Gen Squeeze's Hard Truths brings you the untold story about why basic life milestones – like owning a home, raising a family, and living on a habitable planet – are slipping out of reach for younger Canadians and explores how we can make this country work more fairly for all generations. Learn more at https://www.gensqueeze.ca/
“Is Canada Failing the Next Generation?” Generation Squeeze founder, Dr. Paul Kershaw joins award-winning lead columnist at the National Observer, Max Fawcett on his podcast Power Lines . This is a replay of that episode. Their conversation sheds light on the growing generational divide in Canada and explains how reforming retirement income supports might be Canada's best shot at restoring affordability for all!
Government budgets shape how we live – and how we feel. The consequences of government policy choices can be seen in new research on happiness. While, baby boomers remain relatively happy, the average life satisfaction of Canadians under age 30 is in steep decline. Gen Squeeze founder, Dr. Paul Kershaw unpacks why young Canadians are increasingly miserable and what we can do about it.
Old Age Security is the largest program expense in the federal budget and is a driving force behind the federal deficit. A new national poll shows 3/4 of Canadians, including seniors, support reform so that benefits are reduced for higher-income households, and the savings are repurposed to eliminate seniors’ poverty and improve affordability for younger generations. Generation Squeeze founder, Dr. Paul Kershaw explains why OAS reform was once politically untouchable and how things have changed.
Canada’s National Housing Strategy is the federal government’s main plan for tackling housing affordability. The strategy expires in 2027. If it isn’t renewed, federal housing spending will drop by more than half. Gen Squeeze founder, Dr. Paul Kershaw unpacks what’s at stake and why a housing system that works for the next generation can’t be built on ever-rising home prices for the last.
Canada’s Armed Forces have reportedly begun modelling responses to a U.S. invasion. Among the ideas said to be under consideration is a civil defence corps – potentially a million residents trained and organized to strengthen national resilience. Before we ask Millennials and Gen Z to shoulder yet another obligation of national service, we must acknowledge the many ways we already oblige them to sacrifice. We must also ask older Canadians to reciprocate by rebuilding fiscal policy to be fair across generations, and future-oriented.
Most gains from economic growth today flow to prioritiestied to older Canadians — retirement income support (Old Age Security) and medical care — leaving less for housing, child care, post-secondary education, and climate action. This is happening even as younger Canadians pay more income tax to support seniors than boomers did when they were younger. In this episode of Hard Truths Pod, Generation Squeeze founderDr. Paul Kershaw explains why essential services — like health care, education, and child care — should remain universal at the point of entry and why cash subsidies (like Old Age Security) work best when they’re targeted based on need, not just age.
This week's episode is a feed swap with Planetary Conversations– with host Warren Bell. Planetary Conversations is a podcast that showcases ways to create a world where everyone in the human family and all living things have an assured place, and where every one of usis truly able to make a constructive and creative contribution. Host, Dr. Warren Bell interviews guests who have, in one way or another, taken steps towards improving life on our planet. Dr. Bell is a family physician who has practiced medicine for nearly fifty years and is co-founder of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) a voice for justice. On this episode, Warren interviews GenSqueeze founder and director, Dr. Paul Kershaw on the topic of generational fairness and the long list of policy changes Canada needs to make to get us there. Planetary Conversations Podcast can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. It can also be found on-line at voice of the Shuswap.ca or on the radio at CKVS-FM 93.7 The Voice.
It’s no secret, GenZ and Millennial Canadians are finding it harder and harder to afford the basics: rent, child care fees and tuition. In this episode of the Hard Truths pod, Generation Squeeze founder, Dr. Paul Kershaw introduces a new study by Generation Squeeze: “Medical Budgets in an Aging Canada”. He points out a hard truth and draws an important connection: The rising costs of medical care for retirees is crowding out the investments needed to address the affordability challenges faced by younger generations.
Most Canadians believe that Canada's Old Age Security benefits act as a safety net, lifting struggling retirees out of poverty. But in this episode of the Hard Truths pod, Generation Squeeze founder, Dr. Paul Kershaw explains the hard truth: Some seniors with two homes, seven-figure portfolios, and six-figure incomes are still collecting OAS. And not just a token amount — retired couples with $180,000 in income still qualify for roughly $18,000 a year in OAS benefits. Paul dives deep into The Globe and Mail 's "Financial Facelift"column. Every weekend, financial experts help Canadians fine-tune their retirement plans. The advice is smart and methodical, showing how to make the most of tax and benefit rules. But those columns also reveal something deeper —how our most expensive federal program, Old Age Security, has drifted from protecting retirees from poverty to padding the comfort of affluence .
The Generation Squeeze analysis of Canada’s Budget 2025 is getting a lot of media attention! That’s because we’re pointing out a hard truth: The fiscal imbalance in budget 2025 began decades ago when governments failed to plan for the rising costs of an population aging. And as predicted, these costs are now crowding out space for investments to help younger and working Canadians build homes, raise families, and strengthen productivity. In today’s episode we’re showcasing last week’s episode of CBC’s Day 6 with Host Brent Bambury who invited Gen Squeeze founder and executive director, Dr. Paul Kershaw to speak to the structural inequity in government spending that is hitting younger Canadians the hardest. Paul describes what might be a rare moment in politics: One in which politicians on both the left and the right seem to agree on the solution to the problem.
Budget 2025 sidesteps a hard truth: neither the Prime Minister who tabled it, nor the Opposition Leader who critiques it, has found the courage to ask financially secure retirees to share equally in this national moment of sacrifice. In this episode of the Hard Truths pod, our social media coordinator Jennifer Fox presents the Generation Squeeze press conference direct from Ottawa. where Gen Squeeze founder, Dr. Paul Kershaw spent budget day crunching the numbers on Prime Minister Carney’s long-awaited fiscal plan. Paul unpacks what Budget 2025 reveals about generational fairness — how rising costs and ballooning deficits continue to deepen the divide between young and older generations ofCanadians.
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. Learn more: Gen Squeeze’s 2025 Election Guide
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. Dig deeper Our BC Election Housing Report Card Housing Central’s BC Election Platform Analysis Our full BC Voters Guide
