Montreal prepares for moving day amid continuing housing crisis

The city of Montreal is once again preparing to support over 300 households who might not have housing come July 1. 

Benoit Dorais, vice-chair of Montreal's executive committee, says he knows the housing crisis is worsening and the city is determined to help people get through the moving day crunch and to look for long-term housing solutions. 

In 2022, more than 900 households called 311 looking for housing assistance. So far this year, more than 300 people have already called, said Dorais. 

"My thoughts are with those households preparing to move because of a precarious or unfair situation. Requests for assistance for Operation July 1 services have exploded in recent years," he said.

"Affordability in Montreal is under threat. It has to spur us into action. We will not give up, we have plenty of initiatives, and we have to get together." 

Open letter to Quebec 

Elected municipal officials and housing stakeholders in Quebec sent an open letter to the provincial government Wednesday demanding that it tackle the two prongs of the housing crisis: the availability of housing and access to property.

With over 25 signatories, including the cities of Montreal and Laval, the letter demands "concrete and immediate action" to keep Quebec's housing market stable, as it faces its lowest vacancy rate in decades. 

"We demand that all the decision-makers be brought together so that they take full measure of the seriousness of the situation, identify shortfalls and adopt a common roadmap, incorporating concerted actions with targets and a deadline to be respected," says the letter.

The signatories warn that if the government doesn't act soon, there will be an increase in homelessness, fewer students will come to Quebec to study and companies will see their growth stunted. 

Need for construction and preservation

The largest association of housing contractors in Quebec, the Association de la construction du Québec (ACQ), is one of the groups that signed the open letter.

Its spokesperson, Guillaume Houle, says the province hasn't been able to meet its housing construction targets in the last few years. Quebec was hoping to build 48,000 housing units this year but is only on pace to build 40,000 — compared to the 68,000 units built in 2021.

To keep housing affordable, Quebec needs to build more than 100,000 units per year for the next decade, said Houle.  

"We need to get together like we've done with this letter," he said. "The mathematics don't work anymore. If we wait for the market to autoregulate itself, it won't in the next few months or next few years." 

Adam Mongrain, housing policy director at the nonprofit Vivre en Ville, which signed the letter, says the housing crisis is steamrolling the entire province, not just big cities. He says people have to understand everyone is affected by housing policy.

"We're reaping what we've sown over the last few decades. We've underbuilt relative to our housing needs for 20, 30 years," he said. "What we're seeing now and the depth of the crisis is the tipping point of that logic not working anymore."

Montreal's Dorais told journalists Thursday that construction is crucial, but it's equally important to preserve the affordable housing that already exists, with something like a provincial rent registry. He also stresses the need for social housing that offers services to those in need.

Call 311 for resources

By calling 311, people can access information, relocation assistance, references for temporary housing or storage, assistance for housing searches and assistance to apply for social housing or subsidy programs, among other services. 

The city is also partnering with community organizations to offer resources and services, including social housing group the Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU).

The Montreal housing agency, the Office municipale d'habitation de Montréal (OMHM)'s homelessness prevention project, Passerelle, which is run in collaboration with the Old Brewery Mission, has been renewed for a second year to offer psychosocial support to those who need it.

Catherine Lussier, a community organizer with FRAPRU, says she is happy to be partnering with the city — but more social housing must be built to meet the needs of the population and ease the housing crisis. 

"We kept letting the rents go up, we kept not offering other alternatives than the private market for low-income households, so we can't be surprised that the situation is staying the same," she said.

The executive director of the Welcome Hall Mission, Sam Watts, says its facilities are always full and many people are expressing insecurity over housing.

"Our concern is that people who are already on the cusp of affordability will be further stretched due to rent increases or having to move to a new place that has a higher rent. Virtually nobody is moving to a cheaper place," he said.