By Matthew Daldalian, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Dozens of Montrealers gathered in the rain Saturday to protest new rent regulations introduced by the Quebec government, calling for a province-wide rent freeze and stronger protections for tenants ahead of Moving Day.

The demonstration, organized by tenant advocacy groups and local housing committees, was held in Parc-Extension in front of Parc metro station where rent hikes have hit particularly hard in recent years.

New Rent Regulation

Protesters say the government’s newly announced rent control formula, which uses a three-year average of the Consumer Price Index to calculate increases, will push housing costs even higher over time.

“It’s being disguised as a good thing when it actually harms tenants,” said Lina Sam, a Montreal renter and the creator of the Instagram page TenantRightsQC, which shares accessible legal information, updates on housing policies, and practical advice for renters in Quebec.

Sam pointed out that while the new formula may appear fair in the short term, it paints a misleading picture due to this year’s unusually high rent hikes. “This year looks better using this method because we’ve had the highest increase in over 30 years, so anything would be better than this. But if you look at the years before, and certainly going forward, this method of calculation will not be beneficial.” She warned that normalizing such spikes could set a dangerous precedent for future rent increases.

Housing Minister France-Élaine Duranceau has defended the new formula as a way to stabilize rent hikes for both tenants and landlords, but advocates argue the regulation is being rolled out without proper consultation and could compound the housing crisis.

Moving Day

Amy Darwish of the Comité d’action de Parc-Extension (CAPE) said the timing is especially troubling. “It’s about one month before July 1st. We’re anticipating it’s going to be a rough one for tenants this year,” she said. “The indicators were already the highest we’ve seen in about 40 years.”

Darwish, who both lives in Parc-Extension and works with local tenants, says many of her neighbors are already buckling under the pressure. “People were already kind of pushed to the limits. Rents were already astronomically high, and many people are saying that they can’t afford to pay more,” she said. “We’re really worried that a lot of people are going to end up having to take second and third jobs… or face eviction for non-payment.”

CAPE and other groups are calling for the government to withdraw the regulation and implement enforceable rent control legislation. They say landlords routinely skirt existing rules and tenants often don’t know they can contest unlawful rent hikes.

“There are rules in place that landlords are supposed to follow, but there’s no repercussions happening when they break those rules,” Sam said. “Tenants don’t always know that they can say no to rent increases.”

Advocates from across the borough opened the event with speeches, denouncing the rising cost of living and calling on the provincial government to take immediate action. After the speeches, protesters marched through the neighborhood, chanting and holding signs, before concluding the demonstration in front of Metro Acadie.

Both Sam and Darwish said they’d like to see more for tenant education and solidarity at the neighborhood level, especially for those who couldn’t make it to the protest.

“We encourage tenants to get to know their neighbors,” said Darwish. “Often it’s difficult to fight rent increases alone, but together we can fight them as a way of responding to this crisis.”

Broader Campaign

With Moving Day around the corner, many fear the worst is yet to come. The protest is part of a broader campaign led by the Regroupement des comités logement et associations de locataires du Québec (RCLALQ), which has launched a petition demanding the new regulation be scrapped.

Darwish called the formula “a gift to landlords,” accusing the housing minister of exploiting the crisis.

Advocates are also demanding that the province introduce permanent rent control measures, following examples like Ontario, where annual rent increases are capped by law. For tenants like Sam, the issue runs deeper than numbers. “Housing is such a basic thing,” she said. “If we can’t afford our rents, we can’t focus on other things. Housing is at the base of it all.”