Canadian Poll #4: Addiction and Homelessness

Sign up free to vote

Open to people with a verified Canadian phone number. New here? It takes about 30 seconds: enter your mobile number and the code we text you.

What this poll asks

1. How big a problem is homelessness in your community?
2. How big a problem is drug addiction in your community?
3. What do you think is the biggest cause of homelessness?
4. Which level of government should be most responsible for homelessness?
5. Supervised consumption sites let people use drugs they bring with them while staff watch, so overdoses can be reversed and people can be connected to treatment. Supporters say they save lives; opponents say they bring drug use and disorder into neighbourhoods. Ontario closed sites near schools and daycares in 2025 and has since moved to end funding for the rest. Do you support or oppose supervised consumption sites?
6. Ontario replaced several supervised consumption sites with treatment hubs (HART hubs) that offer addiction treatment, housing help and other support, but do not allow drug use on site. Which approach do you prefer?
7. "Safer supply" programs prescribe drugs such as hydromorphone to people with addictions, as an alternative to the toxic street supply. Supporters say it prevents overdose deaths; critics say some of the drugs get resold. In 2025, B.C. began requiring the drugs be taken in front of a pharmacist. Do you support or oppose safer supply programs?
8. From 2023 to January 2026, B.C. ran a pilot that let adults carry up to 2.5 grams of hard drugs for personal use without being charged. It was narrowed in 2024 to private homes and certain health sites, and B.C. let it end in January 2026. Should possessing a small amount of hard drugs for personal use be a crime?
9. Should using drugs in public places, such as parks, transit and sidewalks, be illegal?
10. Alberta's Compassionate Intervention Act (2025) lets family members, doctors or police ask for a treatment order for someone whose addiction makes them a danger to themselves or others. Treatment can happen in the community or a secure facility. Supporters say it saves people who can't choose help on their own; critics raise civil liberties concerns and question whether forced treatment works. Do you support or oppose involuntary addiction treatment in cases like these?
11. Some cities have declared states of emergency so they can clear homeless encampments from parks and public spaces. Courts in some provinces have ruled cities cannot clear encampments when there isn't enough shelter space. Do you support or oppose clearing encampments?
12. "Housing First" gives people a home first and then offers treatment, without requiring sobriety. Supporters say stable housing makes recovery possible; critics say it can leave addiction untreated. "Treatment first" requires people to get sober or enter treatment before getting housing. Which is closer to your view?
13. During COVID, many cities rented hotel rooms to house people who were homeless. One idea is to offer hotel or motel rooms to people living outside, on the condition that they sign up for social assistance and meet regularly with a case worker. Do you support or oppose this idea?
14. Another idea combines both approaches: offer every person in an encampment housing and treatment, and clear the encampment only for those who turn it down. Do you support or oppose this approach?
15. Should governments fund enough addiction treatment beds that anyone who asks for treatment can get in quickly, even if it costs more?
16. Harm reduction programs hand out naloxone (which reverses overdoses), clean supplies and drug checking strips. Supporters say they keep people alive long enough to recover; critics say they make drug use easier. Do you support or oppose public funding for harm reduction programs?
17. Should social assistance (welfare and disability payments) be raised, kept the same or lowered?
18. Should people on social assistance who have an addiction be required to take part in treatment to keep receiving it?
19. If you could put more money into one area, which would it be?
20. How is your provincial government handling addiction and homelessness?
21. Have you, or someone close to you, been affected by addiction or homelessness?