Moving Day: A Coalition Is Forming Against the High Cost of Housing

MONTREAL, July 1, 2026 /CNW/ - While thousands of tenants are struggling to find new housing amid a wave of evictions, hundreds of people gathered simultaneously in Montreal, Quebec City, and Rouyn-Noranda this morning, in response to a call from the Coalition contre le logement cher (COLOC). COLOC brings together more than 120 organizations, including some 30 national groups from the housing, union, community, feminist, and student sectors. With the elections just a few months away, COLOC is calling for the structural measures needed to alleviate the housing crisis and is challenging all political parties to commit to them.

This movement reflects a sense of urgency and exasperation in the face of the government's increasingly glaring disconnect from reality. Since the 2022 elections, average rent has jumped by nearly 30%, pushing even more tenants into precarious living conditions. Meanwhile, abusive rent hikes, bad-faith lease terminations, and evictions are on the rise, social housing projects are stalled, and waiting lists for public housing are growing longer. Rather than addressing the root causes -- the lack of regulation of the rental market, the shortage of public housing, and the refusal to recognize the right to housing -- the Quebec government is promoting the construction of housing that is all too often unaffordable.

In both Montreal and Quebec City, protesters gathered at symbolic locations: public housing complexes, to embody the solution the Coalition is calling for, and the Tribunal administratif du logement, where thousands of rent increases and evictions are ruled on each year due to the lack of effective rent control.

Proven solutions that can't wait any longer

The participating organizations reiterate the coalition's three key demands: the implementation of genuine rent control, the massive expansion of public housing, and the recognition of the right to housing in the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. This last demand is further elaborated upon by the Ligue des droits et libertés in a new motion calling on the legislature, which was made public on June 25th.

COLOC would have liked to see the CAQ government take concrete action before the end of its term. In its view, there is still time to protect tenants trapped in the private rental market and to stop using public funds to finance housing that is too expensive.

Ahead of the general election, organizations are urging all parties to make the unaffordability of housing a priority and to make clear commitments in this regard. They warn that the housing affordability crisis cannot wait for the election results.

Quotes

"On July 1, tens of thousands of leases are signed at exorbitant prices. Thousands more find themselves on the street because they can't afford housing. As long as Quebec does not impose mandatory and universal rent control, every move and every abusive rent increase will continue to be an opportunity to further impoverish tenants," Francis Dolan, spokesperson, Regroupement des comités logement et associations de locataires du Québec (RCLALQ).

"We will not emerge from this crisis without massive investment in social housing, in the form of HLM public housing, housing cooperatives, and nonprofit housing organizations. This is the only type of housing that is truly and sustainably affordable, because it operates outside market logic. To ensure immediate affordability for low- and moderate-income tenants, we need sufficient funding and appropriate programs. Funding social housing is not an expense: it is the measure that will always cost less than substandard housing and homelessness," said Véronique Laflamme, spokesperson for the Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU).

"The right to housing is not explicitly recognized in the Quebec Charter, and that needs to change. Combined with the measures that housing organizations have been calling for for a very long time, this would make it possible to address a major social issue that affects people's dignity and health. Whether it likes it or not, the government has obligations: it must ensure that everyone has access to decent, accessible, affordable housing that is suited to their needs, and is protected against evictions," Laurence Guénette, coordinator and spokesperson, Ligue des droits et libertés (LDL).

"The housing crisis is hitting women the hardest: they make up the majority of low-income renters, are overrepresented in single-parent households, and are all too often forced to remain in dangerous environments because they cannot find alternative housing. Without housing that fits their budget, there can be no independence or real way out of violent situations," Mandoline Blier, co-coordinator, L'R des centres de femmes du Québec.

"For too many workers, wages no longer keep pace with rent. Working full-time no longer guarantees housing that one can afford. Decent housing should never be a privilege: it is the bare minimum that any job should provide. As long as Quebec does not regulate rents and invest heavily in public housing, tenants' purchasing power will continue to decline," said Katia Lelièvre, 3rd Vice President of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN).

"While 46% of students receiving Aide financière aux études (AFE) are experiencing food insecurity, and hidden student homelessness is a cause for concern, the UEQ urges political parties to commit to addressing the housing crisis that is severely affecting the student population," Loïc Goyette, president of the Quebec Student Union (UEQ). 

About the Coalition contre le logement cher

Launched in April 2026 at the initiative of FRAPRU and RCLALQ, the Coalition contre le logement cher brings together 121 member groups, including 28 national organizations, from the housing, labor, community, feminist, and student sectors. It is calling on the Quebec government to implement structural measures to guarantee the right to housing: effective rent control, the large-scale development of public housing, and the recognition of the right to housing in the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.

SOURCE Regroupement des comités logement et associations de locataires du Québec (RCLALQ)

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