DRYDEN – Multiple factors are driving the need for housing in Dryden, and Mayor Jack Harrison says that need is being met.
“Most communities have a housing shortfall,” Harrison said, but by the end of 2026, the city will have gained 177 new units since 2025. “It’s quite remarkable for our little community.”
In 2025, Dryden gained two senior housing developments: a 42-unit building by the Kenora District Services Board and a 24-unit building by the private developer Bridge Roads Development.
“The real advantage of that is that we have a growing senior population looking to move out of their homes, and that frees up homes for young people to buy,” Harrison said.
In February of 2026, a newly completed 48-unit apartment building started to fill up with residents, and a 40-unit multi-residential building and a 23-unit senior housing development are currently under construction. Harrison anticipates tenants to start filling the latter two by the end of this year.
“It’s really meeting the need for housing in our community. It’s been very tight for a long time, and we were concerned that as growth develops, that it would really be difficult for even existing residents to buy housing. So, this is really easing the market crunch and also preparing for the future,” Harrison said.
Around 2022, people in the retail industry of Dryden told council that the lack of housing was creating a shortage in staff, according to Harrison.
“As I came on council then, (the problem) might have been existing for a while, so it’s nice to see that our private developers have stepped up,” he said. “I feel like this has gone a long way to kind of meet that pent-up demand that’s been there for several years.”
The mayor also noted that if the NWMO’s deep-geological repository for nuclear waste is approved, they will have to focus on single-dwelling homes in the future. “I think between Ignace and ourselves, we’ll be looking at hosting a lot of employees,” he said.
Mining development in the area is another force Harrison identified as driving the need for single-dwelling housing, as are stable employment rates at Dryden’s paper mill, but for now, the focus is on multi-residential housing, he said.
The city is also working towards extending sewer and water into the Van Horne Landing subdivision and expects a staff report this year on the cost of expanding the Milanese subdivision.
According to Harrison, the Milanese subdivision was left incomplete decades ago and would offer 40 additional single-dwelling homes.
Further, a 70-unit extended-stay hotel owned by Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation is expected to open this year in Dryden. “It’s more for longer-term stays, so we do have a lot of contractors coming to the area looking to stay for several weeks or months. So, this is another need that’s being met,” said Harrison.
At the April 27 council meeting, Habitat for Humanity Thunder Bay also presented a plan to develop two lots into affordable housing to be built by the future residents, and Harrison said he is appreciative of their wanting to partner with people in Dryden.
“We’re hoping that our area will grow and Dryden will be part of that (…) so it’s really important to put these kinds of fundamentals in place so we can service that need,” said Harrison.
