Already overrun homeless shelters in Montreal are preparing for a cold-weather rush as forecasters warn of temperatures plumeting into the –30s.

A cold front is expected to hit Montreal late Tuesday, causing a sudden 20 degree drop in temperatures in 10 hours, according to Environment Canada. With the wind, forecasters said temperatures will feel like -30 C or colder until the weekend.

A homeless man died in Montreal's Viger Square before Christmas. (CBC) The directors of the city's major shelters are co-ordinating to ensure everyone who wants a warm bed will get one once the mercury starts to drop.

"We will have more people coming to our doors after we're full," said Matthew Pearce, director of the Old Brewery Mission. "We'll be dealing with a larger number of individuals."

Pearce said the three main shelters will join forces and use a special bus to shuttle clients to locations with available space. The bus will also be out on the streets to pick up people who want a ride to a shelter.

The issue of homelessness has been a growing concern for Montreal this winter after a 61-year-old man died in December after spending a frigid night in Viger Square, a few blocks from two of the city's main shelters.

Some homeless will choose cold street instead

Despite the best intentions of shelter staff, some clients at the Old Brewery Mission said Tuesday that some people will still refuse to spend the night.

"They just will not do it," said Richard Burke, a native of Hamilton, Ont., who is taking part in the shelter's transition program to help homeless people find proper housing and jobs. "They will bunk down in the middle of -50 C. I mean, they have got 40 blankets."

'But you can't drag them inside, they just won't do it.'—Richard Burke, Old Brewery Mission client

Burke said some people avoid shelters because of pride, safety, mental illness or a feeling of a loss of freedom.

Pearce said he is aware of the reluctance of some people to walk into a shelter. He said he is looking at new ways of changing the traditional model of the shelter, where a large number of people sleep in the same room.

"Could we have a facility that has roomettes — little closed areas where they can be on their own but with security all the same," said Pearce.

Burke hopes authorities will still provide services to those people who choose to spend the coldest of nights outside.

"You can monitor them," he said. "You can, you know, check on them every couple of hours, maybe try to bring them a coffee or a bowl of soup or something when it's really that cold.

"But you can't drag them inside; they just won't do it."

Pearce said his shelter's bus will be available for those people who need a brief break from the cold, even if they don't want a ride to a shelter.