The number of households that are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless has continued to rise

The number of families without a home, without a rental contract and without a housing need has risen further in the past two weeks.

In a few regions there was a decrease, but in most regions there was an increase.

While the number was 1,667 on July 4, it stood at 1,944 on Friday, according to the latest data from the Société d’habitation du Québec (SHQ). Of these, 484 households are temporarily housed by municipalities – 167 in hotels – and 317 with relatives.

However, about 10 percent of temporarily housed households received assistance as a result of a disaster, rather than the housing crisis.

No surprise

“Overall, we are seeing a slight increase in the number of households still receiving assistance, which does not surprise us given the housing shortages that are evident across the region,” Sébastien Olivier, director of communications at SHQ, told The Canadian Press in an interview.

He pointed out that most of the added households were already known to SHQ, but they did not require active support as they had ‘a plan B’ or intended to find housing but these options had not materialised.

As for the 1,460 households in difficulty that are temporarily without shelter, “that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are now without shelter, but it could be that they will be without shelter by mid-August or September 1. So we are keeping a close eye on them,” he said.

People behind the numbers

He does hope to see some reduction from mid-September, but cautions that this is more of a hope than a prediction in the current context of an extremely tight housing market. He said: “These are still statistics, and behind every figure are households in very specific situations, often facing difficult realities.”

Olivier also takes the opportunity to highlight “the work that is being done on the ground. This year we have seen an improvement in the support provided. There are many, many people, large mutual aid networks that are being put to work, and we are very pleased. We recognise that very much.”

Number of households without housing or at risk of homelessness by region as of July 19. In brackets, data as of July 4 (data compiled by Société d’habitation du Québec):

• Bas-Saint-Laurent: 177 (171)
• Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean: 52 (52)
• National Capital: 191 (139)
• Maurice: 111 (103)
• Eastern municipalities: 88 (83)
• Montreal*: 302 (204)
• Going out: 150 (136)
• Abitibi-Témiscamingue: 45 (35)
• North Côte d’Or: 0 (0)
• Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine: 10 (11)
• Chaudière-Appalaches: 75 (68)
• Laval: 122 (104)
• Lanaudière: 230 (188)
• Laurentians: 29 (35)
• Montreal: 317 (293)
• Center of Quebec: 45 (45)

*The July 19 data for Montreal includes the majority of households that were temporarily housed due to a disaster, while the July 4 data did not.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on July 19, 2024.