The Missing Middle Podcast

Has having three kids become a status symbol in Canada?
In this episode of DemograFix, Cara Stern and Mike Moffatt explore why having three children has become a luxury for many middle-class Canadian families. From the cost of family-sized housing to childcare, career sacrifices, transportation, and the changing expectations placed on parents, they break down why so many families stop at two, even when they wanted more.
The conversation also looks at Canadian and international research on fertility, Quebec's childcare experiment, why family-sized homes have almost disappeared from our cities, and what governments would actually need to change if they want Canadians to have the families they hope for.
If you've ever wondered why three kids now feels like a status symbol, this episode explains the economics behind it.

Topics covered:
Why Canada's fertility rate has reached record lows
Is a third child becoming a luxury good?
How housing shortages shape family size
Why family-sized homes are disappearing
The hidden career costs of having children
Does affordable childcare actually increase birth rates?
Why cities are losing young families
What policies could make raising larger families affordable again

Chapters:
00:00 Why 3 Kids Are Becoming a Rich Person's Luxury
00:58 When Families Become Status Symbols
03:03 The Housing Crisis is Eliminating the Third Child
05:09 Canada Stopped Building Family Homes
06:28 The Big Childcare Problem
07:55 Does Cheap Childcare Actually Boost Birth Rates?
12:15 The Real Cost of a Third Baby
15:07 Families Are Being Forced Out of Cities
17:20 How Canada Could Make Three Kids Affordable Again

Research/links:
More Crowding, Fewer Babies: The Effects of Housing Density on Fertility | Institute for Family Studies 
https://ifstudies.org/blog/more-crowding-fewer-babies-the-effects-of-housing-density-on-fertility

The ultimate status symbol? A big family
https://www.ft.com/content/a4025e93-7552-4f8f-8ce2-e785a7d950a4?syn-25a6b1a6=1

Opinion | Three Kids? You Showoffs. - The Washington Post 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/2008/04/06/three-kids-you-showoffs/6b7952ed-4547-4f9b-ae9b-cd9d2f1d8aa0/

Why are some families with children leaving the inner city and other staying? 
https://www.scup.com/doi/10.18261/njus.2.1.2
Home Alone | Cardus 
https://www.cardus.ca/research/family/reports/home-alone/

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

Is 500,000 new homes a year really what Canada needs to solve the housing crisis?
In this episode of the Missing Middle’s Classonomics Podcast, Mike Moffatt and Sabrina Maddeaux examine whether Canada's headline housing targets still make sense now that immigration has slowed and population growth has changed. They discuss why housing starts can be a misleading metric, why the type of housing being built matters just as much as the number of homes, and what governments should actually measure if the goal is restoring affordability.
Topics covered:
Why the 500,000-home target may no longer be necessary
How immigration affects housing demand
Why housing starts don't tell the full story
The shortage of family-sized homes
High-rise condos vs. townhomes and detached homes
The hidden costs preventing more housing from being built
What metrics governments should focus on instead of housing starts
Can Canada restore middle-class housing affordability within a decade?
Subscribe for more conversations on housing, affordability, economics, and public policy.
Chapters:
00:00 - Does Canada Really Need 500,000 Homes a Year?
01:40 - Where Did the 500k Housing Starts Target Come From?
02:47 - The Metrics Governments Should Focus On Instead
04:11 - Balancing Housing Supply with Immigration Demand
05:21 - The Population Math: Why 500k is Overkill
06:40 - How Developers Bet on Future Immigration Policy
08:39 - Why the Type of Housing Matters (High-Rises vs. Townhomes)
10:12 - How Many Homes We Actually Need to Build
11:08 - Solving the Crisis by Lowering Construction Costs
13:04 - Will Baby Boomers Free Up Suburban Housing?
Research/links
The Impossible Trinity that Broke Canadian Housing
https://open.substack.com/pub/missingmiddleinitiative/p/the-impossible-trinity-that-broke?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
The Housing Trilemma: Why You Can't Afford a Home
https://www.missingmiddleinitiative.ca/p/the-housing-trilemma-why-you-cant 
Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux
Produced by Meredith Martin
Funded by the Neptis Foundation https://neptis.org/

