COVID-19 complicates Quebec moving season

The French-speaking region has reported more than half of Canada's coronavirus cases

Last updated: July 03, 2020 | 19:11

AFP and Compiled by Christian Borbon, Digital Content Editor

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Moving house is a palaver at the best of times, but in the Canadian province of Quebec it is even more testing as the majority of leases end on the same day.

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Hundreds of thousands of people in the French-speaking region move on July 1, and in Montreal alone 80,000 to 100,000 households change their address around this time of year, according to official city figures.

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The tradition reportedly dates from the 18th century, when landlords were forbidden from evicting tenant farmers until all snow had cleared.

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This year moving season has been further complicated by the coronavirus epidemic sweeping Canada.

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"I was worried," said Sheila Dassin, a 46-year-old fashion designer, directing masked workers from a distance as they strained under the weight of her furniture.

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"People are going to touch your things. With the crisis outside, we are afraid of people, that strangers will bring it inside our house."

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Quebec has reported more than half of Canada's approximately 104,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and nearly two-thirds of its 8,600 deaths.

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The lease-date quirk - most end on June 30 - coincides with Canada Day, a national holiday on July 1, which gives Quebec residents some spare time to complete their moves.

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But given the fraught situation this year, more people than usual feared they would be made homeless by a housing shortage compounded by the ongoing health crisis.

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"The number of calls for help exploded," said Veronique Laflamme, spokeswoman for housing rights group FRAPRU.

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She said 171 households had found themselves without a lease this year in Montreal, compared with 98 in 2019.

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To help stop the spread of COVID-19, authorities recommended that people not ask friends and neighbors for help with their move, but instead use a moving company, because they are able to take health precautions.

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"It's an additional expense, which piles on for households already struggling to make ends meet," Laflamme said.

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