SPPH’s Dr. Paul Kershaw wins Government of Canada national award of excellence for “Knowledge to Action” on housing

MP Adam Vaughn, Parliamentary Secretary for Housing, presents Dr. Kershaw the inaugural national Gold Roof award for “Knowledge to Action” at the National Housing Conference

The Gold Roof Award for Knowledge to Action was presented to Dr. Paul Kershaw for his Generation Squeeze project. The $10,000 CAD award recognizes innovative initiatives that have transferred housing knowledge to real-world applications that benefit Canadians.

Dr. Kershaw’s Generation Squeeze project, reveals the growing gap between home prices and young people’s earnings is eroding their standard of living, even as Canada’s gross domestic product grows. For every year since 1976, he has compiled sales, rental earnings, wealth, interest rates, and other data for Canada, every province, and large cities to provide a ‘generational lens’ by which to assess how hard work pays off now compared to four decades earlier when today’s aging population started in the housing system as young adults. Kershaw’s work contributed directly to the first-ever tax on empty homes in North America, eliminating limitless rent increases in Ontario, changes to municipal zoning, approval of dozens of new housing developments, and a shift in BC to reduce income taxes by taxing unhealthy home prices more.