Paul Kershaw

Associate Professor, PhD

Founder, Generation Squeeze

Dr. Paul Kershaw is a tenured professor at the University of BC, public speaker, regular media contributor and Founder of Generation Squeeze – a “Think and Change Tank” that promotes wellbeing for all generations by turning evidence into action and rejuvenating democracy to protect what is sacred for younger and future generations: a healthy childhood, home and planet.

He received the award for Academic of the Year in 2016 from the Confederation of University Faculty Associations of BC for his scholarly work on generational fairness and the social determinants of health. Twice the Canadian Political Science Association has honoured Kershaw with national prizes for his gender and politics research. He and his Gen Squeeze colleagues received the award for BC’s Affordable Housing Champion in 2017 from the provincial Housing Central coalition, while the Government of Canada awarded Kershaw its inaugural prize for excellence in moving “Knowledge to Action” on housing in 2018.

Kershaw’s work has contributed directly to historic investments in BC child care, the first ever tax on empty homes in North America, eliminating limitless rent increases in Ontario for units built before 2019, changes to municipal zoning, approval of dozens of new rental housing developments facing NIMBY’ism, a shift in BC to reduce income taxes by taxing unhealthy home prices more, and the first-ever reporting of age trends in federal public finance. Kershaw also successfully led the Intergenerational Climate Coalition to intervene in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Supreme Courts to defend the constitutionality of pricing pollution on the grounds it is needed to promote population health and intergenerational equity.

Kershaw is a policy professor in the UBC School of Population and Public Health, and Director of the UBC Masters of Public Health program.