Quebec City, September 4, 2026 – In Quebec, on the night of April 15, 2025, 12,077 people spent the night experiencing visible homelessness. This represents an increase of more than 20% since 2022.
The leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, Charles Milliard, believes that action must be taken on several fronts to curb this alarming trend. Homelessness cannot be addressed solely by adding more shelter spaces, since the paths that lead to homelessness are too numerous and varied. That is why he is presenting a plan today that is based on four main pillars.
1. Stay off the street
- Support young people leaving youth centers by assigning a primary case manager to each individual, providing a transition plan, and ensuring access to mental health services for everyone;
- Prevent evictions that lead to homelessness;
- Enhance the Rent Assistance Program.
2. Support people experiencing homelessness
- Increase funding for roaming resources.
3. Get off the street
- Improve mental health services for people experiencing homelessness or substance use disorders by supporting local initiatives and projects aimed at homeless individuals or those at risk of homelessness who are living with mental health issues;
- Ensure the long-term funding of the PRISM/PRISMD program and gradually increase the number of service locations based on regional needs;
- Expand the availability of transitional housing and support services.
4. Work together to develop sustainable solutions to combat homelessness
- Hold a national summit on homelessness that brings together municipalities, Indigenous nations, researchers, community organizations, health and housing networks, as well as representatives from the business, labor, and philanthropic sectors.
In total, these initiatives represent additional investments of $60 million per year.
It’s worth noting that the Quebec Liberal Party proposes to truly tackle the housing crisis by setting the ambitious goal of eventually building 100,000 housing units per year in Quebec and adding 40,000 social and affordable housing units within five years.
“The CAQ has failed to implement an effective plan to address the dramatic rise in homelessness that Quebec has been experiencing over the past four years. We cannot simply react to emergencies and add shelter spaces here and there, as the CAQ has done. Every story of homelessness stems from different issues that require actions tailored to those realities. We’re proposing a concrete plan that will enable people to avoid ending up on the streets or to get off them and find a place to live.”
- Charles Milliard, Leader of the Quebec Liberal Party
