Homelessness in Quebec is a growing issue. Municipal leaders are meeting to try and solve it

Quebec mayors from across the province are coming together to talk solutions about the growing number of people experiencing homelessness in their municipalities. 

The municipal summit on homelessness, taking place on Friday at the Concorde Hotel in Quebec City, comes on the heels of a provincial report that revealed the number of unhoused people in the province has surged to 10,000 — a 44 per cent increase since 2018. 

Hosted by the Union des municipalités du Québec (UMQ), the event includes a panel discussion featuring the mayors of Montreal, Gatineau, Granby and Roberval billed as "witnesses of homelessness: the mayors take action."

The summit also brings together hundreds of stakeholders involved in the prevention and fight against homelessness, from community groups to government officials. 

In his opening address to attendees, Social Services Minister Lionel Carmant called homelessness an increasingly complex and growing problem across the province. 

"I understand that homelessness for many of you is a daily challenge," he told the assembled city officials.

Numerous causes led to the rise in homelessness, Carmant said, but the main culprit is the housing crisis.

The consensus among mayors Friday morning was that prevention is crucial to solving the deteriorating problem of homelessness, which they say includes building more affordable housing. 

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante renewed her pitch for more aid from the provincial government on the housing front. 

"There has to be more housing and there's been a huge lack of funding from the government in terms of housing in the last three years," she told reporters Friday. 

Plante called for the construction of 2,000 housing units every year, starting this year, in order to meet the needs in the city.

In an interview ahead of the summit Friday morning, Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand told CBC it's possible to end homelessness in the province — the government just needs to be willing to learn from other places that are doing it. 

He pointed to Finland, which committed to eradicating homelessness several years ago, primarily by introducing a strict policy on providing affordable and social housing. According to the country's statistics, the plan is working. 

"Quebec should do the same," said Marchand, who is also chair of UMQ's committee on homelessness. 

Marchand said he also wants to see an annual count of the province's unhoused population, which to date has only occurred in 2022 and 2018, in order to act quickly on what the statistics reveal. 

On Friday, Carmant announced his government's pledge to conduct a new homeless count in 2024, as well as a plan to accompany the unhoused who find homes in order to provide them with social, psychological and other support.

The minister also announced an investment of $20 million for shelters on Thursday. A little more than $15 million from that would be new money.

Several housing organizations and mayors, including Plante and Marchand, have already said that money will not be enough to stem the tide of homelessness in their municipalities.