Mayoral candidates weigh in on people living in vehicles along Vancouver beach

Living in vans and RVs is far from ideal, but it's a reality for dozens of people in Vancouver.

Scattered along Spanish Banks, people camped out in their vehicles are calling the shoreline parking lots home – at least for the time being.

That's despite signage warning any vehicles left overnight will be towed at the owners' expense. The city is now clamping down, sending parking enforcement staff and park rangers to speak with the occupants.

"In situations where individuals do not engage, all education options have been exhausted and general warnings/towing notices have been ignored, vehicles may be towed," a city spokesperson told CTV News.

It's no secret rent is sky-high in Vancouver. That’s what’s drove many into this situation.

"It's a hell of a lot cheaper than paying rent in this city,” said Matthew Rogers, who has been living in his van for more than two years.

He moved to Vancouver from New Zealand in 2019 and bought his van to tour around Canada. COVID-19 changed those plans, but his van ended up being his permanent home because rent is so expensive.

Rogers says parks staff gave campers notice earlier this week, warning that tickets were coming – though none have been issued so far. He was told the city would be towing everyone who hasn't left by next Tuesday.

“Maybe we've overstayed our welcome a little, bit but at the same time the parking lot's going to be empty at night,” said Rogers, who is employed and not living in his van strictly out of necessity. 

There’s a lot of finger-pointing for who is to blame and varying ideas about what the solution is, but it all boils down to one thing: the lack of affordable housing.

“The only answer here is more supply of housing, but not luxury condos – rentals, social housing," said mayoral candidate Kennedy Stewart.

“As long as we continue inflating land values we’re going to make it so people cannot afford to live here and are forced to live in tents or their RVs at the beach,” said mayoral candidate Colleen Hardwick.

B.C.’s housing minister says the province is on board to help, but that parking lot living, even as a possible short-term solution, is up to the city, not the province.

“It’s a symptom of the bigger problem that I think we need to address as a society head on – lack of housing at every level,” said Murray Rankin.

“I absolutely understand their plight – help is on the way. We are trying to address this and deal with this as a crisis because that is what it is.”