An encampment on the steps of Prince Albert city hall. (submitted photo)

By Susan McNeil

Homelessness in Prince Albert

City signs partnership with Riverbank for encampment response

Mar 26, 2025 | 2:00 PM

The City of Prince Albert has received some extra financial help in its efforts to help move people out of encampments and into better shelters.

At a special council meeting on Monday, councillors voted in favour of signing a deal with the Riverbank Development Corporation for a one-year term as part of its Encampment Response.

“It’s an easy one to say yes to. I’m looking forward to seeing that money used in our city,” said Coun. Tony Head, who represents the city’s Midtown area.

The city will serve as the response co-ordinator and meet regularly with outside agencies like the Prince Albert Metis Women’s Association and the YWCA. Police, fire and bylaw officers will also be part of the team.

The city will create a staff position and supply administration help. Part of the response is more tangible, such as a portable hygiene hub which includes a cooling station, warming station and portable washrooms. It will be moved around as needed on a flat deck trailer. Four paid outreach workers will also be part of the project.

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Encampments have been a growing concern in the city for at least five years, which includes a growing number of fires.

Between 2022 and 2023, the number of outdoor fires the fire department was called to almost doubled from 269 to 525.

Last fall, city bylaw officers and workers from the Métis Women’s Outreach Team removed a large encampment on the south side of the city.

It had been in place long enough that along with multiple tents, the inhabitants had built latrine pits and an underground dwelling that resembled a root cellar.

Three truckloads and a trailer of waste were hauled away.

READ MORE: City closes large encampment, demolishes underground structure

One of the key issues with encampments is associated safety concerns. A business lost its shop to an encampment fire several days ago and in 2023, one person was murdered in an altercation in an encampment.

Hesje Cabinets and Design in Prince Albert lost their shop after an encampment fire on March 21. (submitted photo)

Last fall, a man was found deceased near an encampment but the death was not criminal.

Part of the city’s response under the new funding will be to assess risk factors and ‘triage’ camp removal.

The factors include how long the camp has been there, how close it is to areas where there is heightened public safety concerns and if there is more risk of disease or death to the people living in the camp.

As part of the agreement, the city will be responsible to make sure that things like home visits, outreach services and connecting clients to pre-employment support in order to find work are being done by the other groups connected to the program.

The $500,000 grant came through the federal government’s Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy but the deal is added to $250,000 already allocated by the province and the city itself, which had another grant for $100,000.

With a growing homeless population, Prince Albert has been working on a co-ordinated response.

Shortly after the special council meeting that saw the encampment deal finalized, council voted on a preferred location for a permanent homeless shelter.

They have also set up a community page on the city website that anyone can access and use to report encampments themselves or see an interactive map of where they have already been reported and if they have been removed.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

On BlueSky: @susanmcneil.bsky.social