When a business faces a labour shortage, the free market says they should raise wages. So why is Canada’s government stepping in to make labour cheaper instead?
In this episode of The Missing Middle, Cara Stern and Mike Moffatt dive into how Canada's low-wage Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program and the explosion of international student work caps have completely disrupted the laws of supply and demand. As Canadian youth face historic unemployment rates, we break down how corporate lobbying and government policy created a cheat code that insulates businesses from capitalism, while pushing young workers off the first rung of the career ladder.
From the housing crisis in Alberta's mountain tourist towns to Tim Hortons' recent PR scramble, we expose the loop of corporate reliance on exploitable temporary labor and ask: how do we let the market actually fix itself?
Topics covered:
Canada's rising youth unemployment rate
The Temporary Foreign Worker Program explained
How international student work rules affect the job market
Why labour shortages don't always mean there aren't enough workers
Seasonal jobs, tourism, and staff housing
The economics of wages, supply, and demand
Tim Hortons and the TFW controversy
Policy solutions to improve opportunities for young Canadians
#Canada #YouthUnemployment #TemporaryForeignWorkers #Jobs #CanadianEconomy #LabourMarket #Economics #Immigration #PublicPolicy #MissingMiddle

Chapters:
00:00 - The Free Market Myth in Canada
01:24 - Gen Z vs. Gen X: The Youth Unemployment Crisis
02:12 - Why Student Jobs Suddenly Vanished
03:32 - How the TFW Program Ballooned Over 50 Years
05:39 - The Corporate Lobbying Flipping Immigration Rules
07:11 - Debunking the Alberta "Labour Shortage"
09:47 - Why Canada Insulates Businesses From Capitalism
11:11 - What "Dirty Dancing" Teaches Us About Seasonal Housing
14:06 - The Dark Side of Temporary Work Regulations
16:02 - Exposing Tim Hortons' "Local Hiring" PR Spin
18:57 - How to Break the TFW Doom Loop

Research/links:

Tourist towns ‘desperate’ for workers in Alberta
https://www.cp24.com/news/2026/03/28/i-have-to-find-at-least-35-people-before-june-1-worker-shortages-in-albertas-tourist-towns/
Tim Hortons says it will hire locals, scale back temporary foreign workers
https://globalnews.ca/news/11863474/tim-hortons-temporary-foreign-workers/
Tim Hortons is Committed to Local Hiring Launching National Campaign to Hire 10,000 Local Team Members 
https://www.news.timhortons.ca/en/articles/tim-hortons-is-committed-to-local-hiring-launching-national-camp
Youth unemployment in Canada jumped 57% in 3 years, hitting levels previously unseen outside a recession
https://thehub.ca/2026/05/07/canadas-youth-unemployment-jumped-57-in-3-years-hit-unprecedented-jobless-levels-outside-recession-by-2025/
Youth unemployment in Canada near record highs since 2022; unprecedented levels outside of a recession
https://www.fraserinstitute.org/studies/extraordinary-increase-youth-unemployment-canada
https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/2026-04/extraordinary-increase-of-youth-unemployment-in-canada.pdf

Temporary ForeignWorkers in Canada:Are They Really Filling Labour Shortages?
https://cdhowe.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/commentary_407.pdf
StatsCan: Drayton Valley statistical area sees lowest unemployment in Alberta at 4.9 per cent
https://www.bigwestcountry.ca/2026/06/05/statscan-drayton-valley-statistical-area-sees-lowest-unemployment-in-alberta-at-4-9-per-cent/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20latest%20Labour,5.3%20per%20cent%20in%20April
Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Programs - The Canadian Encyclopedia
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canadas-temporary-foreign-worker-programs
Businesses face new limits on temporary foreign worker program
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/tfw-program-new-limits-1.7333777
3 problems with the temporary foreign worker program and 3 possible fixes, according to experts
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/temporary-foreign-worker-program-fixes-1.7633045

