New Generation Squeezed poll finds generational split on public funding priorities
Canadians 55 and older think younger adults should “wait their turn” when it comes sharing in the country’s wealth, despite evidence that it’s getting harder for adults with young children to raise families.
This was a finding from a recent poll conducted for UBC researchers Paul Kershaw and Lynell Anderson from the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP). The poll included respondents from Saskatchewan, as well as those in BC, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada; the full polling data is available here.
UBC researchers commissioned this poll as a follow-up to the release of their national report card, Does Canada Work for All Generations? The report looked at the challenges today’s young families – Generation Squeezed – are facing across the country.
Kershaw partnered with kidSKAN’s Nazeem Muhajarine and Sue Delanoy to release the report card at the University of Saskatchewan on Oct. 18. The Generation Squeezed story received media attention across the country and even from the New York Times.
In the recent poll, HELP found that while Canadians between 18 and 44 think more needs to be invested in the next generation of families and children, those 55 and older don’t feel the same. Only 28 per cent said families with preschool-age children should be a top or high priority and only 16 per cent think young adults in general should be a high priority.
“So far in the discussion about Canada working for all generations, I have insisted that Boomers and seniors care about those who follow in their footsteps. After all, we’re talking about their kids and grandkids, along with their legacy,” Kershaw said in a news release. “But these new poll data cast some doubt.”
Stats Canada data show that incomes for those nearing retirement now are up 18 per cent when compared with the level for those close to retiring in the mid-1970s. As well, poverty among seniors has declined from 29 per cent in 1976 to less than five per cent in 2009.
By Mike Chouinard, kidSKAN managing editor. He can be reached at mike.chouinard@usask.ca.
