The Missing Middle Podcast

With election day approaching across Ontario, are mayoral candidates offering real solutions to the housing crisis, or just slogans?
Cara Stern and Mike Moffatt examine housing platforms from candidates in nine Ontario cities to see which proposals could actually make homes more affordable for middle-class families, renters, and first-time homebuyers.
They break down the policies that could make a difference, the promises that need more scrutiny, and the municipal decisions that are shaping the future of housing in Ontario.
In this episode:
What's missing from candidates' housing plans? Why concrete targets, timelines, and realistic funding matter.
Mississauga's property tax proposal: Would allowing seniors to defer property taxes help homeowners, or create new costs for taxpayers?
Toronto's land transfer tax: Could cutting the tax help families move into homes that better suit their needs, and how would the city replace the lost revenue?
Windsor's fourplex debate: What happens when municipal leaders oppose policies that could allow more homes to be built?
Oshawa and Guelph's housing plans: Can faster approvals, lower development charges, and more flexible zoning improve affordability?
The case for family-sized homes: Why building more housing means more than hitting unit targets, and why young families need more options.
What good housing policy looks like: Mike shares the municipal reforms he would prioritize, from streamlining approvals to making starter homes cheaper to build.
The big question: Can good housing policy win elections, and are municipal politicians willing to make the changes needed to help the next generation afford a home?

Chapters:

00:00 - Introduction: Analyzing Ontario’s Municipal Housing Platforms
00:50 - What to Look For in a Middle-Class Housing Plan
02:23 - Initial Reactions & "Where’s the Beef?"
03:04 - Property Tax Deferrals for Seniors: Good or Bad Policy?
06:30 - Land Transfer Taxes: Removing Barriers to Moving
08:46 - Strong Mayor Powers & The Fourplex Veto Debate
10:34 - Development Charges & Streamlining Approvals in Oshawa
12:31 - Density on Arterials vs. Neighbourhood Infill
14:59 - The Student Housing Crisis in Southwestern Ontario
16:35 - Core Principles for a Real Municipal Housing Vision
18:50 - Key Policies: Form-Based Zoning, AI Approvals, & Tax Reform
21:37 - Does Good Housing Policy Actually Win Elections?

Research/links:

https://www.thestar.com/real-estate/why-toronto-s-next-council-could-be-decided-by-renters/article_24997d4c-28a5-4250-ab38-e5c7203c8252.html

https://www.alvintedjo.ca/affordability

https://chewforguelph.ca/priorities/

https://bradford26.ca/news/brad-bradford-toronto-mayor-will-eliminate-torontos-land-transfer-tax-for-the-average-homebuyer

https://www.ctvnews.ca/windsor/article/dilkens-vows-to-use-strong-mayor-powers-to-block-fourplex-changes-if-re-elected-francis-calls-it-fear-mongering/#:~:text=Dilkens%20vows%20to%20use%20strong%20mayor%20powers,Dilkens%20(right).%20(%20Sanjay%20Maru%2FCTV%20News%20Windsor)

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

Canadian Civil
youtube.com/CanadianCivil

Co-op Student
Francis Gabriel Carmona
Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux
Produced by Meredith Martin
Edited by Sean Foreman and Canadian Civil

In this episode of Classonomics, Sabrina Maddeaux and Mike Moffatt break down why political promises to give "more money to seniors" actually enrich Canada's wealthiest demographic, the myth that retirees "paid into" Old Age Security, how brutal child benefit clawbacks contrast with generous senior write-offs, and how taking money from young workers is quietly hurting the economy. 
Chapters:

00:00:00 The Problem with “More Money for Seniors”
00:02:53 How OAS Works & Why Income Thresholds Matter 
00:04:36 The Conservative Payout Plan
00:05:41 Seniors vs. Struggling Young Families
00:08:32 Generational Theft & Economic Drag
00:10:03 Why Politicians Pandering to Boomers Always Win
00:13:23 We’ll Be $3 Trillion in Debt and Still Giving Discretionary Handouts
00:14:37 Stop Giving Wealthy Retirees Welfare

RESEARCH LINKS:
Sabrina Maddeaux column (National Post) — https://nationalpost.com/opinion/sabrina-maddeaux-conservatives-lose-the-plot-with-pitch-for-higher-old-age-security

Old Age Security — overview, amounts, and clawback thresholds (Government of Canada):
https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions/cpp/old-age-security.html

Canada Child Benefit — income thresholds and calculation:
https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/child-family-benefits/canada-child-benefit-overview.html

