16 more public housing units to open in Moncton, where 3,500 are on wait list

Several New Brunswick cabinet ministers on Friday marked the completion of 16 more public housing units in Moncton, a city where there are about 3,500 people on the province's wait list for affordable housing.

"We are in the eye of the storm," Claire Johnson, the education minister and MLA for Moncton South, said at the event Friday in her riding while standing outside an eight-unit building set to open this fall.

"This is not an easy thing to fix overnight, We know that. But we are seeing progress," Johnson said. 

The building is among of five eight-unit public housing buildings constructed in the city by Rising Tide Community Initiatives. The work started under the Progressive Conservative government of Blaine Higgs. 

The Higgs government had committed to build 380 units of new public housing across the province. There were 106 units complete as of last month, with 127 under construction.

David Hickey, the minister responsible for the New Brunswick Housing Corp., said Friday that the Liberal government elected last fall aims to build 193 more units than the PCs planned, bringing the total of new units to 573 unit.

"We've ramped up the commitment significantly from the previous government in a commitment of building more public housing," Hickey told reporters. "We're committed to continuing to do that with results that you're seeing here today."

WATCH | Rising Tide project began with previous government: 

New public housing units opening in Moncton as city’s waitlist sits at 3,500

1 day ago

Duration 2:20

Sixteen public housing units will welcome tenants this fall on Main Street and Lewisville Road in Moncton.

Hickey said there are about 13,000 people on the province's wait list for affordable housing. The province has nearly 3,900 public housing units. 

The ministers spoke Friday outside a building at the edge of downtown Moncton on West Main Street.

Cindy Miles, the minister of social development, said the John Howard Society of Southeastern New Brunswick will provide daily, round-the-clock support services to residents of the building. 

Miles said the support includes things such as financial literacy, education and employment support, help to access mental health and addictions services, and help with independent living skills.

"We have heard loud and clear from New Brunswickers that access to safe, affordable and sustainable housing is needed and it's needed now," Miles said.