Winnipeg homeless shelters helping clients tackle voting barriers ahead of election day

Arturo Chang · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 23, 2025 10:38 PM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Homeless shelters successful Winnipeg are moving to guarantee their clients are capable to ballot successful Monday's national election.

Advocates successful the metropolis accidental clients often look barriers that barroom them from casting ballots, specified arsenic deficiency of fixed addresses and IDs. They besides person a harder clip keeping themselves informed, with fewer ways to access candidates' platforms.

Elections Canada workers person been giving structure staff letters they tin usage to vouch for radical who usage their services, and beryllium their identity.

Edward Parisian doesn't person a fixed code and is presently staying astatine the Salvation Army's Centre of Hope. He said that won't halt him from having his accidental successful this election.

"I ever ticker astir it on the news, about who's moving and each that, and I announcement they gave america a signifier and they told america it's voting time," Parisian said Wednesday.

He said unit astatine the Centre of Hope are "letting radical cognize wherever to spell and stuff. They're doing that good close now."

Margot Ross, elder manager for fundraising and unpaid improvement astatine Siloam Mission, said the enactment volition enactment up posters and unit volition besides beryllium engaging assemblage members to get them to enactment successful the predetermination up of Monday's vote.

She said Siloam has forms provided by Elections Canada which they tin usage to vouch for people's individuality if they don't person a photograph ID.

"It's either they've mislaid it … or they conscionable don't person it. So this missive makes a immense difference," she said, adding that it's not the lone obstruction preventing stateless radical from participating successful the antiauthoritarian process.

"Some radical who are unhoused, it's been conscionable due to the fact that of nonaccomplishment of a job, a divorce, nonaccomplishment of household and they're conscionable not successful the framework of caput [to vote]. It could besides beryllium … addictions."

At Main Street Project, outreach workers helped 17 radical to ballot successful beforehand polls this agelong weekend, with more clients acceptable to ballot connected predetermination day.

Communications manager Cindy Titus said unit besides printed retired accusation astir candidates successful the leadup to the beforehand polls truthful radical who wanted it could get entree to it.

"A batch of the radical that we service present don't needfully person entree to the internet, so researching accusation connected the candidates and their platforms is simply a obstruction arsenic well," she said.

"We did a batch of probe to marque definite that we cognize wherever to nonstop radical oregon wherever to instrumentality radical if they're requiring transports.… Our squad has been moving precise hard astatine this."

Housing, outgo of surviving apical of mind

Titus said astir 10 to 15 radical successful their lawsuit absorption squad volition beryllium moving connected predetermination time to assistance radical vote.

"Because the folks that we service are truthful impacted by a batch of the issues that are happening successful the satellite close now, they decidedly privation to enactment successful the process and usage their voice," she said.

Ross said affordability issues are apical of caput for the thousands of radical that travel to the structure each day.

"I conscionable benignant of spell with … who would enactment america retired present much than anything," Parisian said. He's presently looking for a spot to live.

"Housing would beryllium precise important close now," helium said. "We spell effort to rent a place, it's hard to get a spot due to the fact that … there's not capable here."