Montreal project buying condos to fight homelessness, seeking local donors to pitch in

A man emerges from his tent beside a bike path in Verdun on Tuesday, December 10, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

Moving from a homeless shelter to a condo in Montreal’s Quartier des Spectacles might seem unthinkable, but that’s exactly what happened to Martin Fortier, who, until recently, was staying at the Maison du Père shelter.

Fortier is one of the first five beneficiaries of the “Toit à moi” (“My own roof”) project, which was presented by its promoters on Tuesday in Montreal.

“There is no housing, and what there is isn’t affordable,” he said emotionally at a press conference presenting the project.

“I feel very, very, very privileged. I even feel like I’m still asleep this morning. I’m going to have access to an apartment that’s right here? Never in my life did I think I would be able to have access to a building or an apartment like this, or even a condominium.”

Seeking government innovation

On Tuesday, the project leaders launched an appeal to the public, major donors, and governments to innovate and include their approach in housing support programs, which are currently limited to the construction or renovation and refurbishment of existing housing.

The CEO of Toit à moi, Serge Lareault, wants to add the purchase of reasonably priced condos to the mix.

“We mustn’t just build and renovate old buildings. We have to jump on this market because it’s not 50, it’s not 100, it’s not 500 homes that we need to tackle the major crisis that Montreal and the whole of Quebec are experiencing. We’re going to need tens of thousands of homes quickly,” he said.

“Tonight, in Quebec, there are 10,000 people who will sleep on the street or in a shelter. It’s not in five years, it’s not in 10 years that they want an apartment. The cold is here now.”

For residents who want to help

The Toit à moi model is unique in that it allows ordinary people, who feel powerless in the face of rising homelessness, to help out by becoming sponsors of a housing unit with a donation of $25 per month. It takes 30 of these small donors to ensure that the condo ultimately costs only $300 per month for the future tenant. On the market, similar condos rent for between $1,600 and over $2,000 per month. Already, without even having conducted a fundraising campaign, Toit à moi has 300 of these local donors.

These small donors will support the tenants, who are older people, explained Martin Gauthier, co-founder of the organization.

“We have prioritized people aged 55 and over because more and more of them are ending up in shelters. They have worked all their lives, often on low incomes, and are no longer able to find affordable housing, so they end up in emergency shelters or even on the streets. We feel it is urgent to offer them the opportunity to live in dignity as quickly as possible,” he said.

As for buying condos, people like Gauthier, an entrepreneur and philanthropist who created the Gauthier Family Foundation and donated $2 million over three years, who make it possible. In addition to major donors, foundations, and corporations, there are mortgages and investors in what is known as patient capital. Missing still from this initiative are governments, to which the call for help was made on Tuesday.

Cheaper, faster

Building social housing costs between $450,000 and $500,000 per unit and takes four to six years. Toit à moi is targeting the market for condos priced under $300,000. There are “hundreds of them in Montreal,” according to Gauthier, which can be handed over to their new tenants in two months.

The appeal is aimed not only at the general public and major donors, but also at real estate developers, who are being asked to offer their unsold condos.

Toit à moi has ambitious goals. The aim is to purchase 75 condos per year in Montreal over the next two years. Then, from 2028 to 2030, 150 per year in the city and its suburbs, notably Longueuil and Laval, and, starting in 2030, another 150 units per year throughout Quebec.

The initiative has attracted interest from several cities outside the metropolitan area that do not have access to large organizations and donors.

“The concept will be just as relevant, if not more so, in other cities,” said Lareault.

Community support

Ultimately, the goal is to offer 1,000 off-market housing units by 2035, providing not only a roof over their heads, but also community support with the resources and follow-up necessary for their reintegration into society.

In Montreal, Le Chaînon and La Maison du Père have partnered with Toit à moi to provide this support.

“You don’t come out of homelessness unscathed. It’s impossible. It’s traumatic. It leaves scars, wounds, and insecurity, a loss of self-confidence. So support is important,” explained Sonia Côté, president and CEO of Le Chaînon.

“The situation is urgent,” Gauthier said. “The shelters are full. Hundreds of people are sleeping on the streets, directly on the sidewalk or in tents. Their numbers seem to be growing endlessly. And as many people here know, many people wait in shelters for months, if not years, before getting a place in stable housing.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Nov. 25, 2025.

By Pierre Saint-Arnaud, The Canadian Press