Jim Dinn announces candidacy to take over N.L. NDP leadership full time
Jim Dinn has officially announced his intention to remove the "interim" from his current position as interim leader of Newfoundland and Labrador's New Democratic Party.
Dinn launched his candidacy for leader of the party Thursday evening at a kickoff event in St. John's.
"I never had political ambitions. Certainly, I never set out to be leader of a political party," said Dinn who before his life in politics was an educator for 32 years and former head of the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association.
"I thank the many people within the party and outside, my constituents, family and friends who encouraged me to drop the interim title. I can say it's been a long decision-making process but here I am."
Dinn, who was first elected in 2019 as the MHA for St. John's Centre, has been keeping the NDP's engines running as interim leader since former party leader Alison Coffin's defeat in the 2021 provincial election.
In January, Dinn told CBC News he had been considering making the leap to become the head of the party full time after being encouraged by multiple people to take that step.
On Thursday, Dinn was introduced by Gerry Rogers, NDP leader from 2018 to April 2019. Dinn filled the gap in the NDP stronghold of St. John's Centre — Rogers' district between 2011 and 2019 — when she retired.
"His whole life has been about community, about connections and about working with others to make our world, our province, a better place for everyone," Rogers said.
"I knew that the Newfoundland and Labrador New Democrats was the perfect home for his activism. I knew that Jim Dinn would be the perfect MHA for the good people of St. John's Centre. I was right."
Most of Dinn's announcement speech centred on Newfoundland and Labrador's struggling health-care system. It was also Dinn's major focus in an interview with CBC News in January in which he looked ahead to 2023.
He said the provincial government has to address the social determinants of health and not the system alone through the new federal health deal announced last week.
"We are not confident that government will address the issues we are facing even with the new deal," said Dinn.
"We have already seen this in the rushed Health Act this past November in the announcement to construct a new St. Clare's rather than focus on retaining health professionals."
Leadership nominations opened Wednesday and are open until March 27.
So far, no other candidate has come forward. If one does, party members will vote. If uncontested, Dinn will lose the interim title and become official leader of the N.L. NDP.
"Since I was elected, I heard from people every day — those who are struggling to access the health care they need, those who have given up on their dreams of owning a home, and find it harder and harder to put groceries on the table," said Dinn.
"If we have seen anything from the current government is the lack of meaningful plans, whether it's relating to climate change, just transition, affordable housing, homelessness or health care."
