In an effort to address growing public concern over safety and social disorder, Victoria council will review a sweeping new plan on Thursday that lays out 95 recommendations for building a safer, more resilient community.
The 79-page Community Safety and Wellbeing (CSWB) Plan, titled həlisət — a Lekwungen word meaning “bringing to life”, proposes a citywide shift in how safety is understood and delivered.
While policing remains part of the conversation, the bulk of the recommendations focus on prevention, coordination, and long-term support for residents struggling with housing, health, and social isolation.
Mayor Marianne Alto called the report a “complex puzzle with many pieces,” noting that no single solution can address what people are experiencing on Victoria’s streets.
She said the plan is meant to guide action at all levels including city, provincial, and federal, and help the city respond in a way that reflects what residents have been calling for.
More than 1,600 people participated in shaping the plan through public surveys, community pop-ups, and facilitated dialogues.
A panel of 11 local leaders, including police and fire officials, Indigenous knowledge holders, health experts, housing providers, and social service leaders, guided its development over the past 18 months.
That list of people included Alto, VicPD Chief Del Manak, Our Place Society CEO Julian Daly, and Canadian Mental Health Association BC Division CEO Jonny Morris.
At its core, the report highlights the need to invest upstream to prevent crisis before it happens. That includes calls for stronger civilian-led mental health and crisis response teams, improved access to healthcare and addiction treatment, and better coordination between agencies and service providers.
Some changes can happen immediately within the city’s existing budget. Others will depend on senior government funding and partnerships that are still evolving.
The report also acknowledges that safety looks different to different people. While some residents report feeling unsafe downtown, others are more concerned about being profiled, discriminated against, or excluded from public spaces.
The plan attempts to bridge that divide by focusing on belonging, connection, and dignity as essential components of community wellbeing.
Among the recommendations:
- Expanded late-night support teams downtown on weekends
- Designated sheltering spaces and a potential tiny-home pilot project
- More benches, lighting, and public amenities to make downtown more welcoming
- Increased access to mental health and addictions services, including walk-in stabilization centres
- A coordinated community wellbeing team within the City to lead education, response, and stakeholder engagement
Victoria Police Chief Del Manak, who sat on the advisory panel, noted that while police are a core part of the solution, expectations are changing. The report suggests modernizing training and growing co-response models that pair officers with healthcare or outreach workers.
The city also points to existing pressure on services like bylaw enforcement and fire response. Victoria Fire Department now responds to medical emergencies in nearly two-thirds of its calls — often related to the toxic drug crisis and gaps in emergency care. A shift toward specialized, mobile teams is already underway but would need expansion.
The plan lands at a time when business owners and residents have been publicly raising concerns about the state of downtown.
Just last week, the Downtown Victoria Business Association released its own report calling for “urgent action” to address disorder, improve safety, and reinvigorate the downtown economy.
See also: Urgent action needed to save downtown Victoria businesses: DVBA
While the two reports were developed separately, both identify the same core challenges and the need for shared responsibility among government, business, and community groups.
Council is not expected to approve funding for the entire plan this week. Instead, the vote will determine whether staff begin assessing the financial and operational implications of each recommendation. Those findings will feed into the city’s 2026 budget discussions.
Alto said no new taxes are expected for 2025, and actions that can be taken within existing resources should begin sooner.
What the plan offers is a framework — one that recognizes people are frustrated, but also deeply invested in finding real, lasting solutions.
“This work is hard,” said one panel member quoted in the report. “But doing nothing is harder on everyone.”
Councillors will vote Thursday on whether to endorse the plan and send it to staff to determine financial and operational implications.
