Quebec researchers find 182% surge in deaths of visibly unhoused people
Posted August 17, 2026 9:38 am.
Last Updated August 17, 2026 6:03 pm.
Deaths among people experiencing homelessness in Quebec increased by about 180 per cent between 2020 and 2024, according to new research from the Université de Sherbrooke.
Researchers recorded 400 deaths over the four-year period, including 127 in 2024 compared with 45 in 2020. Montreal had the highest death rate per capita, followed by the Outaouais region.
“Numbers like those are very striking. I think it may help better prioritize what we need to do to help people who experience homelessness,” said David-Martin Milot, a public-health physician and professor at the Université de Sherbrooke.
Milot says the actual numbers are likely higher because not every death is investigated by the coroner.
“Some people who are homeless have a chronic condition that is exacerbated, which brings them to the hospital and then they die at the hospital,” he explained. “(These cases) won’t be investigated by the coroner, so some of the deaths we don’t have (in the study).”
Deaths among unhoused women increased by 211 per cent, compared with 175 per cent among men. Researchers also found that women experiencing homelessness die much younger, with an average life expectancy of about 42 years, compared with 84 years for women with stable housing.
“There’s probably a lot of women experiencing homelessness that are not captured within this data, particularly we know that women’s homelessness have a tendency to be less visible,” said Hannah Brais, head of research at Old Brewery Mission. “So, there’s a lot more women who couch surf. There’s a lot more women who sleep in their cars. This is a known fact about women’s homelessness is they’re more reticent to enter organizations or spaces where they’re going to be at a higher risk of violent victimization.”
“We know that women are more exposed to trauma, to gender-based violence as well, or to human trafficking, to criminal networks,” added Milot. “And it’s harder for them to get out of them once they are in. We also know that women, they usually will have what we call hidden homelessness.”
For men, the average life expectancy was about 47 years among those experiencing homelessness, compared with 80 years for those with stable housing.
“I think with any sort of quantitative forms of homelessness research, take it with a grain of salt, take it as a portrait, take it as the part canary in the coal mine,” said Brais. “And I appreciate that they’re giving us the opportunity as service providers to contribute. Because ultimately it allows us to advocate better for the people we’re serving.”
Brais says the increase in deaths could be due to long-standing social issues.
“Access to public health, housing and toxic drug supply, being things that in the last few years we know these are well documented issues,” said Brais. “That’s going to make people at a higher risk of less, a lower life expectancy.”
“If we see the deaths that continue going up, then there may be something that we’re not doing right,” added Milot.
A new online reporting form has been launched to help create a more complete record of deaths among people experiencing homelessness in Quebec. It can be accessed here.
“I think when we have policies that focus on quality access to drugs as opposed to criminalizing, that also prevents a lot of deaths, when we have more harm reduction based spaces that give people spaces to use where they’re safe,” said Brais. “There’s medical professionals nearby. That also prevents a lot of deaths and the data supports this. Good public health, good harm reduction keeps people alive.”
