How do ideas get in the way of policy change? A comparative study of homelessness policy in Toronto and Montréal, Canada

While structural factors such as the allocation of resources and responsibilities have traditionally been seen as the key determinants of policy change and stability, the ideas of the people responsible for managing these resources can be just as consequential, especially in value-laden policy areas such as combating homelessness. Building on the literature on the role of ideas in governance, the analysis of municipal, provincial and federal policy documents, and interviews with 21 municipal and provincial policymakers, community activists, service providers and users, this article compares how Toronto and Montreal implemented the federal government's At Home/Chez soi pilot program informed by housing-first principles—a marked departure from the previous staircase model in which homeless individuals conditionally moved towards permanent housing based on responsible behavior. Conflicting ideas underpinned understandings of homelessness and intervention priorities in the two cities, while ideas institutionalized in “traditions of governance” were instrumental in Toronto aligning its policies with the federal government's housing-first experiment and Montreal resisting it.