The first baby born in B.C. in 2000 is hopeful and a little wary about the next decade

Bradley Parks took his first breath as the rest of British Columbia sighed with relief.

When the clock ticked into a new millennium at 12:01 a.m. on January 1, 2000, it became obvious Y2K — the feared global computer shutdown — wasn't going to happen.

That same moment, as fireworks went off outside, a six-pound, 14-ounce baby was born at the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster. 

Parks was the first baby born in B.C. that year. In the two decades since, his childhood and future prospects have been shaped by the global financial crisis, the advent of the iPhone, social media and accelerating climate change.

Today, he turns 20. He works as a car mechanic and as he enters a new decade, he's considering his prospects for education, a relationship, and the idea of someday buying a house. 

He's bracing for challenges previous generations didn't have to face.

"It's really difficult to be able to afford things nowadays," said Parks, who lives with his parents in White Rock. 

"The whole economy has made it super difficult to live day-by-day."

The cost of living has risen for everyone, but it'll be harder than ever for post-millennials like Parks to achieve the milestones of previous generations, like buying property.

'Challenging earnings and really frightening home prices'

In 2000, the average price of a single family home in the Greater Vancouver real estate area was $376,000. Adjusted for inflation today, that would be about $533,000.

The average price of a single family home in November 2019 was $1.57 million. 

Because wages haven't caught up, working harder won't make up for the glaring difference, said Paul Kershaw, a policy professor at the University of British Columbia and founder of advocacy group Generation Squeeze.

"Gen Xers had the worst earnings, but home prices hadn't gone up as crazy as they have now," Kershaw said.

"Millennials had better earnings than Xers but they had much more challenging home prices. And now you've got post-millennials … they're inheriting both: challenging earnings and really frightening home prices."

A common sentiment across generations is the desire for security, Kershaw said. But a lack of focus on protecting the environment, investment in child care and parental leave, inflated housing prices and stagnant wages have led to a "bad generational deal" for younger Canadians and future generations, he added. 

But it's not all bad news — Kershaw says the challenges post-millennials will face in the coming years can be eased if older generations "squeeze back" by re-evaluating societal goals and how we support one another.

"We cannot individually work our way out of this squeeze between time, money, service and environmental pressure," he said. 

"We can only really do it collectively by changing the system which we're inheriting."

Parks wants to stay in B.C. and hopes to own a house and have a family someday. To achieve those goals, he's doing what generations before him have done.

"Working hard, learning more," he said. 

In the next decade, he's is looking forward to earning his Red Seal in the trades, recognized as the standard of excellence in training in the industry.

For the first baby born in B.C. when the clock strikes midnight on Jan. 1, 2020, his advice is to not grow up too fast.

"Do what you want to do. Study hard in school. Do whatever you want to do but just make sure that it will support you in what you want in life," he said.

"Enjoy being a kid while it lasts, because it changes pretty quickly on you."