Fifty Outaouais households to get rent help as addiction service doubles

Tashi Farmilo

Fifty people or households at risk of losing their homes will be matched with subsidized housing units in the Outaouais, and the region's Urgence Dépendance service will gain five additional beds, Quebec's minister responsible for social services and the fight against homelessness, Lionel Carmant, announced on July 6 as part of a provincial effort to keep vulnerable residents off the street. He was joined by the MNA for Hull, Suzanne Tremblay, and his government adjunct, Valérie Schmaltz.

The 50 units fall under the prevention stream of the Programme de supplément au loyer Québec. When a household faces an imminent risk of losing their home, that dwelling can be converted into subsidized housing, or the tenant can be helped to move into more suitable accommodation before a stay on the street becomes likely. Either way, the tenant pays only 25 per cent of their income toward rent and receives support meant to stabilize their situation. The province is betting that acting before an eviction is cheaper and kinder than responding after one.

The five new beds for Urgence Dépendance double the local capacity, adding to the five already funded through the federal Programme sur l'Usage et les Dépendances aux Substances. The service takes in, assesses and refers adults 18 and older in acute crisis tied to substance use, gambling, or problematic internet use, offering immediate support and round-the-clock nursing supervision.

Carmant said the aim is to intervene as far upstream as possible, so vulnerable people get the right help at the right time in their own community, rather than after they have lost everything. Tremblay said the announcement answers real needs in the region and gives residents practical ways to hold onto their housing or begin a path to recovery.

The measures flow from a homelessness push launched under Premier Christine Fréchette, who took office in April 2026 after succeeding François Legault. In May, her government announced $28 million targeting homelessness in the Outaouais, Quebec City and Montreal, including $21 million over three years for a 1,000-unit rent-supplement pilot in Gatineau, Quebec City and Montreal. Provincial figures point to eviction as the leading trigger into homelessness, with non-payment of rent cited in most of those cases, which is the gap these Outaouais units are meant to close.