Quebec homelessness rising sharply in regions outside Montreal, report finds

MONTRÉAL — New numbers released by the Quebec government are showing that homelessness has increased across the province, with the sharpest rises outside Montreal.

The survey conducted April 15, 2025, counted more than 12,000 people who were visibly homeless, representing an increase of about 20 per cent from the last count in October 2022.

The Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Laurentians, Côte-Nord, Laval and Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean regions all recorded increases of over 50 per cent.

Those regions have also seen increases in the percentages of unhoused people who spend the night outside instead of in a shelter or hospital.

Montreal had by far the largest number of visibly unhoused people, with 5,036, as well as the highest proportion of unhoused people per 100,000 residents.

The survey does not include the so-called “hidden homeless” — people who are living temporarily with a friend or relative, or in a hotel or rooming house.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 10, 2026.