A cold snap is coming for Montreal, and shelters are preparing

Montrealers should brace themselves for the big freeze this week.

After a warm and damp Saturday, Environment Canada says the region will have the coldest temperatures its experienced in the last two years. From Sunday night until Wednesday, the temperature will vary between -15 degrees and -26 degrees. The wind chill could reach -34.

Though it won’t be record-breaking, climatologist David Phillips precises the forecast is seven to 10 degrees colder than we’re used to for this time of year.

Phillips says to watch out for that wind chill.

“With a temperature of -23 and winds of 20 you could see wind chill values of -34 or -35. I mean, clearly that is unhealthy. It can lead to problems for people who are working outdoors or living outdoors,” he said.

Environment Canada issued an extreme cold warning Saturday, urging people to stay inside if possible and bundle up if not, as frostbite can develop on exposed skin in a matter of minutes when it’s this cold.

Shelters in Montreal and Quebec City have been preparing for the cold snap, with some opening extra warming centres overnight and calling for extra vigilance and solidarity to keep everyone safe.

The Ricochet Centre, which serves Montreal’s West Island doesn’t want to leave anyone outside, said Executive Director Tania Charron.

“We’re operating at 113 per cent of our capacity, welcoming people on the sofas,” she said, adding that more and more shelters have had to turn people away.

Tight budgets and staff constraints means shelters are doing more with less. Sam Watts, Executive Director of The Welcome Hall Mission, said all available resources will be readied to meet the challenge of frigid temperatures.

“One of the things that we do when it gets really cold is we go into extra vigilance mode, which means extra staff. It also means that we are going to encourage people to stay inside,” he said.

“The other thing is that we work with all the various agencies and service centers in the city to make sure that people are accommodated.”

Ricochet also operates a shuttle bus to reach people who might think they can ride out the cold snap in a tent.

The city of Montreal said it will reopen the downtown YMCA as an emergency shelter for 135 people, and 60 spaces have been prepared at a repurposed building at 1465 Marcel-Laurin in the St-Laurent borough.

Watts says emergency measures like this are a temporary fix when permanent housing is the real solution.

“It’s strange that in 2025 we still have people who are forced to live on the street because we’re not offering them the right kind of options and we really need to get better at that.”

No melting temperatures until February

Phillips says it’s not just Quebecers who will be shivering and bundling up, but the cold is affecting everyone from Alberta, through the Maritimes and down into the United States.

“This is kind of typical for Montreal, a little colder than typical, but certainly for people down in Atlanta, Georgia or Savannah or down to Texas, I mean, these are pretty deadly and toxic kind of situations for them,” he said.

Phillips says he doesn’t expect a return to melting temperatures until February.

“There’s not going to be any rain falling, it’s going to be only snow that comes. The ice is going to form,” says Phillips. “Let’s face it, it’s winter.”