A word from FGM – July 2022

The housing crisis, aggravated by rampant inflation, has made a comeback in Greater Montreal. Economic circumstances are pushing many households back under the poverty line, if not directly out onto the street. There is one statistic that stands out for me. Already in 2019, one third of Montrealers had to spend more than 30% of their income to house themselves. And since then, things have gotten considerably worse.

Good mental health, food security, staying in school, feeling safe. None of that is really possible without access to decent, affordable and sanitary housing. Our community must urgently take the full measure of this crisis, so as to identify and implement all the solutions that can alleviate it.

That is why the Foundation of Greater Montréal is proud to announce that the next edition in its Vital Signs of Greater Montreal series of reports will focus on the topic of housing. The Vital Signs series constitutes the largest data collection endeavour on Canadian communities. It evaluates the health of our communities, points out trends and, using key indicators, identifies priorities that should be acted upon in all sectors that are crucial to quality of life. In fact, FGM just last month brought out its latest Vital Signs report. It focuses on the situation of women and girls in Greater Montreal.

A new partnership to bolster the Vital Signs

Bolstered by a special partnership with our colleagues at Centraide of Greater Montreal, and, as always, with the assistance of the Institut du Québec, we will bring together the individuals and the knowledge we need to come up with the solutions our community needs. By combining the resources of Centraide and those of the Foundation in a wide-ranging initiative, we want to highlight the seriousness of the problem. But we are also putting out a call to the entire community to join us in this effort. The task is enormous, and the issue is critical. But if we can make some headway, we will have a profound and lasting impact on Greater Montreal’s social development.

More details will follow. In the meantime, read on to find out more about other initiatives FGM is supporting, as we work to place housing at the core of our community’s priorities.

Karel Mayrand
President and CEO
Foundation of Greater Montréal

FGM stories of the month

July 2022

Vital Signs: An unprecedented partership with Centraide

The Foundation of Greater Montréal and Centraide of Greater Montreal are announcing a special partnership aimed at returning housing issues to the heart of our community’s priorities.

Read on

FGM also joins the working group launched by Centraide

Centraide of Greater Montreal recently announced the creation of a new working group to tackle current housing issues, gather insights and recommend solutions. And FGM has answered the call.

Read on

Decent housing: a right, not a privilege

Read our July 2021 blog post, as well as the housing initiatives, projects and organizations we showcased back then. The situation having deteriorated, their work has only become more crucial since.

Read on