The Missing Middle Podcast

Why does modern life feel so disconnected? In this episode, Cara Stern sits down with journalist and Scout leader Harrison Lowman to talk about the decline of community in Canada, and what it takes to rebuild it.
From scouting and volunteering to neighbourhood pubs, churches, and “third spaces,” they explore why strong communities don’t happen automatically, how urban design shapes social connection, and why so many people feel isolated despite living closer together than ever before. They also discuss parenting, trust, loneliness, suburban life, condo living, and the importance of showing up for your neighbours.
Topics covered:
Why people feel more isolated today
The decline of volunteering in Canada
How urban design affects community
Why “third spaces” matter
Parenting, support systems, and “the village”
High-trust vs low-trust societies
How scouting builds community and leadership
What it takes to know your neighbours again
Subscribe for more conversations on housing, cities, policy, and the future of Canada.

Chapters:
00:00 Why Community Is More Than Good Urban Design
02:22 Scouts, Service, and Teaching Kids to Contribute
04:04 Why Modern Life Makes Community Harder to Build
07:47 Third Places, Neighbours, and High-Trust Communities
11:55 A Surprise Pie and the Power of Trust
14:55 Finding Community Through Volunteering and Shared Purpose
17:17 You Have to Be a Villager to Have a Village
19:34 Can We Design Communities That Bring People Together?

Research/links:
» Volunteer wellbeing: what works and who benefits? 
https://whatworkswellbeing.org/resources/volunteer-wellbeing-what-works-and-who-benefits/ 
Exploring the Effects of Volunteering on the Social, Mental, and Physical Health and Well-being of Volunteers: An Umbrella Review - PMC 
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10159229/

Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux
Produced by Meredith Martin
Funded by the Neptis Foundation https://neptis.org/

Why are young Canadians leaving cities? Why are seniors staying in homes that are too big for them? And can Canada lower housing costs without cutting quality of life even further?
In this listener Q&A episode of The Missing Middle, Sabrina Maddeaux and Cara Stern answer audience questions on housing affordability, immigration, downsizing, social isolation, wage stagnation, the Greenbelt, and why building more “missing middle” housing has become so difficult in Canada.
Topics covered:
Why seniors aren’t downsizing
The shortage of family-sized homes
Housing prices vs stagnant wages
Social isolation and unaffordable cities
Immigration and housing demand
The Greenbelt debate
What young Canadians can do politically
If you enjoy the episode, subscribe and leave a comment with your own question for a future mailbag episode.

Eamon 
Seniors are lonely, rich, and live in houses that are too big, often in desirable neighbourhoods. Young people are desperate for housing, poor, and looking for roommates. Why not create a tax incentive for seniors to free up rooms in their houses for young people? I think a vacancy tax is punitive, but a tax incentive could unlock housing in a win-win (rather than zero sum) way for willing participants. Thoughts? 

Kate
In your second-time homebuyer article you mention that various government initiatives could lower newly built housing costs by up to 15% which would free up more family sized homes "making it easier for seniors to downsize". How would lowering the cost of newly built homes by 15% make it easier for seniors to downsize? In my view, the more significant factor facing senior downsizers is not the cost of new housing but the scarcity of appealing post-move options for them. 

Mary (edited for length) 
I am a boomer with two millennial children who haven't yet reached middle-class milestones like stable employment or homeownership. I believe factors other than parental status are at play: 1) Are houses more expensive, or are incomes simply failing to keep up with declining purchasing power? 2) Given the rise in single-person households, why is there so much social isolation, and how does the difficulty of making connections in urban environments impact the ability for young people to save and enter the housing market?

Chris Jeanneret and came from the comments section of our Greenbelt episode: 
Is the Greenbelt even practical for "affordable" housing, or does it only provide more land for luxury country estates? 

@canucklhead 
Isn't the obvious solution here to keep immigration low for the next few years to keep pressuring rents lower? Wouldn't this be the easiest solution to help affordability for everyone? 

Emily writes: 
I see what is happening to those under 25 and it is awful. How can I get involved? What steps can I take that will make the most difference? Do you know of a group in Edmonton organizing that is making a real difference especially in the "missing middle". 

