QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Veterans Affairs
Program Success Metrics
October 23, 2025
Minister, your government launched a veterans homelessness strategy in April 2023. As you just pointed out, a Veterans Employment Strategy was also created in June 2024. More than two years after the first strategy, and more than a year and a half after the second, what concrete results can your department show? How many veterans have found jobs since the strategy was launched, and how many homeless veterans have been rehoused since 2023? I would like the numbers.
I would need to come back to you with the direct numbers, and I’m happy to follow up on that. What I can speak to are some of the examples where I have seen these programs at work and making a difference in the lives of veterans.
So if we specifically start with the housing, you mentioned the Veteran Homelessness Program, which is a pilot program that’s in its second year. We’ve been able to take the learnings from year one, and we are now applying those to strengthen the results.
I had the opportunity to recently attend a few of the different projects that received funding from this program to support the need for permanent housing for our veterans and the wraparound supports that go with it. It’s about more than just putting a roof over the individuals’ heads, but it’s also supporting them for success in that.
One example is Veterans’ House here in Ottawa, which I was recently at. I had the incredible opportunity to meet an individual who was a more senior veteran who, prior to coming to live at Veterans’ House, did not have a home. He welcomed me into his home. This is an example of the program at work.
Your government presented these strategies as government priorities. I’m very surprised that you don’t have the figures with you. Despite the time that has passed since the strategies were launched, you don’t have any data with you about the number of veterans who have found a job or who have been rehoused. How can your department measure the success of these strategies if you don’t have any data or numbers on the results being achieved? Is this really a government priority?
Thank you. Data will take time to collect. I will use one example of that. The first time we had a veteran identifier question on the census after 50 years was in 2021. Our next opportunity for a veteran identifier will be in 2026. That will give us some input on the progress that is being made surrounding things like homelessness and such.
Additionally, not every veteran chooses to self-identify as a veteran after their service.
