On National Housing Day, NDP Leader calls for urgent action on affordable housing crisis
As National Housing Day is marked across the country, Newfoundland and Labrador NDP Leader Jim Dinn is calling for urgent action to address what he describes as a deepening affordable housing crisis in the province.
Dinn says the availability of affordable housing must become a top priority, pointing to a surge in demand for public units. Over the past four years, the waitlist for NL Housing has climbed to roughly 2,500 people.
“These are 2,500 real people – not budget lines,” Dinn says. “They are families with children, seniors struggling to make ends meet, and young people who can’t get a break – all in desperate need as the past Liberal government did nothing. We are calling on the PC government to not accept this as the status quo.”
Dinn says for him, the issue is personal as he spends much of his time dealing with constituents in desperate need of affordable housing, with none to be found. In 2023 he was ejected from the House of Assembly for calling out the Housing Minister in response to government’s claim that they had built 750 units when the correct figure was only eleven.
“We must ensure that public housing is available across this province so that everyone has a safe and stable place to call home,” Dinn says. “In doing this we also help build safer and more stable communities.