The municipal elections of November 7, 2021 demonstrate more than ever the importance of access to social and affordable housing. New municipal officials from all regions have made concrete commitments because they are increasingly seeing the glaring needs on the ground. The issue of housing has become one of the subjects of debate between the candidates. New elected officials will henceforth get involved within official municipal bodies to work on solutions.
In Montreal, Valérie Plante, who has placed the issue of housing accessibility at the heart of her program, could defend her record with the “20-20-20” program that she has set up. In Quebec City, the new mayor, Bruno Marchand, also proposed commitments to facilitate the search for housing for people living on low income.
Stéphane Boyer, in Laval, and Catherine Fournier, in Longueuil (respectively the 3e and 5e major cities in Quebec), have made housing a matter of prime importance. They even promised together, in the home stretch of the campaign, to hold, if elected, a vast “summit on housing” in the first year of their mandate.
A clear signal
With less than a year before the next provincial elections, we hope that the clear signal sent by the electorate across Quebec will be picked up by the CAQ government, which has so far delivered only 3,750 of the 15,000 social housing units and communities that he had undertaken to build. Accessibility to affordable housing will undoubtedly be a priority subject in 2022. In June 2021, a Léger poll revealed that 82% of Quebecers think that “the government of Quebec should do more to counter the housing crisis”. The municipal elections send the signal that this is an issue not to be taken lightly for elected officials, parties and candidates as the next provincial elections approach.
Other cities in Quebec, rightly perceiving the structuring potential of social and community housing for the occupation of the territory, want to embark on this path. All the municipalities that wish to develop “affordable housing” will find allies on the ground. Already, throughout Quebec, more than 150,000 units, in non-profit organizations, co-ops or low-cost housing, are outside the market, sheltered from speculation; housing that will remain affordable for the population in dire need of it. Municipal officials have taken note of this, the CAQ government should also move in the same direction.
However, initiatives from municipalities, however interesting they may be, should not be used as a pretext for the Quebec government to withdraw in this area. And the right to housing should not suffer from differentiated treatment depending on whether one lives in Gatineau, Victoriaville or Port-Cartier. Now more than ever, Quebeckers need a solid program that adequately finances the development of social and community housing, housing whose affordability is guaranteed in the long term.