‘Are we a shelter city?’: Edmonton business owner opposes Hope Mission’s planned homeless shelter
Posted August 18, 2026 1:03 pm.
Last Updated August 18, 2026 2:04 pm.
An Edmonton homeless shelter hopes its plans for a new building in the southeast, near Argyll Road, could help pull some of the vulnerable population away from the downtown core.
But one business owner who just set up shop there says he’s worried for the safety and future of his business.
“If I knew that before, I would never even think about it, opening up a business over here,” said Khuram Shahzad.
Shahzad opened up his new restaurant on Aug. 3 across the street from Hope Mission’s building, which until now was primarily office space and a thrift store.
But the Hope Mission does have plans to create 125 beds if Edmonton City Hall agrees.
Shahzad’s concerned with having an emergency shelter so close to a casino and nearby liquor and cannabis shops.
“Will they be hanging around if they’re sitting out, or maybe they will break my glass, or they’ll be asking food. So many things I have going on in my mind.
“It seems like, I’m gonna be out of business before starting in business.”
Hope Mission says it’s answering calls to take pressure off some hard-hit central neighbourhoods and meet a demand for services south of the river, adding its shelters saw a 23 per cent increase in visitors last winter.
“There’s a lot of shelter services downtown, especially in Chinatown,” said Tim Pasma, the senior director of Hope Mission. “And so we feel like those spaces need to be spread throughout the city. “That’s a way of supporting Chinatown, supporting the downtown community, supporting all those kinds of things.”
At a public hearing Monday, the councillor for the area says she knows there are questions about the size of the shelter and what it could look like in the community, noting it’s happening in a primarily industrial neighbourhood.
“There’s a massive need in our communities right now,” said Coun. Ashley Salvador. “Thousands of people are without a safe place to stay during the days, at night, and don’t have access to adequate support. So being able to see more shelter space is a really critical part of building a safer city for everybody.”
Shahzad doesn’t agree with decentralizing homeless supports.
“I don’t think it’s gonna even work,” he said. “It’s just, you’re disturbing the whole city, I would say. If you’re decentralizing, you’re putting everywhere a shelter.
“Are we a shelter city or what?”
