Ottawa and Quebec have reached social housing deal after 3 years of negotiations

After three years of negotiations, Quebec and Ottawa have finally come to an agreement on funding for social housing, but details remain limited to a couple of tweets from provincial and federal ministers.

Federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Ahmed Hussen, and Quebec Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Andre Laforestannounced the agreement on Twitter Thursday evening.

"Happy to announce that the Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec have reached a win-win deal on housing," Hussen said on Twitter.

"It is with pride that I announce that an agreement in principle has been reached with the federal government within the framework of the National Housing Strategy," said Laforest, also on Twitter.

The details of the agreement were not disclosed, but the ministers indicated the information will be released soon.

A spokesperson for Hussen said there will be no further comment Thursday evening other than what was said on social media.

As soon as Canada's $55-billion housing strategy was announced in November 2017, Quebec welcomed Ottawa's investment while demanding control of the promised $1.4 billion in social housing funding.

Quebec's demand for control sparked lengthy negotiations.

Quebec municipalities have been urging governments to reach an agreement.

Among them is Montreal Mayor Valrie Plante who has been calling on the two levels of governmentto find solutions as quickly as possible because the city is facing a serious housing crisis.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) released its rental market report back in January, showing the city's rental vacancy rate is the lowest it's been in 15 years 1.5 per cent.

"Now is the time for action," Montreal Mayor Valrie Plante tweeted at the time, calling on the upper levels of government to build social housing.

And earlier this month, Plante sent an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Franois Legault, expressing frustration with both levels of government and demanding they come to terms on a deal.