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

Why are so many young Canadian families leaving Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal? Even after return-to-office mandates, the exodus from Canada's largest cities continues.
In this episode of Classonomics, Mike Moffatt and Sabrina Maddeaux explore the data behind Canada's urban migration trends and debate why affordability isn't the only factor driving people away. They discuss housing costs, crime and public safety, mental health, community, urban planning, and whether government policies are making sprawl even worse.
Topics covered:
Why Canadians are leaving the GTA, Metro Vancouver, and Montreal
Why return-to-office hasn't reversed the trend
Housing affordability and the shortage of family-sized homes
Crime, public safety, and quality of life in big cities
Mental health, community, and life satisfaction
Urban growth boundaries, the Greenbelt, and sprawl
Why smaller cities are attracting young families
What policymakers are getting wrong about housing and urban planning

Subscribe for more conversations on housing, economics, public policy, and the future of Canada.

Chapters: 
00:00 The Great Canadian Family Exodus
01:05 Mike's Biggest Prediction Miss
03:05 Why Millennials Are Leaving Cities
04:17 Is Toronto Becoming Too Chaotic?
06:22 Does Crime Make Families Move?
09:44 Are Small Towns Better for Mental Health?
11:57 Why Community Matters More Than Ever
14:32 It All Comes Back to Housing
15:35 The Greenbelt's Unintended Consequences
17:29 When Good Environmental Policy Goes Wrong
18:40 The Case for Evidence-Based Policy

Research/links:
Housing is a large part of the story. The OECD has examined this:
https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/2025/05/oecd-economic-surveys-canada-2025_ee18a269/full-report/improving-housing-affordability_3d430d2e.html
As has Statistics Canada: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/241119/dq241119b-eng.htm 
Remote Work and Employment Dynamics under COVID-19: Evidence from Canada
 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7971424/
Upjohn Institute: https://www.upjohn.org/remote-works-quiet-impact-rural-communities
C.D. Howe: https://cdhowe.org/publication/settling-new-normal-working-home-across-canada/ 
Social ties and quality of life, including lower rates of depression: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/75-006-x/2025002/article/00003-eng.htm 
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20376426/ 
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-design/article-why-some-people-are-choosing-country-life-over-the-city/ 
Though evidence is nuanced: https://www.cmaj.ca/content/184/17/E889 

Crime and disorder:

https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/urban-violent-crime-report-comparing-crime-across-canadian-cities-volume-2/
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2025001/article/00005-eng.htm 
McDonald-Laurier Report: https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Urban-Violent-Crime-Report_Final.pdf 

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

Thinking about taking parental leave in Canada?

In this episode of DemograFix Cara Stern talks with Jasmine Steffler (from Walkable Parenthood and Oh The Urbanity!) about her experience navigating parental leave. From understanding benefits and income replacement to finding childcare, building community, and adjusting to life with a new baby, Cara and Jasmine know what it takes to grow a family in Canada.

If you're expecting a child or planning a family, this conversation covers many of the practical questions parents have before taking leave:

✅ How parental leave and EI benefits work in Canada
✅ The difference between 12- and 18-month leave options
✅ Why Quebec's parental leave system is different
✅ How much income you can expect while on leave
✅ Finding daycare and understanding childcare costs
✅ Building community and avoiding isolation during leave
✅ Life with a baby in a walkable city without owning a car
✅ What we wish we knew before taking leave

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Canadian Parental Leave
00:48 Understanding Parental Leave Policies
02:29 Choosing the Length of Leave
02:51 The Quebec Parental Insurance Plan vs. Other Provinces
05:08 Navigating the Childcare System
06:15 Financial Challenges and Income Replacement
07:50 Walking and Cycling Without a Car
10:19 Finding Community During Parental Leave
12:50 Lessons Learned and Future Considerations
15:55 Traveling with a Young Child
16:49 Conclusion and Outro

Research/links:
The effect of leave policies on increasing fertility: a systematic review | Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-022-01270-w

(PDF) Does Parental Leave Affect Fertility and Return-to-Work? Evidence from a "True Natural Experiment" 
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5135837_Does_Parental_Leave_Affect_Fertility_and_Return-to-Work_Evidence_from_a_True_Natural_Experiment

The Daily — Fertility and baby names, 2024 
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/250924/dq250924d-eng.htm

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