A couple dozen people rallied outside of 700 Jarry West on Saturday afternoon to protest the high price of housing in Montreal's Parc Extension neighbourhood.

The mood was festive, with organizers handing out samosas. One organizer was dressed as "Marie-Antoinette Duranceau," a reference to the provincial housing minister's let-them-eat-cake style remark that tenants should "invest in real estate and take the risks that go with it."

Spirits may have been high, but so are the risks as more and more people get priced out of Parc Ex. It's a low-income neighbourhood that has long been an important source of community for newcomers to Canada. According to Amy Darwish of the Comite d’Action de Parc Extension, that community is starting to splinter as people move off island in search of cheaper rent.

"The neighbourhood has been gentrifying very, very quickly and very brutally," says Darwish.

After the 700 Jarry site was sold to a condo developer, community members rallied against the project. Ultimately, their efforts led the city to buy the lot in 2022, paving the way for future social housing on the site.

The problem is finding the funding. FRAPRU organizer Carl Lafrenière says that different levels of government keep passing the buck on social housing. At the provincial level, the Coalition Avenir Quebec government has moved away from programs that support social housing, and toward more market-based "affordable" housing initiatives.

Stalemates like the one at 700 Jarry have "happened a lot since the government of Quebec dropped ... AccèsLogis," Lafreniere says.

Darwish and Lafrenière say new federal-provincial investments in social housing will help, but a lot more is needed, and fast.

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