Housing and Modular Construction in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean: The 2026 Picture

In short — In Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, the housing crisis has its epicentre in the small towns: according to CMHC's October 2025 data, the vacancy rate fell to 0.4% in Saint-Félicien and 0.5% in Dolbeau-Mistassini — a bone-dry market, among the tightest in Quebec. The region got no project in the SHQ's first call for highly prefabricated housing, but that program's standardized 24- and 36-unit buildings are tailored exactly for its municipalities. The full picture, figures in hand.

The housing situation in the region

Regional averages hide what matters. In Saguenay, the vacancy rate sits at 1.3% and in Alma at 1.5% — already well below the 3% equilibrium threshold. But it is north of the lake that CMHC's figures (October 2025, reported by Radio-Canada) become emergency numbers: 0.4% in Saint-Félicien, 0.5% in Dolbeau-Mistassini. Concretely, in these towns, a vacant unit is a statistical anomaly.

Rents are following: in Saguenay, the average rent went from about $581 to $846 between 2018 and 2024, an increase of roughly 45% according to Le Quotidien. And the pressure is not limited to active renters: Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean was the third region hardest hit by private seniors' residence closures in 2025, with 108 residents displaced according to the AQRP's review — an issue we cover in a feature on the modular seniors' residence.

For towns of 5,000 to 25,000 residents like Roberval, or growing municipalities like Saint-Honoré and Hébertville, the problem is compounded by the classic regional challenge: conventional developers rarely travel there for 20 or 30 units. We explain that mechanism in our feature on the housing crisis and modular construction.

Recent projects and announcements

The good news: the community is moving. In Alma, the City wants to pick up the pace — a building of some sixty units (around forty of them affordable) was announced in the fall, and roughly 216 units should be authorized by the end of 2026, according to Le Lac-St-Jean. In Saint-Félicien — the town with the region's lowest vacancy rate — 24 affordable units are planned for 2026.

In Saguenay, two projects illustrate the diversity of needs: in the Chicoutimi borough, a building of 23 social and affordable units for young adults with special needs is under construction, confirmed by Quebec; and the organization Mission Unitaînés is adding 100 affordable units for seniors, according to Radio-Canada — a direct response to the RPA closures. The City of Saguenay is also using its Bill 31 "superpowers" in housing (densification, project acceleration), Le Quotidien reports.

An honest observation is nonetheless in order: in the SHQ's first call for highly prefabricated housing, whose 11 winners (336 units) were announced on August 22, 2025, no project from Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean was selected. A second call for 225 units was launched in September 2025, bringing the total selected to 566 prefabricated units by mid-2026 — and nothing stops the region from positioning itself for what comes next.

What modular can change here

When the vacancy rate is at 0.4%, every month of construction counts double. That is modular's best-documented gain: project timelines cut by 20 to 50% according to McKinsey, and deliveries 25 to 30% faster measured across more than 50 multi-family buildings by a field study funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. Fabrication advances in the factory while the site is prepared, and the building goes up in a few days (see our feature on the modular multiplex).

The other advantage is structural: the standardized 24- and 36-unit buildings of the SHQ initiative are designed precisely for municipalities like Saint-Félicien, Dolbeau-Mistassini or Roberval — enough need to fill the building, not enough volume to attract a conventional build. Municipalities that want to line up a site, zoning and a project sponsor for the next calls will find the step-by-step in our guide for municipalities.

Let's stay clear-eyed on costs: direct savings range from 0 to 20% depending on market and scale. Modular is not an automatic discount — it is a machine for compressing timelines, in a region where that is exactly what is missing.

The programs that apply

• SHQ initiative for highly prefabricated multi-unit housing: 500 units in the first call, 225 in the second, funded by the $1.8-billion Canada-Quebec agreement (FACL). No regional project selected to date — an opportunity to seize in the next rounds.
• PHAQ (Programme d'habitation abordable Québec): the SHQ's flagship program, open to non-profits, co-operatives, housing offices and private developers. The 2026-2027 Quebec budget funds a new round of 1,000 affordable units — the first since 2023.
• Bill 31 and its municipal "superpowers": Saguenay is already using them to densify and accelerate — a lever any municipality in the region can activate.
• CMHC — mortgage loan insurance extended to modular (May 2026): after a pilot of more than 800 units, modular multi-unit housing is now insurable across all CMHC products, including APH Select.

To structure the financing package of a non-profit, co-operative or housing-office project, see our guide to funding affordable modular housing.

Sources: Radio-Canada, Le Quotidien, Le Lac-St-Jean, Gouvernement du Québec (SHQ), AQRP, CMHC. Article written by Jeremy Soares. Last updated: July 2, 2026.