The number of deaths of homeless people in the eastern Canadian province of Quebec has tripled in 2023, according to a Quebec government agency.
No less than 72 deaths of homeless people were recorded in the province in 2023, compared to around twenty per year from 2019 to 2021, the Quebec Coroner’s Office indicated in a report.
Over the past two years, half of the homeless people whose deaths were the subject of a report by the provincial agency lost their lives in the city of Montreal. The phenomenon has also spread to Quebec, since no less than 30 other cities in the province have reported at least one death of a homeless person since 2022.
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The vast majority of those who died over the past five years were men, the document noted, adding that the average age of the victims was 47 years, well below the average life expectancy in the province (82 years).
NGOs and associations helping these people note that the death toll could be much higher since the death of a homeless person does not systematically give rise to a report from the provincial body.
The increase in deaths is attributable to drug overdoses, health problems, suicides and the housing crisis, according to associations.
With MAP
