Canada has been forced to revisit long-standing growth models amidst geopolitical and economic turmoil. But few files show the strain on legacy policy architecture more clearly than those meant to support Canadians as they age.”

OAS is a practical place to begin [reforms] because it was built for a different era and no longer reflects today’s demographic and socioeconomic realities.

Its broad-based structure is increasingly hard to defend as trade-offs across competing priorities— and generations—mount.

Putting redesign on the table should not be about revisiting old ideological fights. It should be framed as an opportunity to give Canadians across the lifecycle a more credible and practical financial foothold in an era of longevity—one they may judge less at the ballot box than in their own pocketbooks.