October 20
34th Annual Night of the Homeless in Quebec

No One Should Be Left Behind

On Friday, October 20, for the 34th year, the Night of the Homeless will be held in Quebec, under the theme Sans toit, ni choix – Without a roof or a choice. This year, the event will be held in 46 cities across Quebec. Since 1989, every third Friday in October, people have spent the night on the streets in solidarity with those living in precarious and often untenable conditions. The event is held to raise public awareness of the situation of homelessness, poverty and social isolation that affects more and more Quebeckers.

The event is organized by organizations working with the homeless in numerous towns and villages across Quebec.

The latest count of the homeless in Quebec dates back to October 11, 2022, and shows that their numbers have increased by 44 per cent compared to 2018, the year of the previous count. On that same day, 10,000 homeless people were counted, representing more than the number of “visible” homeless on Quebec streets. Nearly half of the homeless are in Montreal (4,690, compared with 3,149 in the previous census), but in other regions, the situation is deteriorating sharply. In the Outaouais region, the number of homeless has increased fivefold since 2018. In Montérégie, the number has tripled, and in the Quebec City region, it has doubled. It affects men, women, young people, the elderly, immigrants, First Nations and Inuit people, and now families. Today, no one is immune.

Governments’ policy of paying the rich causes homelessness. The policy of treating human beings as disposable causes homelessness. The cartel party system, which deprives the people of any power to decide and direct the economy to solve problems for the people, causes homelessness. The government’s refusal to take social responsibility for all members of society, so that they can live their humanity and no one is left to fend for themselves, causes homelessness.

Homelessness must be eradicated as part of the fight for a modern Quebec that defends the rights of all.

Montreal

Solidarity March
5:00 pm
Gather at Square Phillips (McGill or Square Victoria/OACI metro stations).
Ends at Parc Émilie-Gamelin.

Grand Night
6:00-1:00 pm
Parc Émilie-Gamelin.

Gatineau

5:00 pm
Parc Ste-Bernadette, 40 Pilon St.

To find out which other cities and towns are hosting the Night of the Homeless visit: itinerance.ca/la-nuit-des-sans-abri