Parliamentary Budget Officer — fiscal analysis of seniors benefits and OAS projections:
https://www.pbo-dpb.ca

Generation Squeeze — generational fairness and intergenerational transfers:
https://www.gensqueeze.ca

Net wealth data: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/241029/t001a-eng.htm 

Poverty data: https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/topics-start/poverty 

Parliamentary Budget Office costing: https://www.pbo-dpb.ca/en/epc-estimates--estimations-cpe/45/EL-45-1031563-P 

Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux
Produced by Meredith Martin
Edited by Sean Foreman and Canadian Civil

In this episode of Classonomics, Sabrina Maddeaux and Mike Moffatt break down whether creating brand-new cities can actually solve Canada’s housing affordability crisis, how our metropolitan numbers compare globally, the failed history of planned-city experiments like Ontario's Townsend and Australia's Monarto, and why central planning can't replace the organic economic realities that make cities thrive.
Chapters:
00:00 Why Doesn’t Canada Build New Cities?
01:23 Canada Is Already Creating New Cities
03:10 Why Smaller Canadian Cities Are Growing Faster
04:37 Does Canada Actually Need More Cities?
09:20 Why Canada’s New City Plans Keep Failing
14:20 Can the Free Market Create New Cities?
16:20 Why Moving People Won’t Solve the Housing Crisis

Research:
UK New towns: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_towns_in_the_United_Kingdom

Townsend:
https://haldimandpress.com/townsend-the-metropolitan-city-that-never-was/

Monarto:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarto,_South_Australia

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

Sabrina Maddeaux https://x.com/SabrinaMaddeaux

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

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

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

University Of Ottawa Co-op Student
Francis Gabriel Carmona

Funded by the Neptis Foundation https://neptis.org/
Brought to you by the Missing Middle Initiative https://www.missingmiddleinitiative.ca/

Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux
Produced by Meredith Martin
Edited by Sean Foreman and Canadian Civil

We often talk about how politics caters to seniors at the expense of young people, and that part of the cure is to get more young voices into politics.

But what actually happens when a young outsider puts their name on the ballot for a major party leadership position?

In this episode of Answer Period, former Ontario Liberal leadership candidate Eric Lombardi joins us for a candid conversation about his outsider campaign, navigating the tension between sound-bite politics and deep policy, and the double-edged sword of social media in modern campaigns. We'll dive into the harsh realities facing young political outsiders, what it truly takes to challenge the establishment, and key takeaways for the next generation of leaders looking to make a real impact.

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

Canadian Civil
youtube.com/CanadianCivil

Co-op Student
Francis Gabriel Carmona

Brought to you by the Missing Middle Initiative https://www.missingmiddleinitiative.ca/
Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux
Produced by Meredith Martin
Edited by Sean Foreman and Canadian Civil

Housing affordability is increasingly shaping how young people think about politics, political parties, and the future of democracy.
On this episode of DemograFix, Mike Moffatt and Cara Stern explore what research tells us about the relationship between the housing crisis and young people's political views across North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
Does declining housing affordability deepen the divide between younger and older voters? Is it pushing young people away from centrist parties, or toward the left or right? And what happens when an entire generation starts to lose faith in its ability to ever own a home?
Mike puts six statements about housing and politics to Cara, drawing on academic research and polling data to explore how housing affordability is reshaping political priorities, polarization, voter engagement, and the desire for homeownership.

Chapters:
00:00 Housing Affordability Is a Global Crisis
01:26 Could the Housing Crisis Radicalize Young Voters?
03:45 Is Housing Widening the Generational Political Divide?
06:24 Is the Housing Crisis Polarizing Young Voters?
10:12 Is Housing Pushing Young People Left or Right?
13:11 How Housing Is Creating a New Class Divide
17:12 Is the Housing Crisis Driving Political Disengagement?
19:38 Do Young People Still Want to Own a Home?

Research/links:
The Dangerous Disillusionment of Young Canadians
https://macleans.ca/politics/the-dangerous-disillusionment-of-young-canadians/
How to lose friends and alienate people: The social and political consequences of Europe’s housing crisis: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/17816858241274918 
Three inconvenient truths:How to stop housing radicalising the young and killing the political centre
https://www.martenscentre.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/5.pdf 
Economy and Space piece
https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/files/241804034/0308518x211022363.pdf
What drives support for large-scale housing reform?
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19491247.2026.2630075
Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux
Produced by Meredith Martin
Edited by Sean Foreman and Canadian Civil