Chatham-Kent's mayor is expecting 2025 to be filled with ups and downs.
Darrin Canniff spoke with CK News Today about the year ahead and how he felt the last 12 months have been for the municipality.
He sees 2024's biggest struggle, the growing number of people experiencing homelessness, also topping the list of 2025's main issues.
In just Chatham, there are believed to be around 10 encampments and roughly 200 people living on the streets.
"We need the federal and provincial governments to help us," Canniff said.
Frustration has grown among CK council members over what they believe is a lack of support from the Ontario government since housing and homelessness is a provincial responsibility.
Earlier in December, the province did announce they would be allocating over $75 million to help communities combat the issue. For Canniff, this felt like a slap to the face to many communities since he believes this funding wouldn't even be enough to help just Toronto.
Canniff is optimistic the municipality will be able to handle the crisis better in 2025. The main reason will be the 50 transitional cabins being made to give people living on the streets a chance to put a solid roof over their head.
He noted this won't solve the issue, but will be a big help.
Canniff also said a big focus in 2025 will be finding ways to prevent people from having to use these cabins or live in a homeless encampment.
"We need more affordable housing to curb the number of people becoming homeless. A lot of people out there are living paycheck to paycheck and can barely afford their rent and things," he added.
While this crisis will most likely be what 2024 will be remembered for, Canniff believes the year did see some positives. He specifically used the word growth to describe the last 12 months.
"We've seen more people move here, housing increase, a lot of new businesses come here," he explained.
Canniff gleefully mentioned the opening of the Flying Squirrel Trampoline Park in Chatham as a prime example of the growth the municipality saw.
He believes this will continue in 2025.
"I can see more businesses relocating here, small to large. I see more people wanting to relocate here,” Canniff added.
Overall, Canniff sees the next 12 months having a lot of challenges from encampments, potential tariffs on Canadian goods, and just the overall world economy. Despite this, he’s excited about what Chatham-Kent can do to grow even more.