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Calling the lack of affordable housing in Canada a national crisis, the leader of the federal New Democrats sat down with Londoners affected by the housing crunch.

Jagmeet Singh held a round table meeting on Friday at the Root Cellar, where he heard first-hand stories from London residents who are struggling with high rents and surging home prices.

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“These are all the real stories that really capture what a lot of people are going through,” said Singh, who was elected an MP in last month’s by-election for Burnaby South, east of Vancouver.

Marsha Ackland, a single mother of three, told Singh how mould problems forced her family out of their rental home, but sky-high rental prices made it impossible to find another suitable place.

“We were couch-surfing for a couple of months, and we had to be separated in different homes,” she said, adding her family returned to the original home even though it’s still being renovated.