Justin Trudeau Joins Gen Squeeze In Calling For ‘Fairness For Every Generation’

Both the PM and BC Premier David Eby are bringing a generational lens to budgets

“Everyone deserves to succeed. But today, for too many younger Canadians, doing as well as your parents or better – doesn’t seem possible. The middle-class dream feels out of reach. Your hard work isn’t paying off like it did for previous generations. Your paycheque doesn’t go as far as costs go up, and saving enough to go after your dreams seems harder and harder. It doesn’t have to be this way. Everyone deserves a fair shot at success.”

As a reader of this newsletter, you’ve probably heard us make this sort of statement countless times. ‘Hard work doesn’t pay off like it used to’ is a message we’ve been driving home for years – it’s even on the front page of our website. 

The thing is, the quote above doesn't come from us. It’s from an announcement Prime Minister Trudeau made last week, the first in a series outlining ‘Fairness for Every Generation’ as a promise in the upcoming federal budget. 

Trudeau speaks to the motivation for this new direction in a recent video. He acknowledges both the hardships facing younger Canadians, and the worry that parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles are feeling about diminishing prospects for the younger people they care about:

“[Young Canadians] you deserve an economy that gives you a fair shot at success…we’re going to tell you about what we are going to do to fix it over the next two weeks in Canada’s 2024 budget… The economy should be recognizing and rewarding the work of young Canadians, just as it did for your parents and grandparents”

“For those of you who aren't Gen Z or Millennials, Xers like me, and the generations that came before, I know you feel this in your bones. You want your kids and your grandkids to have every opportunity you had, and more. You get this, and I know it drives everything you do. I’m no different. We can’t let them down. That’s what this budget is all about.“

Let’s just pause here to do a little happy dance. 

Just a few years ago it was hard to imagine a political leader using the phrase ‘generational fairness.'  Now, we’re looking at the prospect of an entire federal budget organized around the theme of creating a more generationally fair Canada – where young and old alike have the chance to thrive, and be good ancestors to those who follow.

At this monumental moment, Gen Squeeze supporters are joining us in thanking federal leaders for (finally!) listening to our collective call for a Canada that works fairly for all generations. 

“Thank-you for elevating generational fairness in your budgeting. Younger people should not have to pay for my generation's lack of planning.” – Jane

“Thank you for taking action on generational equitability; please keep going as the cost of child care and basic shelter is out of reach for many of us.” – Michael

“The acknowledgment of a fairer Canada for all generations is a great start, so please ensure the actions follow the words. Helping younger Canadians is an imperative and I for one appreciate the first step in what I hope is meaningful change.” – Matthew 

We hope you’ll help us show the federal government that Canadians recognize the importance of this game-changing commitment by sending us your message of thanks.

We’ll relay these notes to federal leaders in the lead-up to the April 16 budget to reinforce why their commitment matters – and show them that we’ll be watching how they back it up.

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Some are arguing that the Liberals are just playing politics, attempting to appease younger voters now looking to the federal Conservatives. And after nine years in power, it’s fair to say that we wish they’d started working sooner to address the generational tensions that have been brewing in Canada for decades. 

Despite these caveats, we remain convinced that we’re witnessing a pivotal moment in Canadian politics. Here are three reasons why:

First, the evidence behind our theory of change tells us that how we describe – or frame – issues really matters. The language we use, and how this language speaks (or not!) to our values, is a critical ingredient in a successful policy change agenda. Fairness for every generation is a new frame in Canadian politics, and we believe this frame has the potential to drive new thinking about solutions when adopted at the highest levels – like in budgets. 

You can read more about our theory of change here.

Second, the federal government is backing up its new framing by introducing policies focusing on issues at the epicenter of generational inequalities, like housing, child care, and income security. While we’re the first to acknowledge that there’s still some distance to go, it's promising to see new measures consistent with our comprehensive policy solutions frameworks. You can check out some of Paul’s comments on new housing proposals in recent interviews on CBC and Global. We also offer our reflections on all federal housing and family policy announcements to date on our website.

“We have to acknowledge that this federal government is continuing to implement the homework that it's done over the last many years to figure out the range of policy levers that we need to pull to try and restore affordability forever. We [Gen Squeeze] have long been saying there's no Silver Bullet - the government has accepted that, and so they're saying we need Silver Buckshot. They are doing a lot of things quickly all at once and we should be excited that”

- Paul Kershaw on Global

Third, just as there are no silver bullet policy solutions, a single budget isn’t a silver bullet for tackling generational fairness. One budget won’t solve our housing, affordability, medical, and climate crises, which are eroding the well-being of younger and future generations. That’s why we’re not giving up on our call for the tools needed to make sure future federal governments don’t forget about generational fairness – like a Generational Fairness Task Force or Commissioner to guide policy and budget design, and hold decision-makers to account.

If you’re looking for more information, check out this mini bonus episode of our Hard Truths podcast where we discuss why we think this is such an important moment, and address some of the skepticism and doubt about how much things will change. 

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Back when Gen Squeeze first got started over a decade ago, there was little political dialogue about ages or generations beyond a focus on child poverty and age-based discrimination against seniors. We’ve spent years mobilizing and framing the evidence to show Canadians and our governments how a broader generational lens can help us understand the root causes of systemic challenges. 

Today, it’s possible we’re on the verge of putting generational fairness at the centre of a Canada-wide conversation – alongside other critical systemic issues like racism, heterosexism, and the legacy of colonialism. Mounting evidence of the deteriorating wellbeing of younger people shows that they’re paying a high price for the time it’s taken to get here. But new federal momentum is a big step towards the solutions we urgently need.

If you’re wondering how we got to this point, last week’s post describing a week in the life of Gen Squeeze is a good place to start! We’ve been working hard to bring evidence-based solutions to leaders of every political stripe – because they all face the same structural budget problem that Paul talked about in a recent Globe & Mail column. It’s great to see momentum in Ottawa under the current Liberal government, and in BC under the current NDP government. Your support is critical to urging other jurisdictions and parties to follow suit! 

That’s all for this time, thanks for reading.