The Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP) proposes an increase to Canada's Old Age Security but it won’t lift most poor seniors out of poverty. Yet, it would pad the pockets of financially secure retirees and add more than $3-billion to the deficit.
In this episode of the Hard Truths pod, our social media coordinator Jennifer Fox joins Generation Squeeze founder, Dr. Paul Kershaw as he explains how some politicians and lobbyists wrap themselves in the language of helping poor seniors, but what they’re really doing is enriching households with six-figure retirements — all while governments rack up massive deficits and hand the bill to younger Canadians.
A recent poll shows that most Canadians — especially olderones — support requiring young adults to spend a year serving in areas like health, disaster response, or the environment.
In this episode of the Hard Truths pod, our social media coordinator Jennifer Fox joins Generation Squeeze founder, Dr. Paul Kershaw as he explains how younger Canadians already perform a critical national service: They pay more out of pocket, and sacrifice their standard of living, to protect healthy retirements for our aging population. Paul argues that before we ask younger Canadians to shoulder more service, it’s timewe acknowledge the service they already provide.
This week's episode is a feed swap with Aborsh – A podcastabout abortion in Canada, by playwright and podcaster Rachel Cairns.
What do abortion and housing have in common? Well, they areboth recognized as human rights by the UN and multiple other international organizations and agreements. But you wouldn’t necessarily know it from living in Canada as the ongoing housing crisis locks people into unaffordable living situations.
In this episode, Rachel explores the gendered impacts of the housing affordability crisis and how it impacts reproductive decisions, with insights from the Women’s National Housing and Homelessness Network, the National Right to Housing Network, and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Home ownership among young Canadians (under age 35) has recently surged to 44%, the highest level in five decades! 18% of them are mortgage-free. Generation Squeeze founder, Dr. Paul Kershaw, and AI host Jenna discuss how Canada may be drifting from a meritocracy toward a landed aristocracy, where access to secure housing increasingly depends on being born into the right family.
Canadian politicians are sidestepping the most important – and politically dangerous – question in our housing debate: Should home prices rise, stall or fall? Until we answer it, we can’t fix what’s broken in Canada’s housing system.
In this episode of the Hard Truths pod, our AI host Jenna talks with Generation Squeeze founder, Dr. Paul Kershaw as he explains why politicians continue to dodge the question: They fear backlash from older homeowners whose wealth is tied to high prices and younger owners who risk going under water if prices fall.
For decades, Canada's politicians have been protecting the wealth gains of primarily older homeowners at the cost of affordable housing for the generations who follow. Younger Canadians are stuck with higher rents, bigger mortgages, and way less of a shot at home ownership. Compensation for Millennials and Gen Z is long overdue but what does that look like?
In this episode of the Hard Truths pod, our AI host Jenna asks Generation Squeeze founder, Dr. Paul Kershaw the tough questions: Who’s being protected by the current system? Who is being harmed? And how can Canada provide protection for those left behind?
Do you think young Canadians deserve compensation? Join us: https://action.gensqueeze.ca/compensate_young_canadians
Emma Buchanan of Visual Change Video sits down with Gen Squeeze Founder Paul Kershaw to discuss Elxn 45 through the lens of generational fairness and Gen Squeeze’s election priorities: housing, pollution pricing, tax cuts, and balancing the budget (and trust us, the last two are more interesting than you think!).
We seek to understand:
- The magical thinking behind party promises to cut taxes and increase spending.
- The surprising budget item that overshadows all other federal spending and why parties aren't talking about it.
- Where parties are falling short on what Canadians really need to address the unaffordability crisis. And;
- What happening to Mr. Poilievre's "carbon tax election", and what's now at stake to protect our kids from harmful pollution.
In an era of “Trump-style” political turmoil and fake news, we use our Dupe-o-Meter to dig into each party’s promises to discover if there’s substance beyond the slogans, so voters know what’s really on offer.
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For our last election bonus, we dip into the sexiest of ballot issues: deficits and taxes. Our guest is Marc Lee, senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives in BC. Deficits and medical budgets are ballooning across Canada, as there are fewer workers to support more and more retiring baby boomers. How do BC parties propose to balance spending and revenue, while meeting the needs of both young and old British Columbians? To learn more, check out our BC Voters Guide! Please note that we recorded this interview shortly before the Conservative Party of BC released its costed platform, so the Voters Guide has our most up-to-date analysis and report card on deficits.
As election day approaches, housing affordability and access are top of mind for many British Columbians. The BC NDP, Green, and Conservative parties acknowledge the severity of the crisis, but they offer very different plans to tackle it. We spoke about those differences with Thom Armstrong, CEO of BC’s Cooperative Housing Federation. We also dig into a few of the key strengths and weaknesses in housing platforms that matter most for younger and future generations.
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We dig into what the BC NDP, Conservatives and Green parties are promising on child care. Our guest Rita Chudnovsky serves on the board of the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC and has spent three decades advocating for child care with organizations across Canada. The conversation should interest all Canadians concerned about supporting families with affordable child care.
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Canada's outdated, underfunded parental leave system is failing too many families. UNICEF's Lisa Wolff explains why one in three infants is falling through the cracks in this system, and how we can give all children a good start in life, by giving their parents adequate time off and income to care for them.
