The Missing Middle Podcast

Looking for a family-sized apartment in Canada feels almost impossible. In this episode, Cara Stern and Mike Moffatt explore why they’re so rare in Canadian cities and why building regulations, zoning, and outdated fire safety rules make larger units nearly impossible to construct. Restrictive codes, high costs, and policy gaps mean that families often end up squeezed into spaces that don’t meet their needs or leave cities entirely.

This shortage has shaped urban life, contributed to declining family formation in cities, and limited opportunities for young families. Are regulations really protecting people, or are they unintentionally blocking the housing Canadians need?

In this episode, we discuss:

Regulatory Barriers: How building codes and zoning prevent the creation of family-sized apartments.

Comparisons with Europe: Why families in cities like Paris and Berlin live comfortably in apartments.

Unintended Consequences: How rules meant to improve safety or quality actually reduce housing options.

Policy and Change: What it would take to create a housing system that truly supports families.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:42 Challenges Finding Family-Sized Rental Apartments
01:54 How European Families Live in City Apartments
02:46 Why European-Style Apartment Units Are Illegal Here
03:40 North American Apartment Layouts Create Space Issues
04:15 Unintended Consequences of Prescriptive Building Codes
04:57 pop up https://youtu.be/TF63Xj_QtjM?si=YKMdLHIs8b_Nchgx
05:03 pop up https://youtu.be/WpT0YDY8ejM?si=OIIEQm-y76TZlPEB
06:05 Structural Problems in Housing Regulations
08:07 Zoning Makes Low-Rise Family Apartments Difficult
09:48 Optimism and Next Steps for Policy Change

Research/links:
Why we can’t build family-sized apartments in North America
https://www.centerforbuilding.org/article/why-we-cant-build

Why Single Stairways are Heaven for Homebuilding
https://youtu.be/WpT0YDY8ejM?si=OIIEQm-y76TZlPEB

How Elevator Rules Cost Us Homes
https://youtu.be/TF63Xj_QtjM?si=YKMdLHIs8b_Nchgx

North America's Elevator Problem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or1_qVdekYM&t=1s

Addressing the concerns around single-staircase apartments
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozwkP9Zsi0Y

Why We Don't Build More Apartments for Families | Odd Lots
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76IHpt6q9ME

Broken Zoning: Why We Can’t Fix the Housing Crisis Without a Map
https://youtu.be/yuAsjJsiuyQ?si=1DDXn4pIGUvSjmgC

Single Stair Buildings for San Francisco: The Key to Building Small Scale Infill Housing
https://openscopestudio.com/single-stair-buildings-for-san-francisco-the-key-to-building-small-scale-infill-housing/

Why Are Housing Costs So High? The Elevator Can Explain Why.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/08/opinion/elevator-construction-regulation-labor-immigration.html
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 the Canadian dream officially broken? A recent headline claiming Canada is now poorer than Alabama sparked outrage and pearl-clutching from coast to coast. But beyond the headlines, what does the data actually say about our quality of life?

In this episode of Classonomics, hosts Mike Moffatt and Sabrina Maddeaux strip away the “economic hubris” and look at the cold, hard numbers. They explore why Canadians are so obsessed with “dunking on Americans” that we’ve ignored a decade of stagnation, a plummeting Human Development Index, and a housing crisis that has created two different Canadas.

In this episode, we discuss:

The Alabama Comparison: Is GDP per capita the right metric, or just a wake-up call?

The Happiness Gap: Why Canadian seniors are some of the happiest in the world while young people (under 30) have plummeted to 58th globally.

The Generational Wealth Divide: How the “floor” is falling out for Millennials and Gen Z while older homeowners remain insulated.

The Resource Curse: Why Canada has the complacency of a resource-rich nation without actually reaping the wealth.

The “Not-American” Trap: Why comparing ourselves only to the U.S. is holding our policy-makers back from real solutions found in countries like Denmark and New Zealand.

“The inequality here isn’t rich versus poor. It’s old versus young.”

Chapters:
00:00 Is Canada Poorer Than Alabama? The Headline That Stung
01:03 - Defining GDP per Capita
02:54  Canada's Decline in Global Well-Being Rankings
04:11 The Happiness Gap: Seniors vs. Gen Z & Millennials
04:57 The “Household Wealth Irony: Why High Home Prices Are Deceptive
05:34 A Tale of Two Countries: The Generational Wealth Split
07:21 The "Floor" Argument: Why Alabama is More Stable for Youth
09:47 The Stark Reality: Seniors are 9x Richer Than Their Grandchildren
10:47 The Resource Curse: Complacency Without the Riches
12:23 Canada’s Biggest Problem: The “At Least We’re Not American” Mindset
15:24 Patriotism Through Criticism: Why We Must Admit There’s a Problem

Research:

Sabrina Maddeaux: Canada didn't become poorer than Alabama 'out of nowhere
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/canada-didnt-become-poorer-than-alabama-out-of-nowhere

Canada’s global performance rankings are in freefall
https://thehub.ca/2026/02/26/canadas-global-performance-rankings-are-in-freefall/

How Canada became poorer than Alabama
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-out-of-nowhere-canada-became-poorer-than-alabama-how-is-that-possible/

World Happiness Report 2025
https://www.worldhappiness.report/ed/2025/

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.

For decades, housing planners have assumed that seniors would eventually downsize, freeing up family homes for the next generation. But that hasn’t happened.
In this episode, Cara Stern and Mike Moffatt explore why most seniors choose to stay in their homes and why that decision is often perfectly rational. High moving costs, limited housing options, strong community ties, and government policies that encourage aging in place all make downsizing far less appealing than planners expected.
This mistaken assumption has shaped housing forecasts, contributed to today’s housing shortage, and fueled tensions between generations. Are seniors really the problem, or did policymakers simply plan the housing system around the wrong idea?
And if seniors aren’t moving, what does that mean for families trying to find space in cities where family-sized homes remain scarce?
In this episode, we discuss:
The Over-Housing Myth: Why the term does more harm than good.
The Cost of Moving: Taxes, fees, and the "financial loser" trade-off of downsizing.
Involuntary Over-Housing: What happens when seniors want to move but have nowhere to go.
Policy Failure: How municipal assumptions about generational turnover are decades out of date.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
01:00 The Irony of Planners Assuming Seniors Will Downsize
2:32 Flawed Assumptions About Generational Turnover and Life Expectancy
03:47 The Problematic Term "Overhoused"
07:11 Defining "Involuntarily Overhoused"
08:25 Underhousing Statistics in Toronto
09:04 Zero Sum Mentality Created By Housing Shortage
10:40 Density as a Solution for Seniors and Reducing Resentment
12:33 The Financial Calculation: Why Moving Makes No Sense for Seniors
14:00  Policies Actively Paying Seniors to Stay in Place
16:09 Places where they have Implemented Better Policy 
Research/links:
Right-Sizing Housing and Generational Turnover
https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/planning-development/planning-studies-initiatives/housing-to-2051/
Perspectives on Growing Older in Canada: The 2025 NIA Ageing in Canada Survey – National Institute on Ageing, Toronto Metropolitan University
https://niageing.ca/reports/perspectives-on-growing-older-in-canada-the-2025-nia-ageing-in-canada-survey/
Canada’s Demographic Time Bomb: What Boom, Bust & Echo Got Right - 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3VT7x1lrBs
City of Toronto – Garden Suites and Laneway Suites
https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/planning-development/planning-studies-initiatives/garden-suites/
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 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.