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.