665 in March of 2023. The PiT Count is a snapshot-in-time of the number of individuals that were able to be counted, therefore, the totals are not directly comparable year over year.
The 2025 PiT Count involved 130 volunteers, alongside an extensive project team of organizations, community partners, sponsors, and supporters who dedicated their expertise in the accumulation of data through to reporting out on its results. The data collected is one of the critical tools that can help inform both short and long-term strategies to address homelessness within Greater Victoria.
Starting in 2025, the Government of Canada will conduct annual Point-in-Time (PiT) enumerations to estimate the number of people experiencing homelessness on a single night. Every three years, a full PiT Count will include both the enumeration and a detailed survey to gather information on individuals’ experiences and demographics. This helps communities and governments better understand and respond to homelessness.
For the 2025 Pit Count, the CRD and CSPC also partnered with the Housing Justice Project – an independent group of lived experts of homelessness – in order to better identify gaps in data collection, counting, analysis, and reporting. These lived experts offered important context on how the findings and data translate into lived experience.
An accompanying technical appendix [PDF/12.2MB], developed by the CSPC, reviews the key findings of the 2025 Greater Victoria Point-in-Time Homeless Study.
For more information on the 2025 PiT Count, including the full report and FAQs, please visit Housing Data & Analysis.
For more information on the Housing Justice Project please call 250-415-6969.
Quotes:
Cliff McNeil-Smith, Chair, Capital Regional District: "As the Community Entity for the Government of Canada, the CRD helps coordinate the PIT Count, a vital tool for understanding how homelessness is changing in our region. The insights gathered help local leaders make informed decisions about where resources are needed most, ensuring programs and services can better support those experiencing homelessness."
Bruce Livingstone, Peer Organizer, The Housing Justice Project: "With unsafe conditions in emergency shelters and on the street, people can be forced further out of sight into hidden homelessness. Not everyone feels safe disclosing that they are homeless, which is one reason the Point-in-Time count may miss some individuals."
Shelley Cook, Executive Director of the Community Social Planning Council: “As the organization who has led the PiT Count for several years, CSPC is grateful to the many partners and volunteers who make the count possible.”
The CRD delivers regional, sub-regional and local services to 13 municipalities and three electoral areas on southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. Governed by a 24-member Board of Directors, the CRD works collaboratively with First Nations and government partners to enable sustainable growth, foster community well-being, and develop cost-effective infrastructure while continuing to provide core services to residents throughout the region. Visit us online at www.crd.ca.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Andy Orr, Senior Manager
CRD Corporate Communications
Tel: 250.360.3229
Cell: 250.216.5492
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