Dr. Paul Kershaw
Policy Professor at UBC | Founder, Generation Squeeze | Globe and Mail Columnist | Host, Hard Truths Podcast
Dr. Paul Kershaw is a policy professor at the University of British Columbia and the founder of Generation Squeeze, a Canadian "Think and Change Tank" working for generational fairness. Generation Squeeze's research and advocacy have contributed to more than $30 billion in federal child-care investments and the first Empty Homes Tax in North America.
$30B+
in federal child-care investments driven by Generation Squeeze
130+
briefings to federal and provincial officials
175+
keynotes and invited talks
2
nonprofit podcast in Canada on Apple Podcasts
About Paul
Dr. Paul Kershaw brings academic credibility, political influence, media reach, and years of firsthand engagement with politicians, thought-leaders, boomers, and younger Canadians alike. A generational bridge-builder, he writes with empathy, analytical rigor, and moral clarity.
Kershaw is an award-winning policy professor at the University of British Columbia's School of Population and Public Health, and one of Canada's leading voices on generational equity. Over more than two decades, he has researched and taught the full range of policy issues from housing and income security to health care, public finance, and climate policy.
As founder of Generation Squeeze, a "Think and Change Tank," he has a proven record of translating evidence-based ideas into federal and provincial policy decisions that have improved the lives of millions of Canadians. Generation Squeeze is a charitable Think and Change tank promoting wellbeing for all generations, backed by 70,000+ Canadians.
Generation Squeeze's work has contributed to more than $30 billion in federal child-care investments under the $10-a-day brand, the first Empty Homes Tax in North America, and a federal budget framed around "Fairness for Every Generation." Kershaw is a bi-weekly columnist for The Globe and Mail, hosts the Hard Truths podcast, and has delivered 130+ briefings to federal and provincial officials.
Awards and recognition
Policy impact
Kershaw has a record of turning evidence into federal and provincial policy. Select a topic to read the detail.
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Child care: over $30 billion in federal investment
Generation Squeeze's research and advocacy, led by Kershaw, helped drive over $30 billion in federal child-care investments, mobilized under the $10-a-day brand pioneered by the Gen Squeeze Lab at UBC. More than 340,000 families no longer pay rent- or mortgage-sized bills to access quality care for their kids, and many families save $10,000 or more each year.
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Housing: over $8 billion through the National Housing Strategy
He helped open the door for young people to access over $8 billion through the National Housing Strategy, opening new housing opportunities for over 250,000 young Canadians, by pressing Ottawa to formally include them as a "vulnerable group", a designation absent from the Strategy's initial drafts and required to unlock many federal housing benefits.
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Empty Homes Tax: the first in North America
He worked directly with the City of Vancouver to introduce the first Empty Homes Tax in North America, a policy that has since returned more than 20,000 homes to the long-term rental market.
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Renters and taxes: Ontario and British Columbia
He collaborated with the province of Ontario to help end unlimited rent increases for units built before 2019. His work also contributed to a shift in BC to lower income taxes by taxing high-priced homes more. These successes have since informed similar reforms in other jurisdictions.
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Zoning and public finance
His work contributed to zoning reforms and the approval of dozens of rental housing developments that faced local opposition. It also contributed to the first-ever reporting of age trends in federal public finances.
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Climate: defending carbon pricing in court
As head of the Intergenerational Climate Coalition, he led successful interventions in the Saskatchewan, Ontario and Supreme Court of Canada cases defending carbon pricing. At the Supreme Court, he amplified the voices of young people in defending the constitutionality of carbon pricing as a crucial tool for reducing the climate risks and costs younger generations will inherit.
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Budgets: Fairness for Every Generation
He helped inspire the first federal budget framed around "Fairness for Every Generation" and prompted British Columbia to formally commit to generational fairness in its budget strategy. For more than 15 years, he has produced high-impact budget analyses, non-partisan voters' guides, and election monitoring that hold governments accountable for how fiscal choices affect both younger and older Canadians.
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Briefings and national town halls
He is frequently invited to brief high-level federal and provincial officials, delivering 130+ briefings. Twice he hosted national town halls with then-Prime Minister Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Freeland.
In the news
The Globe and Mail column
Kershaw is a bi-weekly columnist for The Globe and Mail, writing in the Saturday edition since October 2022. The paper reaches more than 22 million readers a month, including policymakers, business leaders, and philanthropists.
Media
Hard Truths podcast
Kershaw has hosted the Hard Truths podcast since February 2022. It has ranked as the #2 nonprofit podcast in Canada on Apple Podcasts. Past guests include Justin Trudeau, Chrystia Freeland, Jagmeet Singh, Elizabeth May, Dr. Bonnie Henry, André Picard, and David Coletto.
