Does Housing First policy seek to fulfil the right to housing? The case of Alberta, Canada

Housing First (HF) operates on the premise that permanent housing is the first need of people experiencing chronic homelessness. It understands housing as a resource to which everyone is entitled, not a privilege that must be earned. In these respects, HF is consistent with housing as a human right. However, little is known about if or how HF policy seeks to fulfil this right. To address this gap, we conducted keyword and content analyses of HF policy in Alberta, Canada. Direct references to the right to housing were few in number and lacking in detail and justification. Terms related to rights were also seldom referenced, although the presence and absence of ‘conditions’ within HF were discussed. Plans to end homelessness focused on affordability, but failed to consider other necessary components of the right to housing. Greater engagement with international human rights law would provide HF policy with a normative foundation for addressing homelessness as a severe breach of the right to housing.