Tri-Region Housing and Service Needs Estimate

In 2025, the Rural Development Network (RDN) partnered with 19 organizations representing 64 communities across Alberta to conduct the fourth iteration of a province-wide Housing and Service Needs Estimation.

This report outlines the Tri-Municipal Region’s results within the provincial estimation, highlighting the number of residents who are housing insecure and their experiences with housing insecurity. This report is complemented by the Alberta Provincial Report, which highlights the combined results of all 64 communities across the province.

This report is intended to support decision-making across organizations, funders, and government around housing insecurity by providing reliable and up-to-date data on housing and service needs in the Tri-Municipal Region. It can also be used in the community for program planning and advocacy purposes related to housing insecurity, housing stock, and service needs.

Tri-Region 2025 Alberta Provincial Estimations and Service Needs Community Report

In the fall of 2022, the Town of Stony Plain and the City of Spruce Grove participated in the third iteration of a large-scale housing and service needs estimation called, “A Tri-Region Housing and Service Needs Estimation.” This needs estimation was conducted to better understand what homelessness looks like in their communities. The project was also an opportunity to understand the service needs of residents in the Tri-Region, as well as to collect meaningful data to support future decisions around housing and services. Surveys were administered to community members by service agencies across the region and online as an open Survey Monkey link for four weeks from October 1 - 31 in 2022.

A total of 396 survey respondents were identified as housing insecure. An additional 450 dependents and 287 adults were reported as living with survey respondents. In total, at least 1,133 people were living in
housing insecurity in the Tri-Region area.

Final Edition: Community Report.

Out of 428 survey submissions, 32 respondents were found to be housing secure, and 396 were found to be housing insecure.

An additional 737 individuals (dependents and adults) shared housing conditions with housing insecure respondents.

Refer to the attached Infographic from 2022 for more information: Infographic - 2022 (pdf)

Out of 93 survey submissions, 6 respondents were found to be housing secure, and 87 were found to be housing insecure.

An additional 185 individuals (dependents and adults) shared housing conditions with housing insecure respondents.

See the attached Housing and Service Needs - 2022 Infographic (pdf) for more details. 

In October 2020, the Tri-Region participated in a large-scale effort to estimate housing and service needs in 24 rural communities across the province.

Funded by Reaching Home, the Government of Canada’s official homelessness strategy, the Rural Housing and Service Needs Estimation Project (Estimations’ Project) was led by the Rural Development Network (RDN) following the methodology outlined in the “Step-by-Step Guide to Estimating Rural Homelessness”.

This project was an opportunity to better understand the needs of existing residents, as well as complement and improve official data for the Tri-Region. This year’s estimations’ project built on robust  refinements from the pioneer project in 2018 that allowed service agencies to better connect and listen to the needs of the Tri-Region’s residents.

Collecting data during this period-where physical access to local establishments have been severely limited/affected by a global pandemic - offers a unique opportunity to examine how residents’ needs are exacerbated during a time of crisis, as well as measuring
the gaps that arose in the Tri-Region’s services and responses.

Read more: 2020 Tri-Region Housing and Service Needs Estimate (pdf document). 

In the fall of 2018, 260 respondents completed the Tri-Region Housing and Service Needs Estimate survey. An additional 30 people (9%) started the survey but either did not complete or did not consent to the use of their data.

Of the people surveyed, 76% have been in our community for years; 14% have always lived in our community; and 6% have been in our community for less than a year. 84% of those surveyed indicated that they were At Risk of Homelessness. Only 12% of respondents felt their housing was stable. 4% preferred not to answer. The top three reasons for housing instability identified were: Low income (46%), Job Loss (14%), and Conflict (8%). 

Read more: Tri-Region Housing and Needs Estimate 2018 Survey Results (pdf file)