The City of Gaspé has been experiencing considerable economic expansion since 2016. With the expansion of the LM Wind Power plant and the economic vitality of its traditional sectors of its economy, in addition to the effects generated by the pandemic and the search for a way of life closer to nature, the population of Gaspé has grown from 14 inhabitants in 568 to 2016 inhabitants in 15 according to the latest census data, which is a faster expansion than cities like Rimouski or Rivière-du-Loup.
Although the growth in housing has also been there (+505 from 2016 to 2021), it cannot meet all the demand, since the occupancy rate of the City of Gaspé, as of October 2021 was 0,8%, well below the equilibrium rate of a rental market generally around 3%.
As early as 2018, the City of Gaspé carried out initiatives to stimulate the construction of private housing, in particular by selling land at very low prices ($1 to $2) and since 500, it has been offering tax holidays 2019 years for the construction of rental housing and the purchase of a house in certain areas of the City which had several houses for sale at that time.
In addition, the City of Gaspé offers tax holidays of up to 35 years, land donations and subsidies for the construction of social housing on its territory. These projects are supported by community organizations and an additional resource has been hired at the MRC de la Côte-de-Gaspé to accelerate the emergence and implementation of such projects.
The economic effervescence was also visible in the tourism sector as the region welcomed a record number of tourists during the years 2019, 2020 and 2021. This reality favored the emergence of projects aimed at converting housing units or single-family homes in tourist residences for short-term rentals that are usually posted on sites like Air BNB, VRBO and other similar platforms. In order to keep the maximum number of housing units available for residents year-round, some voices would like the City of Gaspé to regulate this practice more. The survey therefore seeks to collect comments from citizens on how the City of Gaspé should regulate these types of accommodation.