Overview

• In the first four months of 2025 the Montreal SPCA recorded a 26 percent rise in surrendered animals compared to 2024
• The shelter is handling occupancy levels at 112 percent for cats and 118 percent for dogs
• Scarcity of pet-friendly rentals means just 4.2 percent of landlords permit dogs despite 52 percent of Quebec families owning pets
• Rising living costs and inflation have increasingly forced pet owners to surrender animals
• The SPCA has filed a court challenge to ban no-pet clauses and launched programs supplying pet essentials and lease-negotiation guidance to keep animals in homes