Chapters: 

00:00Mailbag Special: Your Housing Questions Answered
00:23Should Seniors Rent Out Empty Bedrooms?
02:57Will Cheaper New Homes Help Seniors Downsize?
05:07Why Millennials Are Falling Behind
06:00Social Isolation, Third Places & Housing Costs
08:05How Housing Affordability Breaks Friendships and Communities
10:54Can the Greenbelt Deliver Affordable Housing?
12:43Is Lower Immigration the Fastest Path to Affordability?
14:16What Canadians Can Do to Push for Change

Research/links:

The Disappearing "Third Place": Why Making Friends Is Getting Harder
https://youtu.be/WYFTsrvwr0o?si=IIGS4jllTN2dKT5h

Grow Together Edmonton
https://www.growtogetheryeg.com/

Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux
Produced by Meredith Martin
Funded by the Neptis Foundation https://neptis.org/

Canada’s fertility rate has fallen to just 1.25 children per woman, one of the lowest in the developed world. But what’s actually driving the decline? Are fewer Canadians having children, or are the ones having kids simply choosing to have fewer of them?
In this episode of DemograFix, ⁠Mike Moffatt and ⁠Cara Stern break down the data behind Canada’s collapsing birth rate. They explore why more women are remaining childless, why one-child families have become the norm, and how housing costs, delayed parenthood, childcare, culture, and changing lifestyles are reshaping family formation across the country.
Topics discussed:
Why Vancouver and Victoria have some of the world’s lowest fertility rates
The surprising link between housing affordability and birth rates
Why millennials and Gen Z still say they want kids
How family sizes changed from the 1980s to today
Whether education actually reduces fertility
Why cities are losing young families
The growing gap between the number of children Canadians want and the number they actually have
If Canada wants higher birth rates, what would it actually take to make raising children affordable again?
#Canada #HousingCrisis #FertilityRate #BirthRate #Millennials #GenZ #Economy #Housing #Population #Parenting #Childcare #CanadianPolitics #Demographics #TheMissingMiddle
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction: Canada’s Ultra-Low Fertility Rate
01:08 What Fertility Rates Measure — And Why Canada Is Different
01:59 Housing Costs, Cities, and Why Young Families Are Leaving
03:49 Are Fewer Women Having Children?
04:32 Delayed Parenthood and The Rise In Childlessness
06:01 Marriage, Religion, Immigration, and Fertility Trends
08:03 Does Higher Education Actually Reduce Birth Rates?
10:24 From Three-Child Families To One-Child Households
12:26 Housing Costs, Bedrooms, and Raising Kids In Canada
14:22 Canadians Still Want More Children
17:28 From Overpopulation Fears To Population Collapse
19:44 The Growing Gap Between Family Goals and Reality
20:05 What Governments Could Do To Make Raising Kids Easier

Research/links:
Proportion of women aged 20 to 49 without children, by age group and selected sociodemographic characteristics, 2024
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/260126/t001a-eng.htm

‘One and Done’ is the new norm: inside Canada’s growing one-child family trend
https://www.babycenter.ca/a25053886/one-and-done-is-the-new-norm-inside-Canadas-growing-one-child-family-trend 

Living arrangements of children in Canada: A century of change
https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2014/statcan/75-006-x/75-006-2014001-4-eng.pdf

Fertility in Canada, 1921 to 2022
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/91f0015m/91f0015m2024001-eng.htm 

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

Cara Stern https://x.com/carastern
https://bsky.app/profile/carastern.bsky.social

Meredith Martin  https://twitter.com/meredithmartin
https://bsky.app/profile/meredithmartin.bsky.social

Sean Foreman @seanegertonforeman
https://bsky.app/profile/seanforeman.bsky.social

University of Ottawa Co-op Student,  Kelly Hoban

Brought to you by the Missing Middle Initiative https://www.missingmiddleinitiative.ca/

Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux
Produced by Meredith Martin
Funded by the Neptis Foundation https://neptis.org/

