Boomers Are Not to Blame for Canada’s Problems

Commentary

If you have spent any time scrolling the news or your social media feed recently, you will have no doubt heard the common refrain that the hyperfocus of older generations on the Canada–U.S. trade war is preventing Canada’s election campaign from centring on bread-and-butter issues like housing and paycheques.

In one sense, this argument is backed up by the data. A recent Abacus poll found that 50 percent of those over 60 cited “Dealing with Donald Trump” as one of their top two most important election issues, while significantly fewer younger respondents agreed—34 percent of those aged 45–59, 26 percent of those between 30 and 44, and just 16 percent of the youngest 18–29 category.

The pocketbook issues ranked higher for younger generations, with the age divide particularly pronounced in categories like “Making housing more affordable”: 28 percent of those aged 18–29 cited this as a top issue, while only 9 percent of over-60s did.

Noting the age divide in election priorities would be the beginning of an astute observation if it then led to a substantive analysis of why it is that older generations are insulated from cost-of-living issues while younger Canadians are stuck in the economic quicksand of stagnating living standards.

Instead of an analysis, observations of the lack of concern felt by older generations about affordability issues are generally expressed using the rhetoric of intergenerational conflict—similar to the “OK Boomer” meme popular a few years ago. In viral social media posts and popular op-eds, boomers are portrayed as selfish hoarders of wealth and real estate, blissfully detached from the ugly truth of the financial distress of younger generations.

This obscures the reality of the situation. Boomers are not detached from the financial pain being felt by young Canadians—they are intimately aware of it. This is because young Canadians are their children and grandchildren. The dire state of Canadian housing in particular has sadly become a pressing topic discussed at family dinners and reunions. Older generations are concerned that their offspring are forced to put off family formation because they cannot afford even the most basic starter home.

How do you know that boomers care? Simple. They are putting their money where their mouth is. According to a CIBC report, the share of first-time homebuyers that received financial help from their family—essentially meaning a withdrawal from the “Bank of Mom and Dad”—skyrocketed from 20 percent in 2015 to 31 percent in 2024. The national average first-time homebuying gift is now an eye-watering $115,000. And in B.C., the notorious epicentre of Canada’s housing crisis, this reaches the princely sum of $204,000.

Another way in which older generations are helping out is by letting younger relatives live with them. According to Statistics Canada, 35.1 percent of Canadians aged 20-34 were living with at least one parent as of 2021, compared to 30.6 percent in 2001.

Having established that boomers are by no means selfish hoarders of wealth detached from the reality of housing affordability, we can reconsider the age divide in election priorities. The answer to the question of why boomers are more focused on the Canada–U.S. trade war, and less focused on more immediate financial needs, is simple and rather uninteresting. Having fulfilled the bottom couple layers of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, they are free to ponder higher order concerns such as national sovereignty and Canada–U.S. relations.

The more interesting question arises when you stop blaming boomers, and instead analyze the age divide more soberly.

Why is that young Canadians are hopelessly stuck at “Physiological Needs,” the bottom layer of Maslow’s Hierarchy that includes such basic things as food and shelter? Why are they increasingly losing hope of ever reaching the second stage of “Safety Needs,” which includes such aspirations as “employment” and “property”? Forget about the top stages of “Esteem” and “Self-actualization,” which are seen as entirely out of reach.

Analyzing this issue requires more intellectual rigour than simply blaming older generations. It means rethinking the policies that our elected politicians have been pursuing for decades. Of particular relevance to Canada’s housing crisis is an immigration policy that has for years fuelled unsustainable population growth that outstrips the available housing stock, with the ratio reaching five immigrants for every one housing unit built in 2023.

Here again, it is difficult to find an excuse to blame boomers, who seem to be easily perceiving the problems caused by overly high immigration levels. A November 2023 Abacus poll found that the age demographic most in favour of restricting immigration was the over-60s (73 percent), while only 54 percent of 18–29s were in favour of lower numbers.

Millennials and Gen Zs blaming baby boomers for Canada’s problems is just as silly as when baby boomers blamed millennials for going broke from eating too much avocado toast.

Let’s stop blaming fellow Canadians, and bring the focus back to the government policies that led to these problems—and demand change.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

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