Since taking on the role, Walker said he’s pushed the Welsh government to take stronger actions on cleaning up river pollution and making Wales’s food system more sustainable. But he’s most proud of his work on getting public sector bodies to commit to a real living wage<\/a>.<\/p>\n “That’s going to make a massive difference in people’s pockets and do something very important to address endemic levels of poverty right across our country,” Walker said.<\/p>\n There’s no shortage of issues facing Canada’s youngest generations today. On top of high unemployment<\/a> and affordability challenges<\/a>, they’re grappling with the effects of a changing climate and rapidly advancing artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n With all those issues, Canadian advocates say it’s time the federal government appoint a champion for Canada’s youngest.<\/p>\n Young Canadians worried for their futures<\/p>\n At St. Mother Teresa High School in Ottawa, Grade 8 students are thinking long and hard about their futures \u2014 and the challenges they face.<\/p>\n Nayah Tarpeh, 13, wants to be a teacher when she grows up. But, she said, “if you’re just going to university, that’s one expense. If you go to teacher’s college, that’s another expense.”<\/p>\n WATCH | Ontario cutting back on student grants: Ontario lifts tuition freeze, cuts back OSAP for post-secondary students<\/p>\n Ontario is giving colleges and universities billions in new funding, while lifting a seven-year tuition fee freeze and cutting back on the amount of student assistance grants.<\/p>\n “I’m mostly worried about school prices, about university, because I’m scared that [even] if I get a scholarship.\u2026 Me or my parents won’t be able to afford it because it’s over-the-top expensive.”<\/p>\n Dimitri Conistis, also 13, said he’s worried about grocery prices. He hears about food costs on the news and at home, and he feels like “you’re getting less for your money and the prices are going up.”<\/p>\n Their teacher, 31-year-old Katie Richmyre, said she’s been thinking about why her students have all these worries.<\/p>\n “It’s social media, right? They’re seeing it, they’re hearing it. Their parents are millennials, and they’re talking about the struggles that they’re having,” Richmyre said.<\/p>\n Richmyre added that she feels like many Canadian government policies are geared toward older voters.<\/p>\n “It worries me as a teacher with these kids every single day \u2014 this is going to hurt them in the long run and it’s hurting my generation. When does it get better?”<\/p>\n Advocates want Canada to go further than Wales<\/p>\n Canadian advocates like Paul Kershaw, a UBC professor and founder of the think-tank Generation Squeeze, have seen what Walker is doing in Wales \u2014 and they want Ottawa to go even further.<\/p>\n “It is beyond contestation that we are prioritizing investments for an aging population at a scale of urgency that makes what we’re doing for younger people seem absolutely miniscule,” Kershaw said.<\/p>\n He cited the 2025 federal budget<\/a>, which projects spending on elderly benefits like Old Age Security will rise approximately $24 billion over the next five years.<\/p>\n By contrast, federal spending on “Canada-wide early learning and child care” is projected to rise approximately $1.9 billion over the next five years. The federal government is also expecting to spend approximately $1.5 billion<\/a> on youth employment supports over the same time frame.<\/p>\n Alongside a commissioner, Kershaw said Canada needs a minister at the cabinet table advocating for generational fairness and an advisory body. The UBC professor said Walker’s role is “necessary, but not sufficient.”<\/p>\n According to a report published last year<\/a> by Welsh Auditor General Adrian Crompton, there is enthusiasm for the Well-being of Future Generations Act, but the law “is not driving the system-wide change that was intended.”<\/p>\n Kershaw said power is ultimately wielded within government, and a minister for intergenerational fairness can bring that lens to the cabinet table when key decisions are made.<\/p>\n Last May, Prime Minister Mark Carney appointed a cabinet committee to consider ways to “augment the overall quality of life and well-being of Canadians” \u2014 a move Kershaw said he is excited about because it could be a launch pad for his group’s proposals.<\/p>\n A different idea in the Senate<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1772359092_138_default.jpg\")
A child waves a Welsh flag in Cardiff, Wales, in 2022. Walker’s job focuses on children and those who will grow up in Wales decades from now. (Molly Darlington\/Reuters)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770934810_default.jpg\")
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Katie Richmyre, 31, teaches Nayah and Dimitri’s Grade 8 class. Richmyre says she she feels like many Canadian government policies are geared toward older voters. (Benjamin Lopez Steven\/CBC)<\/p>\n![\"Paul](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1772359094_884_default.jpg\")
Paul Kershaw, founder of Generation Squeeze, said young people aren’t getting the policy attention they deserve. (Patrick Doyle\/The Canadian Press)<\/p>\n
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