Indigenous leaders in Thunder Bay, Ont., have shared an open letter to the city’s mayor, calling for a state of emergency on homelessness to be declared.
The letter, issued Friday and signed by Fort William First Nation Chief Michele Solomon and Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler, comes amid a days-long cold snap in northwestern Ontario. Extreme cold warnings have been in effect for much of the region since last week, and remain in place as of Monday afternoon.
“The crisis has gone on long enough. There will be people sleeping outside [Friday] as the temperatures reach dangerous levels. People are dying in the streets, in public parks, in bus shelters,” reads the letter.
In addition to declaring an emergency, Fiddler and Solomon are asking for Thunder Bay Mayor Ken Boshcoff to seek increased resources from other levels of government, saying it is his responsibility to “call for help.”
Thunder Bay’s 2025 point-in-time count, completed in October, recorded 652 people experiencing homelessness. According to the Lakehead Social Planning Council, 130 people were in an encampment, while 47 people stayed outside in a location other than an encampment.
The point-in-time count released the previous year found 78 per cent of people who reported experiencing homelessness in Thunder Bay were Indigenous.
“The declaration is the least you can do to show that the lives of people experiencing homelessness in the city matter. We are willing to [meet] with you once you have issued the Declaration of Emergency, and we are committed to work with you, and all other partners who have called for this declaration, on how it will be implemented,” reads the letter.
Boshcoff provided an emailed statement to CBC Thunder Bay on Monday, acknowledging he received the letter.
“I will carefully consider their comments, discuss with council, and then reply accordingly,” he said.
In an interview with CBC News on Monday, Solomon acknowledged that emergency declarations don’t guarantee a community will receive additional support.
Fort William First Nation declared a state of emergency in July 2024 over the community’s drug crisis.
“We had the attention of many ministries initially, and then it slowly falls away,” said Solomon.
That being said, “it may or may not result in additional resources, but it will result in getting the attention of the community, getting the attention of different levels of government,” she continued. “It gives us that opportunity to come together in a collaborative way and look at how we move forward.”
In December 2025, harm reduction agency Elevate NWO issued a statement calling on the mayor and city council to declare a state of emergency over the housing and homelessness crisis.
At the time, the executive director of the agency said she wanted to see the city activate an indoor emergency response for those living outdoors, work with the province to repurpose vacant housing stock, and approve three Indigenous-led housing projects proposed by the Native People of Thunder Bay Development Corporation.
The city and the Thunder Bay District Social Services Administration Board (TBDSSAB) responded to this call in December, and said they recognize the urgency in addressing homelessness in our community.
But the city and the TBDSSAB said a municipal state of emergency on its own would not provide new tools to address the issue.
“It does not guarantee additional funding from other orders of government, nor does it authorize the city to redirect private industry or override market forces,” reads a joint statement issued by the city and the TBDSSAB in December.
The City of Thunder Bay reupped its messaging around its cold weather response on Friday, and shared resources for Thunder Bay area shelters and warming services.
The city said it activated its Severe Weather Response Plan on Friday, in response to the extreme cold event.
“Shelters and warming services remain available in the community, including two, 24-hour emergency shelters at Salvation Army and Shelter House, the Out of the Cold Program at Grace Place, and the Urban Abbey. Partners are working together to reduce any barriers and respond to individual needs with care and flexibility,” reads a media release issued Friday.
The cold temperatures recorded in Thunder Bay and across northwestern Ontario are expected to continue Monday and possibly throughout the week.
Environment Canada has issued a cold weather Yellow Warning for the city of Thunder Bay, as wind chill values are expected to approach -40 C.
“These very cold temperatures are expected to moderate somewhat today, although below normal temperatures are expected for much of the upcoming week,” reads the warning.
