Access to services in Montreal without fear for migrants in an irregular immigration status

Canada

Dec 31

Written By Sophie van Haasen

Montréal

Mayor

Soraya Martinez Ferrada

Start of Project

06/15/2019

End of Project

Ongoing

Website

Overview

Through this pledge, the City of Montréal demonstrated its commitment to ensuring equitable access to its services and programs for all migrants, regardless of immigration status.

On 20 February 2017, Montreal affirmed its commitment to ensure the protection and accessibility of its services to any migrant in an irregular situation or without immigration status who lives on its territory. There are an estimated 50,000 "undocumented" people in Montreal. In June 2019, the City adopted the "Policy for access to municipal services without fear", based on a concrete tool: the creation of an identification and residence card for access to municipal services without fear. During the pandemic, and despite the shutdown of municipal services, more than 500 cards were issued in 2020-2021. The card enabled migrants to access, among other things, vaccination against COVID-19, food banks, and banking services. In addition, to respond to protection and security issues, the city has deployed the "Cellule d'intervention et de protection des migrants" (intervention and protection unit for migrants), who are victims or witnesses of abuse or criminal acts.

Through this pledge, the City of Montreal intensified its efforts around 4 objectives:

Train Montreal Police Service officers to reduce the risk of denouncing non-status people to the Canada Border Services Agency;
Promote fearless access as a collective social project.
Continue its advocacy with governments in favour of regularising immigration status;
Structure funding for migrants with precarious immigration status

Expected Impact

an increased sense of belonging for people with precarious or non-status status in Montreal, particularly through the identification and residence card;
increased access to essential services without fear;
an improved quality of life, with an increased sense of security, for the population targeted by these actions; and
a more inclusive society that is more aware of the realities experienced by people with precarious or non-status status in Montreal

Reported Impact [as of November 2025]

The policy has been implemented through two key levers:

1. A Policy on Access to Municipal Services Without Fear, adopted in 2019 and implemented in collaboration with a broad ecosystem of partners. Based on the principles of responsibility, respect, openness, and equity, this policy is a key instrument for promoting collective access to municipal services and programs. Between 2022 and 2025, the City issued 8,369 identity and residence certificates and deployed 23 mobile clinics for migrants.

2. The establishment of a financial program called Montréal for All, Regardless of Status (2024–2026). With a budget of CAD 1.9 million, the program will support nine projects, reaching more than 3,200 migrants with precarious status through 2026.

The city has adopted a collaborative and local approach aimed at making access to municipal services and programs regardless of immigration status a guiding principle of its actions and consolidating an inclusive organisational culture based on trust, dignity, and participation for all.