By Michelle Butterfield, Global News
Feeling the pressures of a society plagued by climate change, soaring home prices, economic inequality and poverty, many young Canadians say they are feeling less than optimistic about the direction of our nation. They don’t necessarily like the path that Canada’s on, and cite the baby boom generation as one of the root causes of disparity and division in Canadian society.
An Angus Reid Institute survey of young Canadian leaders found that almost half of respondents thought the answers to Canada’s woes rely not on fixing the past mistakes of previous generations, but, rather, starting anew with a complete restructuring of Canadian society.
The study asked Canadians of all ages to self-report on whether they consider themselves “leaders” in their communities. Respondents rated themselves on their ability to incite change in their communities through volunteering and political involvement.
These self-identified young leaders, all under the age of 41, said they were likely to prioritize the common good and generally believe that what’s good for society holds more importance than people’s individual rights and freedoms.
The young leaders also reported higher education levels and slightly more personal wealth than non-leaders, and were found to be far more diverse than their older counterparts in terms of race and gender.
A generational split
One thing most young leaders agree on is that the legacy of the baby boom generation may not be much of a legacy at all.
The majority of young leaders aged 40 and under said they view the boomers’ legacy as negative, while an overwhelming majority of leaders over the age of 55 view the legacy as positive.
Younger generations, however, are optimistic that the millennial generation will leave behind a more positive legacy than the boomers. On the flip side, older generations don’t have as much faith; half of those over the age of 40 think millennials will leave the world in worse shape.
The top issues
The division between the two cohorts is real.
All survey respondents, regardless of generation, voted climate change as the top concern, and the majority said that Canada should emphasize environmental protection over economic growth.
Young leaders said they’re more concerned about economic inequality, housing prices, and Indigenous issues and reconciliation, while older leaders reported being more concerned about inflation and balancing the budget.
Kurl also points out that Canada is “at an inflection point” and is “very
focused these days on what’s wrong.” “I think we may be at a time where we’re too focused on the things that are going wrong and maybe not reflecting enough on the things that are going right.”
Who’s lucky?
Younger Canadians were far more likely to say that their age group has been “unlucky,” with about 40 per cent of all leaders and their counterparts aged 40 and under saying that their generation has lacked opportunity. Older Canadians, especially those 55 and up, report being “very lucky” with plenty of opportunities.
Three-quarters of the leaders 40 and under agree that white people benefit from social opportunities not given to visible minorities, and almost 40 per cent reported attending a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020.
Older generations surveyed tend to feel most lucky in terms of overall quality of life, while the younger cohorts say they feel fortunate when it comes to social acceptance and freedom. Leaders aged 30 to 40 consider “opportunities for travel” to be their top area of luck, while older leaders rank property ownership as one of their lucky breaks…
Source: globalnews.ca/
Wednesday, April 29, 2026