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Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland spoke with Gen Squeeze founder Paul Kershaw and our supporters about the federal government's plans to deliver on its budget's promise to restore "Fairness for Every Generation," through investments in housing, child care, climate action, and economic growth. They also tackle the imbalance in spending on older and younger Canadians. This is a recording of a live town hall in Vancouver on June 20.
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Support our call for an Act to Safeguard the Wellbeing of Present and Future Canadians
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sat down with Gen Squeeze Founder Paul Kershaw for a live show with our supporters and allies in Vancouver. They delved into the 2024 Budget's focus on "Fairness for Every Generation," as well as housing, child care, climate change, deficits, and the challenge of protecting healthy retirements without sacrificing the wellbeing of younger and future Canadians.
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Younger Canadians are far from alone in feeling squeezed by the rising costs of housing, child care, and higher education. In this episode, we spoke with Liz Emerson, CEO of the UK's Intergenerational Foundation, about the symptoms of generational unfairness harming young people in England, as well as the progress her organization has made calling political attention to their plight and fighting for a fairer deal for young and future generations.
Have a minute to help us? Please take our quick survey to help us improve how we keep in touch with our supporters.
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When you think about what makes us healthy, do you think of doctors, medicine, and hospitals? Or do you think of affordable housing, living wages, and quality child care? Our health depends much more on the conditions in which we are born, grow, live, work and age than on the medical care we receive. But for decades Canadian governments have devoted more and more of their budgets to medical care, leaving less money for the social supports that matter more to lifelong wellbeing. This unhealthy imbalance in government spending is a major obstacle in our quest to make Canada work more fairly for all generations. So we spoke with award-winning author and journalist André Picard about how curing our “sickness care system” will require greater investment in the building blocks of a healthy society.
André Picard has been writing about health for The Globe & Mail since 1987 and was appointed to the Order of Canada last year for his dedication to public health journalism.
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Governments of all party stripes, across Canada, must confront a gnarly problem when it comes to investing more fairly in all ages. How do we pay for the ballooning retirement costs of baby boomers, without skimping on the needs of younger people and burdening future generations with massive public debts? And more basically, how can we have "adult conversations" about how to pay for the Canada we want? Gen Squeeze founder Paul Kershaw delves into these questions and more with leading conservative thinker Sean Speer.
Sean is editor-at-large at The Hub, a Public Policy Forum fellow, and an assistant professor at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. He was previously a senior economic adviser to former Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
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Our Budget Season 2024 commentary and Substack Chat, where you can share your budget questions and ideas during our “Office Hours” on April 19.
“A fiscal reckoning is coming for Canada” by Sean Speer, The Hub
“Protect OAS by eliminating outdated tax shelters for retirees” by Paul Kershaw, The Globe & Mail
“Globe & Mail: Canada’s promise to NATO collides with spending increases for retirees” by Paul Kershaw, The Globe & Mail
Paul Kershaw’s provincial budget commentary in The Hub:
Our heads have been spinning after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced last week that the upcoming federal budget will focus on "fairness for every generation." In this mini bonus episode, Gen Squeeze Founder Paul Kershaw and co-host Megan reflect on the significance of putting generational fairness front and centre in the government's spending plans.
We spoke with journalist Michelle Cyca about one of the hardest truths we grapple with (and which gets us a lot of hate mail). Skyrocketing home prices have made many older Canadian homeowners rich, while making housing unaffordable for younger generations. But many homeowners resist thinking of themselves as wealthy, especially whenever the subject of fair taxation comes up. So how do we get more homeowners to recognize their wealth and put it to work fixing our housing crisis?
We also discuss the high, personal stakes of housing unaffordability; how it’s changing Canadian neighborhoods and society; why "just move somewhere affordable" isn't a solution; and street parking.
Michelle Cyca is the editor of Indigenous-led conservation coverage for The Narwhal and a regular contributor to The Walrus, Maclean’s, and many other publications.
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David Coletto has had his finger on the pulse of Canadian public opinion for well over a decade, as the founder and CEO of Abacus Data and author of the inFocus newsletter. He shares insights into how generational inequality is playing out in our housing, affordability and climate crises. He warns that not closing this gap could have grim consequences for Canada's economy and social fabric. Yet he's still optimistic we can turn things around.
Articles & reports discussed
Highlights
"The largest predictor of inequality among those 30 to 40 is whether they own their home or not. And [if that continues] that's going to make this country far more vulnerable to the kinds of shocks that none of us want to see. And housing will be the thing that creates that rise of extremism that is right now starting to occur."
"If there's any country in the world that can figure this out -- that has enough wealth, enough opportunity, that knows how to bring different people together and live together -- it's Canada. And so positive-sum thinking is basically saying, we can lift all boats. Everybody can have a home. Maybe not be able to own, but everybody should be able to have shelter and live the life that they want. And let's figure out the public policy choices that get us there."
Millennial Mayor Natasha Salonen of Wilmot, Ontario, made national news last summer: she can't afford to live in the small, rural town she leads. Besides showcasing how younger Canadians are being priced out of their hometowns, Mayor Salonen also reminded us of the power of speaking out. By sharing her story, she's reassured many younger people that they're not alone, and she's helped many older homeowners understand how the housing crisis is harming younger generations and their communities.
"Every idea – and even every rule that governs us now – came out of an idea that somebody had in an initial conversation," she said. "I think one of the biggest powers that people have as individuals is the ability to have conversations."
Feeling inspired to share your story? We want to hear how generational unfairness touches your life and the lives of those you love: gensqueeze.ca/share_story
