The Missing Middle Podcast

If Canada isn’t in a recession, why does it feel like one for so many Canadians?
In this episode of Classonomics from The Missing Middle, hosts Sabrina Maddeaux and Mike Moffatt dig into one of the biggest contradictions in today’s economy. On paper, everything looks great. GDP is growing. Corporate profits are strong. Stock markets are hitting record highs. Yet, for millions of Canadians, life feels harder than ever. Food bank usage has doubled since 2019. Young people can’t afford homes in cities where their parents once bought starter houses. And even full-time workers are struggling to make ends meet.
Sabrina and Mike break down what’s really happening beneath those rosy headlines through the lens of the K-shaped economy, where wealthier Canadians continue to thrive while everyone else falls further behind. The top 20 percent are seeing record financial gains from stocks and investments, while the bottom 40 percent are sinking under housing costs, stagnant wages, and shrinking purchasing power.
They explore how this divide is reshaping not only people’s bank accounts but also their trust in institutions, politics, and the very idea of upward mobility. When the data says the economy is strong but your grocery bill says otherwise, frustration and hopelessness grow, and faith in the system fades fast.
Does Canada’s economy feel strong to you, or are you feeling left behind? Join the discussion in the comments.
Chapters:
00:00 – Intro
01:32 – What is a “K-Shaped Economy”? (The Two-Way Split)
02:54 – Why Younger Canadians Feel Locked Out of Growth
04:10 – The Record-Breaking Income Gap in Canada
05:18 – How the Richest Stay Ahead
06:48 – The Parental Wealth trap
08:24 – Hard Work vs. Inheritance
09:56 – Shocking Stats on Food Bank Users
11:47 – Why Canadians Feel Gaslit by GDP data
15:21 – Restoring the Link Between Work and Reward

RESEARCH LINKS:
Statistics Canada - Distributions of household economic accounts, third quarter 2025
The Hub - Canada's growing wealth gap in 7 charts
Food Banks Canada - HungerCount 2025
Statistics Canada - Income and wealth gaps increased in 3rd quarter of 2025
TD Economics - The Days Of Our Lives (K-shaped economy analysis)
Parliamentary Budget Officer - Estimating the top tail of the family wealth distribution in Canada

Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux
Produced by Meredith Martin
This podcast is funded by the Neptis Foundation and brought to you by the Smart Prosperity Institute.

Is boycotting American products a patriotic duty, or a luxury belief most Canadians can’t afford?

In this episode of The Missing Middle, Cara Stern and Mike Moffatt unpack the growing generational divide in Canada, and why older Canadians are far more likely to boycott U.S. products, while younger Canadians are stuck navigating a brutal affordability crisis.

After a winter storm destroyed his car, Mike shares why he chose a Canadian-assembled vehicle, and how that decision sparked a bigger question: have certain political stances become “luxury beliefs” that only financially secure Canadians can realistically uphold?

The conversation digs into the tension between symbolic nationalism and economic reality, especially for Millennials and Gen Z who feel locked out of housing, squeezed by grocery prices, and shut out of opportunity.

From grocery store boycotts to the future of Canada’s auto sector, this episode explores what it actually means to be a “good Canadian” in a time of rising costs, political strain, and shifting global alliances.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:43 The Generational Divide on Canada-U.S. Relations
02:03 Why Older Canadians View America Differently Than Gen Z
03:04 Why Ethical Shopping is a Luxury
04:02 Mike’s New Car: A Case Study in Buying Canadian
06:21  Defining “Luxury Beliefs” in Economics
09:23  Social Judgment and the Ethics of Travel
10:21 Should Politicians Fight Trump?
11:04 On Carney’s Speech in Davos
12:47 Searching for Transformative Change in the Canadian Economy

Research/links:

Nanos Poll https://nanos.co/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2025-2950-Bloomberg-Nov-Populated-Report-Tariffs-on-US-goods.pdf

Research Co Poll
https://researchco.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Tables_Tariffs_CAN_05Jun2025.pdf

Luxury Beliefs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxury_belief

Special Address by Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada | World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026
https://youtu.be/flsgJe8mN-A?si=xJs3huF52ABU-SEZ
Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux
Produced by Meredith Martin
This podcast is funded by the Neptis Foundation and brought to you by the Smart Prosperity Institute.

If $130,000 is the new poverty line… what does that make you?
In this episode of Classonomics, we tackle the viral argument that the middle class isn’t struggling — it’s being mismeasured. On paper, incomes are up and unemployment is low. So why does it feel harder than ever to afford a home, raise kids, or even stand still? We break down the hidden costs of economic participation, from housing and childcare to smartphones and “technological coercion”. We also examine the rise of the two-income trap that quietly reset the price of middle-class life. Are millennials truly worse off than their parents? Is inflation data masking reality? And was the 80s and 90s middle class partly a sitcom illusion? 
If you’ve ever felt “middle class” in theory but squeezed in practice, this episode explains why.

