Please consider adding your name to this letter if you are:

• A Newfoundlander or Labradorian who is struggling with poverty and food insecurity OR
• A resident of our province who is concerned for the wellbeing of fellow Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who are struggling with food insecurity and poverty
  

This open letter will be sent to the leaders of the provincial Progressive Conservative Party, New Democratic Party, and Liberal Party on the day of our provincial election - October 14, 2025

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Dear provincial party leaders,

We are writing to request your serious and dedicated support for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador who are experiencing poverty and food insecurity, should you be elected in our upcoming provincial elections. 

We are LLEAG, the Lived and Living Experience Advisory Group on poverty and food insecurity in Newfoundland and Labrador. Our Membership comes from across the province, and includes diverse voices and experiences. We are Indigenous, racialized, and white. We are new Canadians, second generation immigrants, and from families that can trace our ties to this land back for generations. We are single mothers, seniors, and people living with disabilities. 

Despite all our differences, we are united together by our shared experiences of living with poverty and food insecurity. We cannot claim to represent the voices of all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who are also struggling at this time - but we sure do know a lot about these issues, from a lot of different perspectives. Most importantly, our expertise is grounded in real, lived experience of the problems. So are the solutions we pose. 

Together, we implore you to commit to transformative policies for poverty reduction and the right to food for our province. As we outline in Provincial Policies for Change: LLEAG recommendations for a more just food system in Newfoundland and Labrador, we have three core asks:

1. Put more money in the pockets of low- and middle-income people - above all, we advise implementing a Basic Income Guarantee for the province. But we also suggest raising income support rates and making the NL Disability Benefit more accessible in the meantime.

2. Protect that increased income from profit-hungry businesses - through investment and support for small food retailers and producers, as well as protections for renters and affordable housing.

3. Prioritize Labradorians - who are facing some of the steepest costs for basic essentials and lack many of the services and supports that Newfoundlanders receive.

Rates of poverty, food insecurity, and rent increases are at crisis levels. The cost of living continues to rise while the financial well-being of us all is increasingly threatened by inadequate minimum wage laws, income support rates  designed to leave recipients in poverty, and a labour market overtaken by gig work and precarious employment. The rich are getting richer while the rest of us are struggling to just get by. Greedy corporations overcharge us on groceries and rent, corrupt employers pay terribly and treat us worse. It’s time for the provincial government to do better by residents, it is time to put people over profit. 

We urge you to stand with the everyday people of Newfoundland and Labrador. We urge you to commit to strong policies to reduce poverty and address food insecurity. We urge you to listen to the voices of lived expertise. 

Signed,