Time for a New Deal for Young People

A poll conducted for the Broadbent Institute shows deep unease with economic policies tilted more to the needs of corporations than citizens. The institute asked 983 Canadians aged 20-30 who are in the job market—millennials—and 1,064 people aged 50-65—boomers—who have at least one child aged 20 or older.

Separately asking boomer parents and millennial children is an approach that sheds new light on Canadians’ collective fears about the direction the country is heading. The key findings are:

  • Millennials think they face a future of precarious work and expect the income gap to grow over their working life. Boomers are more likely to think their children will slip in economic class than move up.
  • Neither parents nor children trust corporations to make the creation of good jobs in Canada a priority, even as governments enact policies businesses want.
  • Boomers fear their children’s generation won’t be able to raise the tax revenue needed to pay for the social programs they will need in retirement.
Publication Date: 
2014
Location: 
Canada