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The number of people using food banks continues to rise in Quebec
Quebec food banks break record in 2026
A new report says the demand at Quebec food banks is continuing to break records.
The 2026 Hunger Count report was published by Food Banks of Quebec.
It says the food banks are now fulfilling 3.27 million requests each month.
But close to 14 per cent of the network's 1,400 community organizations say they had to turn people away because of food shortages.
The report adds that 70 per cent of organizations say they faced a shortage in the last year.
The report says the situation has been deteriorating since the pandemic.
“Needs remain at a historically high level,” Food Banks of Quebec Executive Director Alexandre Lebel told The Canadian Press. “There are far too many people who still have to rely on food assistance.”
Among the households assisted in 2026, nearly a quarter derive most of their income from a job, shows the report.
“Having a job doesn’t necessarily protect you from food insecurity,” says Lebel.
Chantal Vézina, executive director of Moisson Montréal, says that inflation is making it harder for households to get out of difficult financial situations.
“Unfortunately, food is a discretionary expense, and people will do whatever it takes, of course, to avoid ending up on the street," she says.
Children account for around one-third of recipients in food banks, says Lebel.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2026.
By Stéphane Rolland | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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P.E.I. Justice Minister says islanders deserve answers in cold case investigation
P.E.I. minister calls for answers in cold case
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese
The provincial justice minister in P.E.I. says Islanders deserve answers after charges were withdrawn last week in a decades-old unsolved murder case.
Bloyce Thompson has ordered a review of the murder investigation into the 1988 death of teacher Byron Carr.
Thompson says the review will be launched as soon as possible to determine how Charlottetown police lost crucial evidence in the case, forcing Crown prosecutors to drop the charges.
Police charged Todd Joseph Gallant with first-degree murder and interfering with human remains in 2024 following an investigation into Carr’s death.
The allegations against Gallant were not tested in court.
Carr was 36 when he was strangled and stabbed in his Charlottetown home by someone who left a handwritten note on a wall that read, "I will kill again."
“This was a very public, very significant cold case that people had high hopes for,” Thompson said in an interview Wednesday. “And there's a lot of questions on what happened to the evidence … and where it went.”
Thompson has directed the Office of the Police Commissioner to appoint a third party to conduct the review.
Charlottetown police were not immediately available for comment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2026.
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Court of Quebec orders a judicial recount in riding Parti Québécois lost narrowly
Judicial recount ordered in Champlain riding
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
The Court of Quebec has granted the Parti Québécois’ request and ordered a judicial recount in the Champlain riding in the Mauricie region.
The PQ argued there were irregularities in the vote in the riding, which its candidate René Branchaud lost to the Conservative Adriana Szalontai by 191 votes.
Judge Éric Martel rejected several of the anomalies brought up by the party, but acknowledged that only a recount could shed light on the situation.
The PQ said there were discrepancies between the tally sheets and the number of ballots cast, while the Conservative party said these came from a mistake in recording the number of unused ballots.
The recount of the ballots cast on election day will begin Thursday at the Trois-Rivières courthouse.
The PQ was also granted a recount in the Vachon riding, in the Montérégie region, where its candidate lost to the Liberal candidate by ten votes.
— With information from Frédéric Lacroix-Couture and Caroline Plante
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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