The number of homeless people in Quebec is up 20 per cent across the board, but the situation is far more pronounced in some of the regions outside Montreal.
Quebec’s homeless population grew by 1,873 people from 2022 to 2025 – for a total of 12,077 experiencing homelessness.
That’s according to the results of the April 2025 homeless population count that saw thousands of volunteers walk the streets of multiple Quebec regions to count and interview people experiencing homelessness.
While a large portion of them – an estimated 5,036 – are concentrated in Montreal, the metropolis saw one of the smallest increases in those three years – 6.7 per cent.
The increases were far more considerable elsewhere, notably in five regions that jumped more than 50 per cent.
In Laval, the homeless population spiked 59.4 per cent. In the Laurentians, it was 73.7 per cent. The largest increase was Abitibi-Témiscamingue, which saw its homeless population more than double (119.1 per cent).
Since 2018, the homeless population in Quebec has increased about eight to 10 per cent a year.
“The exercise reveals that homelessness now extends well beyond major urban centres, particularly outdoor homelessness, which is observed in all regions,” Quebec’s Health and Social Services Ministry concluded in its report.
“Overall, since 2018, visible homelessness has been steadily increasing. The complete results of the 2025 count, expected in the fall of 2026, will provide a deeper understanding and support service planning and prevention efforts across the province.”
