Putting in place this basic plan will put us on a path towards budgets that build a Canada that work for all generations.  The following foundational building blocks will also help to pave the way. 

Report on age trends annually

Monitoring spending over time supports political leaders to make informed and efficient spending decisions.  That’s why we’re asking governments to better track spending by age. 

Gen Squeeze was instrumental in getting the first ever generational analysis in a Canadian federal budget.  This is an important step forward because it puts generational analysis on the radar, and provides a starting point from which to build.  However, there are some serious flaws to address in the federal approach if we want to base spending decisions on accurate data about how all government spending breaks down by age.  Plus, there are still no provinces which complete age analyses in their budgets. So, there’s more work to do…

Appoint government point people for generational fairness

It’s much more likely that the wellbeing of younger Canadians will be addressed as urgently as other age groups come budget season if governments have a Deputy Minister, Parliamentary Secretary or other high level official specifically tasked with advancing generational fairness in public finance.