Montreal housing advocates fear the situation will get even worse

Discarded household items left on the sidewalk wait to be picked up after last weekend’s moving day, in Montreal, Tuesday, July 4, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Current statistics on the already worrying housing situation underestimate the reality, argues Montreal housing advocate organization FRAPRU, which believes that the situation will get even worse.

On Tuesday, the Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain published its 8th "Black File" on housing and poverty in Quebec, based in particular on statistics from the 2021 census.

At the time of the 2021 census, there were 173,000 tenant households in Quebec in "core housing need."

However, these 2021 statistics took into account household incomes temporarily inflated by COVID benefits, the organization added.

This is why it says that housing affordability problems are underestimated.

FRAPRU notes, for example, that the number of homeless people should be added to this figure, which was "at least 10,000," according to the last count in October 2022.

Its spokesperson Véronique Laflamme also pointed out that the vacancy rate in Quebec is only 1.7 per cent, "the lowest percentage in nearly 20 years."

And 28 urban centres in Quebec have a vacancy rate of less than 1 per cent.

FRAPRU is announcing a tour of the regions of Quebec and a visibility campaign to put pressure on the authorities to take action on housing.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 26, 2023.