Why are Canadians allowed to sell their homes tax-free while profits from stocks and investments get taxed? And is that policy making Canada’s housing crisis even worse?
In this episode of Classonomics Sabrina Maddeaux and Mike Moffatt break down Canada’s capital gains exemption on primary residences, why it exists, why politicians are terrified to touch it, and whether it’s contributing to skyrocketing home prices and inequality between homeowners and renters.
They explore the history of the tax exemption, why attempts to change it spark political outrage, how other countries handle housing taxes, and whether taxing home profits would actually make housing more affordable. Plus, they discuss property taxes, downsizing, investor advantages, generational inequality, and why even “common sense” housing reforms have become politically impossible in Canada.
Topics covered:
Canada’s capital gains exemption on homes
Housing affordability and inequality
Why homeowners are politically powerful
How other countries tax housing wealth
Property taxes and downsizing
Investors vs families in the housing market
The politics of housing reform in Canada
Why fixing housing has become so difficult
#Canada #HousingCrisis #RealEstate #Taxes #HousingMarket #CanadianPolitics #Economics #TheMissingMiddle

Chapters:
00:00 Why Canada Doesn’t Tax Gains on Your Primary Home
01:17 Why Politicians Won’t Touch the Primary Residence Exemption
04:06 The History of Canada’s Capital Gains Exemption
05:28 How Other Countries Handle Housing Capital Gains
07:25 Does the Exemption Actually Worsen the Housing Crisis?
10:39 The Case Against Taxing Primary Residences
13:26 Better Alternatives: Tax Fairness Without Capital Gains Reform
16:06 Why Even Good Housing Policy Can Be Politically Impossible

Research:
Canada should look to Australia on eliminating barriers to downsizing for seniors
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/personal-finance/article-housing-baby-boomers-suburban-homes-young-families/

CBC article from a few years ago: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/the-conservatives-misleading-claims-about-a-secret-liberal-housing-tax-1.5312873 

26 of 40:
https://view.asiae.co.kr/en/article/2022032109551988175 

History of cap gains taxes:
https://www.ctf.ca/EN/EN/Newsletters/Perspectives/2021/3/210304.aspx

Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux
Produced by Meredith Martin
Funded by the Neptis Foundation https://neptis.org/

What if companies could figure out the exact maximum you’re willing to pay, and charge you exactly that?

That’s the promise of surveillance pricing: using your personal data, purchase history, location, online behavior, and even financial information to tailor prices specifically to you.

In this episode, Cara Stern talks with Vass Bednar, managing director of the Canadian Shield Institute and author of The Big Fix, about why this issue is suddenly on the political agenda in Canada, and what it means for consumers.

They discuss:
What surveillance pricing is, and how it differs from ordinary dynamic pricing
How companies use your data to predict your “willingness to pay”
Why two people could see different prices for the exact same product
The real-world examples already happening with apps, airlines, and delivery platforms

Why 83% of Canadians say this practice should be banned or regulated
What governments can actually do to stop it

Chapters:

Research/links:

Everything Costs More Because the Algorithm Says So | The Walrus
https://thewalrus.ca/everything-costs-more-because-the-algorithm-says-so/
How Corporate Consolidation is Ruining Everything: Discussion with Denise Hearn and Vass Bednar
https://youtu.be/Uz5DkpZPH2k?si=M_c-2GX4dS7wKF9l

Canadians Are Skeptical of Algorithmic Pricing - Abacus Data
https://abacusdata.ca/canadians-are-deeply-skeptical-of-algorithmic-pricing-and-want-governments-to-intervene/

AI-Driven Pricing May Be the Next Shock to Canadian Grocery Shoppers
https://retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2025/12/ai-driven-pricing-may-be-the-next-shock-to-canadian-grocery-shoppers/

Algorithms are raising prices for everything. This must stop - The Globe and Mail
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-algorithms-are-raising-prices-for-everything-this-must-stop/

Avi Lewis is smart to shed light on surveillance pricing | Canada's National Observer: Climate News
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2026/04/24/news/avi-lewis-ndp-surveillance-pricing

Algorithmic pricing: Poll finds half of Canadians against
https://www.cp24.com/news/canada/2026/03/18/most-canadians-want-to-ban-or-regulate-algorithmic-pricing-poll-shows/?lid=8z3lanxo654a
Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux
Produced by Meredith Martin
Funded by the Neptis Foundation https://neptis.org/