Futur Montréal's blueprint to tackle band-aid approach to homelessness

By Chelsey St-Pierre The Suburban

For years, Montreal has struggled with a homelessness crisis that critics say is made worse by a patchwork of short-term solutions and last-minute interventions. While shelters scramble to find beds each winter and the city's budget for homelessness remains minimal, encampments have multiplied and coordination between frontline organizations is lacking. The Plante administration's approach, often described as reactive, has left many wondering if Montreal is capable of addressing the root causes of the issue.
Future Montréal believes the answer is yes—but only if the city abandons its piecemeal tactics in favor of bold, structural reform. The party's plan is built around breaking down the barriers between the more than 60 organizations currently working on homelessness and getting everyone on the same page.
“We have too many silos with this issue and the partners. Everyone is working in their own corner and that's why people are falling through the cracks,” Future Montréal's leader Jean-François Kacou told The Suburban. “We want to create a central resource and break the silos between organizations.”
Central to their vision is the creation of a unified “metropolitan file” for every unhoused person in the city. This would allow agencies to actually know who needs what, and when, instead of relying on guesswork or fragmented referrals. Kacou argues that without this kind of real-time information sharing, intervention is ineffective.
Future Montréal also rejects the idea that one-size-fits-all support works. The party acknowledges that trauma, distrust of the system, or mental health needs mean some people are not ready or able to transition off the street, while others are simply lacking access to resources. Their solution: develop distinct transition zones for those ready to move forward, while also providing safer spaces for people who need more time or specialized support.
Kacou says, “There are two kinds of Montrealers: those who are not confident with our system due to trauma and choose the street, and those who want to get off the street but don't have the resources available. Meeting people where they are is the only way to actually help.”
Under the plan, unused industrial buildings would be converted into service hubs staffed by professionals trained to address each individual's unique needs. Keeping detailed files, tracking needs, strengths, and progress would help ensure that interventions are targeted and not just another short-term fix.
When it comes to housing, Future Montréal is sharply critical of the city's current 20-20-20 bylaw, which requires new developments to include 20% social, 20% affordable, and 20% family housing. In practice, the system allows developers to pay a fine if building the required units does not fit their business model. The issue, according to Future Montréal, is that while these fines bring in revenue, there is little public clarity about how, or if, it's ever used to create new affordable homes. Kacou argues that the bylaw, as it stands, hasn't delivered the volume of genuinely affordable homes Montrealers need.
Instead, the party is calling for a levy on luxury housing, with all proceeds channeled into a transparent, dedicated fund, an “envelope” earmarked solely for funding nonprofits to build social housing. This approach ensures Montrealers know exactly where the money is coming from and where it's going, by legal obligation. The goal is also to address a persistent problem: banks often view nonprofit housing organizations as risky borrowers. By providing direct financial support from this dedicated fund, Montreal would help nonprofits meet the requirements to lower their perceived risk in the eyes of banks, making it possible to finance and build deeply affordable housing at scale.
“We want transparency so that Montrealers can see where the money is coming from and where it's going, by obligation.”
By subsidizing nonprofit projects with dedicated funds, Future Montréal hopes to make it less risky for organizations to secure financing and actually build deeply affordable homes. The plan calls for a four-year strategy with annual public reporting, so Montrealers can judge for themselves whether progress is being made.

“Every year, there will be a report to show that Montreal takes this seriously and is willing to put real cash and effort on the table,” Kacou said.
For Future Montréal, the stakes are not just about social justice, but about the city's future as a whole. The party warns that doing nothing will have ripple effects far beyond encampments or shelter beds, touching every Montrealer in some way.
“If we don't intervene, other parts of society will be affected. It's not just a homeless issue - it's a Montreal issue,” Kacou said.