Quebec, Ottawa announce funding deal to fight homelessness, add shelter spaces

By The Canadian Press on December 13, 2024.

MONTREAL – The federal and provincial governments have announced an agreement to help fight homelessness in Quebec.

The money will be used to pay for additional shelter spaces in Quebec communities, to build new warming centres and to support people at imminent risk of homelessness.

Ottawa is providing $50 million in funding over two years as part of a $250-million envelope announced in Budget 2024 to address homelessness and encampments across the country.

The Quebec government says it will contribute nearly $50 million from the $400 million the province has allocated to fighting homelessness since 2021.

The announcement comes after Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante last month claimed that a “constitutional fight” between Quebec and Ottawa was tying up money that the city urgently needed.

Radio-Canada had previously reported that negotiations had stalled because Quebec was resisting the conditions attached to the federal money.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 13, 2024.

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