Betsalel Mergui moved into his van a few weeks ago after losing his apartment in Canmore, Alta.
He didn’t even bother looking for a new place, he said, because after living in the Bow Valley for three years, he knew what he would find.
“The rent here — some people pay $1,000 just to share a room with somebody in a shared house with 10 other housemates,” he said. “And, so it’s better for me because it’s my own little space here.”
Mergui also said he usually leaves Canmore in the winter to travel and so living in his van for the summer made sense, instead of signing a lease for the year.
“It keeps things very simple for me. I have all my stuff in there, and I can just go anywhere,” he said.
Mergui works as a river rafting guide in town and he said it was easy for him to get a spot in the town’s overnight parking program.
But he said he knows others who weren’t able to this year.
“I heard they’re pretty strict about who they give it to,” he said.
Canmore operates an overnight parking program called Safe Park for people living in vehicles.
Elle West, who runs the program, said demand this year is on track to reach levels seen in previous years.
“The last two or three years we’ve been at full capacity, and we’re not quite there yet this year, but it looks like we’re approaching that fairly quickly,” she said.
The town has 50 parking stalls available. West said many participants only stay for short periods, so spots open up throughout the summer.
Demand has exceeded the program’s capacity over the past few years. That’s why the town changed its eligibility rules this year to prioritize people working in Canmore.
Even with the change, West said demand is nearing the same levels seen in previous years.
Since the change, the town has turned away nine applicants, most because they worked outside Canmore.
“We’d love to be able to provide opportunities for people as much as possible,” she said.
“But when we are reaching max capacity and turning some people away, we really thought it would be best to prioritize the folks who are working here in Canmore.”
West said she often hears from participants that they would like to live in a house, but their employer doesn’t have staff accommodation, or they can’t find reasonably priced rentals in town.
According to Canmore Community Housing, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $2,300.
The Safe Park program costs $350 for the summer.
While many turn to van life for affordability reasons, Safe Park participant Lucy Hill said living in a van in the mountains had been a long-time dream of hers.
She made that dream a reality a few years ago when she moved from Ontario to the Rockies and renovated a van to live in.
“This has changed my life,” she said. “Like I never knew that this level of joy and connection and freedom ever existed.”
Now she runs her own business as a paddleboard yoga instructor and lives in her van full-time.
She said every mountain town should have a place for people to park and sleep in their vans.
Currently, the program provides a portable toilet, garbage bins, security patrols and access to showers at the nearby recreation centre.
Not everyone who lives in a vehicle chooses to use the program. Sergio Rojano, who works in Canmore as a carpenter, said he prefers parking outside town because he finds the nearby train too noisy.
The Safe Park lot is next to the railway tracks that run through Canmore.
“I stayed at the Safe Park, but it was so loud when the train went past at midnight and 2 a.m., so I could not stay there,” he said.
Rojano said if he did rent a place, he would not be able to save money. His eventual goal is to buy a house.
West with the Town of Canmore said the town is aware some people park outside the program along the highway into town. She said many simply aren’t aware the program exists, while others are just passing through.
West said the van program has been extended to October this year after feedback from the participants, and there may be further expansions to the program in the coming years.
But West said she wishes people didn’t have to rely on the program at all.
“I think in a perfect world, nobody would choose van life. But given the choice between spending almost all of your paycheque on rent or van life, then people are choosing van life.”
