Toronto Star
· collected 2026-09-25 · by Erika Morris The Canadian Press
Dan Dumont says he hasn’t been following the Quebec election campaign.
asserted
he → say → campaign
He says he has a number of health problems, including blood clots in his brain and a metastatic cancer diagnosis.
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he → say → brain
His arms and hands are covered in scabs, and he says he gets bitten by spiders and insects every night.
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he → cover → spiders
But while he hasn’t been paying attention to politics, he and many of his neighbours have become a flashpoint on the election campaign trail.
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he → pay → trail
Dumont has been living on the street for over six years and has set up two tents in a large encampment on Notre Dame Street in Montreal’s east end.
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Dumont → live → end
It’s a small community where a number of people say they are more concerned about the onset of cold weather than they are about the Oct. 5 election.
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they → ’ → election
“I just can’t spend another winter outside,” said Dumont.
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Dumont → spend → winter
The encampment took over the election campaign news cycle after police revealed on Sept. 17 that someone had brought a baby there.
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someone → take → baby
City officials estimate about 180 people live on the site.
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people → estimate → site
All of Quebec’s party leaders expressed outrage or said they were embarrassed by the revelations about the baby that brought issues of affordability and housing to the forefront of the campaign.
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that → express → campaign
The baby was even mentioned as one of the first topics raised with leaders in their third and final debate.
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baby → mention → debate
The Quebec government estimated there were just over 12,000 people living on the street in the province in 2025, a significant increase over the past decade.
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government → estimate → decade
Provincial estimates indicate the number grew by 44 per cent between 2018 and 2022, followed by an additional 19 per cent increase over the next three years.
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number → indicate → years
The government estimated that about 42 per cent of the province’s unhoused population lived in Montreal in 2025.
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cent → estimate → 2025
“It’s an embarrassment to our society.
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It → ’ → society
We’re a wealthy society,” said Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, on the campaign trail on Sept. 17.
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Plamondon → ’re → Sept.
“We shouldn’t accept this.”
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We → accept → this
The encampment is located inside the riding that the PQ leader has represented in the Quebec legislature.
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leader → locate → legislature
Speaking to journalists, he said he would make the plight of unhoused people his “top priority.”
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plight → speak → people
The discovery of the baby also disrupted Coalition Avenir Québec leader Christine Fréchette’s campaign, prompting her to meet with Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada on a Friday evening.
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discovery → disrupt → evening
Fréchette emerged from that meeting telling reporters she had promised to work with the mayor on a number of issues, including transitional housing and mental health, if her party forms government again.
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party → emerge → government
But the reaction from politicians isn’t filtering through to all of the people most affected.
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reaction → filter → people
Dumont said he had no idea the encampment had made headlines and he had not heard of the baby who was found.
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who → say → baby
He said he was too busy worrying about thieves and his health.
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he → say → thieves
Still, he has a request for Quebec’s next government: to speed up repairs to the social housing stock so he can have a roof over his head.
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he → have → head
But Dumont and some others living without housing say they are skeptical about whether the next government is prepared to take the action needed to help solve their problems or engage with them in the political process.
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government → live → process
Community groups have also been stepping up their pressure on party leaders, staging a demonstration Wednesday morning outside the National Assembly, calling on government hopefuls to commit to solving the issue.
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groups → step → issue
The head of local Quebec City shelter Maison Revivre, François Dumont, who is not related to the man at the Montreal encampment, says those working in the community sector are glad that politicians are taking homelessness seriously.
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politicians → relate → homelessness
But he says they need to go further.
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they → say → ?
“For us, it’s important that the message gets across.
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message → ’ → us
Resources are currently insufficient, both in terms of housing and services for the most vulnerable, as well as for community organizations,” he said.
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he → say → organizations
“The promises … don’t meet existing needs.”
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promises → meet → needs
Back in Montreal, a few tents over from Dan Dumont, another resident of the encampment who goes by the name of Devint was helping a man repair his bike.
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man → go → bike
He set up several tents with his friends, which form a garage, a tool shed, a closet, and bedrooms, with a makeshift fence protecting them.
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which → set → them
Devint is known as the “spokesperson” for the encampment.
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Devint → know → encampment
The Canadian Press agreed not to publish his full name because he was concerned about repercussions for possible job opportunities and for his children, who do not live in the encampment with him.
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who → agree → him
His biggest concern is whether the encampment will get torn down again, leaving him with nowhere to go.
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encampment → tear → nowhere
The city has cleared out the area several times in recent years, only for tents to return.
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tents → clear → years
A spokesperson for the city said in an email it has no plans to remove the tents from Notre-Dame.
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it → say → Dame
On Wednesday, police said they had made an arrest in connection with a drug trafficking network targeting vulnerable people in the encampment.
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they → say → encampment
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
