Japa: Residents Rendered Homeless as Rents Soar in Canada
Many people are experiencing homelessness as housing prices and rents have increased in Canada’s real estate markets.
Reports said tens of thousands have started living on the streets of Canada, which remains a top destination for immigrants and refugees.
According to a new study in September, one in two homeless people in Quebec can be located in rural areas of the eastern province rather than primarily in Montreal, as was previously the case.
India Times reported that in a Quebec government assessment, nearly one in every four homeless people ended up on the street after being evicted from housing.
The number of homeless people in Quebec rose by 44 per cent between 2018 and 2022, reaching 10,000 last year.
It said indigenous people, who make up 5% of the Canadian population, are overrepresented in the streets, particularly Inuit, according to a director of a local anti-poverty organisation, Karine Lussier.
“In Granby alone, we need at least 1,000 affordable housing units,” Lussier said.
The report revealed that some people have been living in a temporary camp in a cemetery in Granby, a town of 70,000 people 80 kilometres (50 miles) east of Montreal.
One of the affected persons, Danny Brodeur-Cote has been living in a temporary camp in a cemetery in Granby, for months after being evicted from an apartment he shared with his girlfriend in June.