Chapters:
0:00 – Introduction: Welcome to Classonomics
0:39 –  Why 90s “Struggling” TV Families Look Wealthy Today
02:03 – Is $130k the New Poverty Line?
04:52 – Technological Coercion: From Luxury to Necessity
09:08 – Why Inflation Stats are Misleading: Better vs. Cheaper
11:03 – The Two-Income Trap: From Option to Obligation
14:54 – The Nostalgia Gap: Are We Remembering the 80s Correctly?
17:20 – The Reality of Generational Downward Mobility
Research links:
Part 1: My Life Is a Lie
How a Broken Benchmark Quietly Broke America
https://www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-life-is-a-lie

Cory Doctorow 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshittification
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cory_Doctorow

Hedonic adjustments
https://www.npr.org/2022/11/10/1135849519/hedonic-adjustment-how-to-measure-pleasure

Credits:
Mike Moffatt 
https://twitter.com/MikePMoffatt
https://bsky.app/profile/mikepmoffatt.bsky.social

Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux
Produced by Meredith Martin
This podcast is funded by the Neptis Foundation and brought to you by the Smart Prosperity Institute.

Why is it so hard to make friends once you leave school? In this episode of The Missing Middle, Cara Stern and Mike Moffatt dive into the "Loneliness Epidemic" and the disappearing concept of the Third Place – those vital social hubs that aren't home (the first place) or work (the second place).

From the 1980s mall culture and bowling alleys to the modern era of "convenience-first" coffee shops and endless doomscrolling, we explore why 60% of Canadians feel disconnected from their communities. We also break down the surprising 2025 StatCan data showing that young people (15–24) are significantly lonelier than seniors.

In this episode, we discuss:

The Zoning Crisis: Why it’s literally illegal to build a walkable pub or café in most North American suburbs.

The Death of the Comfy Chair: How rising land costs forced businesses to prioritize drive-thrus over community "hangouts."

Weak Social Ties: Why interacting with people outside your "bubble" is essential for democracy, your mental health, and your career.

Practical Advice: Cara shares her (slightly terrifying) tips for meeting neighbours, and Mike discusses how rec sports saved his social life. 

Chapters:
00:00 The Connectivity Paradox: Why we’re lonelier than ever
01:40 Youth are lonelier than seniors
03:10 The "Doom Scrolling" effect on community connection
04:10 What is a "Third Place"? (And why you need one)
05:20 The power of "Weak Social Ties"
07:34 How Zoning & NIMBYism killed our local hangouts
12:18 Can Digital Communities Replace Physical Ones?
14:58 High Land Costs Make Everything Worse
17:08 Practical Advice: How to Build Community Today
20:41 The Senior Discount Problem: Why cities are ignoring youth isolation
22:10 How to Push Past Rejection & Find Your People

Research/links:

Six in Ten Canadians Surveyed Have Little or No Sense of Community, New YMCA Research Reveals
https://www.ymcagta.org/news/Six-in-Ten-Canadians-Surveyed-Have-Little-or-No-Sense-of-Community

Church Closures and the Loss of Community Social Capital
https://carleton.ca/panl/wp-content/uploads/Church-Closures-and-the-Loss-of-Community-Social-Capital-By-Don-McRae-March-2023.pdf

Where Have All the Great, Good Places Gone?: The Decline of the “Third Place”
https://www.mironline.ca/where-have-all-the-great-good-places-gone-the-decline-of-the-third-place/

Third places, true citizen spaces
https://courier.unesco.org/en/articles/third-places-true-citizen-spaces

Brands should provide “third places” to help Canadians feel connected: 
https://strategyonline.ca/2024/11/11/citizen-relations-report-third-places/

The Hidden Health Crisis: Understanding Loneliness in Canada
https://blog.theralist.ca/the-hidden-health-crisis-understanding-loneliness-in-canada/

Why your ‘weak-tie’ friendships may mean more than you think
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200701-why-your-weak-tie-friendships-may-mean-more-than-you-think

Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux
Produced by Meredith Martin
This podcast is funded by the Neptis Foundation and brought to you by the Smart Prosperity Institute.

The unemployment rate says everything is fine. So why does finding a job feel impossible?
Canada has added nearly 200,000 jobs and unemployment sits around 6.5%. On paper, that’s a “normal” economy. But talk to young workers, or anyone trying to switch jobs, and you’ll hear a very different story: hundreds of applications, zero callbacks, and months of silence.
In this episode of Classonomics, Sabrina Maddeaux and Mike Moffatt break down the hidden story behind the headlines. They explain why low unemployment can mask a frozen job market — one with fewer layoffs, fewer hires, and far fewer opportunities for people trying to get in.
If you’re a recent grad, stuck in your career, or wondering why the economy feels worse than the data suggests, this episode is for you.
Tell us in the comments: How long has your job search taken? Has it been harder than expected?

Chapters:
00:00 – Why Finding a Job in Canada Feels Impossible Right Now
01:57 – Beyond Unemployment: The Hidden Labour Market Indicators
05:28 – Why Employers Have the Upper Hand Right Now
06:12 – Global Uncertainty, Trade Tensions & Hiring Freezes
07:26 – The "Low-Hire, Low-Fire" Equilibrium Explained
10:21 – How Over-Regulation Stifles Economic Growth
13:06 – The Systemic Impact of Locking Out a Generation
14:20 – The Housing Theory of Everything

Research:
Consulting the Magic 8 Ball of Canada’s Job Market
The Job Market Is Frozen:Unemployment is low, but workers aren’t quitting and businesses aren’t hiring. What’s going on?
Canada’s shifting labour market: Recalibrating ‘breakeven employment’
Glassdoor Worklife Trends 2025
Employment by industry, monthly, seasonally adjusted and unadjusted, and trend-cycle, last 5 months (x 1,000) 1, 2, 3, 4

Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux
Produced by Meredith Martin
This podcast is funded by the Neptis Foundation and brought to you by the Smart Prosperity Institute.