The Saskatchewan NDP says the provincial government has failed to address the housing crisis in the province, allowing thousands of affordable units to sit vacant while people are on the streets. The Opposition, through a Freedom of Information request made to the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation, said the data shows that about 2,150 units are vacant provincewide. In Saskatoon, where homeless numbers have shot up more than 300 per cent, there are nearly 200 units vacant. In Regina, where homelessness also on the rise, more than 400 units sit vacant. There are also communities where more than half of the publicly owned housing units are vacant.

The NDP also notes that the information released Wednesday comes alongside a newly released National Rent Report, where Saskatoon saw a 7.9 per cent increase year over year in rent.