CANADA VIBES NEWSROOM · MORNING EDITION — July 22, 2026 · 9:50 p.m. ET

The Société de développement de l’Est received $13.6 million from the Quebec government to build 478 affordable and intermediate housing units in 17 municipalities across the Bas-Saint-Laurent, Gaspésie, Côte-Nord and Outaouais regions.

The Quebec government confirmed a $13.6-million grant, spread over the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 fiscal years, to the Société de développement de l’Est (SDE) to support construction of 478 affordable and intermediate housing units. The announcement was made in Métis-sur-Mer, in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, by Housing Minister Karine Boivin Roy.

Of the 478 planned units, 240 will be offered at affordable rents under the parameters of the Programme d’habitation abordable Québec (PHAQ), while 238 others will be offered at intermediate rents equal to at most 150% of PHAQ rates.

The new units will be spread across 17 municipalities, including Paspébiac, Grande-Rivière, Murdochville, Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, Carleton-sur-Mer, New Carlisle, Saint-Maxime-du-Mont-Louis and Pointe-à-la-Croix in the Gaspé peninsula, alongside municipalities in the Bas-Saint-Laurent, Côte-Nord and Outaouais regions.

The SDE, which aims to create 300 housing units per year across eastern Quebec, describes the funding as a major step toward addressing a housing crisis that extends well beyond the province’s large urban centres.

What to watch

The construction timeline through 2028; the final distribution of units among participating municipalities; the impact on regional vacancy rates, which remain particularly tight in the Gaspé peninsula.

Sources

• Radio-Canada — “Environ 400 logements abordables pour l’Est-du-Québec”
• Journal Le Soir — “La Société de développement de l’Est reçoit 13,6 M$”
• CIEU-FM — “478 nouveaux logements d’ici 2028 dans l’Est-du-Québec”