Housing and Modular Construction in the Montérégie: The 2026 Picture

In short — The Montérégie hosts the biggest federal housing bet in Quebec: the Pointe-de-Longueuil site, where Maisons Canada is planning 1,055 units, 40% of them off-market, with a declared priority on prefabricated, modular and mass-timber construction. Meanwhile, two affordable builds are advancing in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and the nearest SHQ prefab winner is going up in Granby, at the region's doorstep. For the Montérégie's dozens of mid-sized towns, modular construction offers exactly what the moment demands: short timelines and predictable costs.

From Candiac to Marieville, from Beauharnois to the industrial corridor of Varennes and Contrecoeur, all the way to Acton Vale, the Montérégie is Quebec's most populous region after Montreal — and its housing crisis is playing out on several fronts at once. Here is the 2026 picture, sourced figures in hand.

The housing situation in the Montérégie

At the provincial scale, the CMHC 2025 Rental Market Report (October 2025 data) puts the vacancy rate of urban centres around 2.9% — a seemingly reassuring figure. But the easing comes almost entirely from expensive new units: the most affordable rent segment sits around 1 to 1.3% vacancy, in outright shortage. We explain that mechanism in our feature on the housing crisis and modular construction.

In the Montérégie, that average covers very different realities. The south shore ring has been absorbing metropolitan pressure for years: families leave the island for Candiac, Beauharnois or Marieville, and prices follow. At the other end, the growing industrial and port hubs around Varennes and Contrecoeur raise the question of workforce housing: jobs are arriving faster than homes. And in smaller towns like Acton Vale, conventional developers rarely travel for projects of 20 or 30 units.

Longueuil, Maisons Canada's Quebec site

The announcement that dominates the regional picture is federal. Longueuil is one of six sites selected across the country by Maisons Canada (Build Canada Homes), the $13-billion federal agency that explicitly prioritizes prefabricated, modular and mass-timber construction (Radio-Canada).

The site: Pointe-de-Longueuil (the "Longue-Rive" project), on the banks of the St. Lawrence. The program: 1,055 units, 40% of them off-market, with a qualification call launched in December 2025 and first shovels in the ground expected as early as 2026 (Canada.ca). It is, to date, the largest potential showcase of large-scale prefabricated construction in Quebec.

An honest counterpoint is needed: in September 2025, La Presse reported that affordable housing projects that were already well advanced were in peril in Longueuil itself, despite the billions announced — a reminder that federal money does not automatically solve the financing of community projects (La Presse). Longueuil is also among the first Quebec cities to have authorized accessory dwelling units by bylaw since Bill 31.

The builds that are advancing: Salaberry-de-Valleyfield

In the west of the region, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield is running two affordable builds at once. The first: 50 family units led by Ambition Habitation with Desjardins' support, whose groundbreaking took place on June 8, 2026 for occupancy in summer 2027, near the Saint-Charles River (CMHC). The second: a Mission Unitaînés building of 100 units for seniors, with first tenants expected in spring 2027 (CMHC). This model of standardized buildings for seniors connects directly with what we describe in our feature on modular seniors' residences. And Vaudreuil-Soulanges joins the list: in Saint-Lazare, a $17.9-million, 45-unit affordable project backed by the Desjardins initiative, confirmed at the end of June 2026 (CNW), will welcome its first tenants in fall 2028.

SHQ prefab: the region at the starting line

In the SHQ's first call for 500 highly prefabricated housing units, whose 11 winners (336 units) were announced on August 22, 2025, no strictly Montérégie project was selected (official list). The nearest winner, however, sits literally at the region's doorstep: Le Florelle, 24 units in Granby, delivery expected in summer 2026. A second call for 225 units was launched in September 2025, bringing the total selected to 566 prefabricated units.

For towns like Marieville or Acton Vale, the format is tailor-made: standardized 24- or 36-unit buildings, manufactured in a factory while the site is prepared, assembled in a few weeks — the very format of the modular multiplex. Municipalities that want to line up a site, zoning and an application file will find the step-by-step in our guide for municipalities.

The programs available in 2026

• PHAQ (Programme d'habitation abordable Québec). The 2026-2027 budget funds a new call for 1,000 affordable units — the first regular call since 2023 (Québec.ca).
• The SHQ "highly prefabricated" calls. 566 units selected across two calls, funded by the $1.8-billion Canada-Quebec agreement (FACL). The next cycles are the opportunity to seize for Montérégie project sponsors.
• Maisons Canada. Beyond the Longueuil site, the $13-billion federal agency prioritizes prefab across all its programs.
• CMHC mortgage loan insurance extended to modular (May 2026), which eases the financing of prefabricated multi-unit buildings — we break it all down in our guide to funding affordable modular housing.

Sources: Canada.ca, CMHC, La Presse, Radio-Canada, Gouvernement du Québec (SHQ). Article written by Jeremy Soares. Last updated: July 3, 2026.