The Missing Middle Podcast

Climate change isn’t topping Canadians’ priority lists anymore, but that doesn’t mean people have stopped caring.

New polling shows only 13% of Canadians now rank climate change as a top personal issue, down sharply from 2019. With affordability, housing, and the economy dominating attention, it’s easy to think climate action has fallen off the radar.

But the data tells a more complicated story.

In this episode, Cara Stern and Mike Moffatt break down new surveys from Abacus Data and Ipsos showing Canadians still feel a moral obligation to act, are making more sustainable purchasing decisions, and want governments to do more, even as optimism declines and affordability pressures grow.

They also explore why climate messaging may be backfiring, how individual actions can feel too small to matter, and why smart housing policy could reduce both emissions and household costs.

In this episode:

- Why climate change dropped in Canadians’ priorities
- Whether affordability is crowding out climate action
- Who’s actually buying sustainable products
- Why Canadians still want government action
- The gap between individual effort and policy leadership
- How housing policy can lower costs and emissions

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction: Climate Action vs. Affordability Trade-off
00:22 The Worrying Drop in Climate Change as a Top Priority
01:20 Climate Engagement Remains Strong Despite Affordability Issues
02:23 Who Are the Conscious Consumers? Income, Age, and the Moral Obligation
03:25 Generational Views on Climate Hope and Hopelessness
04:45 Why Bother? The Feeling of Tiny Individual Efforts
05:57 Government Action: Massive Mandate vs. Lack of Clear Plan
07:38 Blending Environment and Finance: Smart Housing Policy Solutions

Research/links:
https://moreandbetterhousing.ca/2024/11/19/fourpathways/
https://angusreid.org/election-2019-climate-change/
Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux
Produced by Meredith Martin
Funded by the Neptis Foundation https://neptis.org/

Rents are finally falling across Canada. But will it last? 

In this episode of Classonomics, Sabrina Maddeaux and Mike Moffatt break down new data from the CMHC showing rising vacancy rates, record rental supply, and the first meaningful relief for tenants in years. They explore why an influx of new housing and slower population growth are pushing rents down, and what that reveals about how housing markets actually work.

But the conversation goes deeper: from the real impact of immigration on housing demand, to the heated debate over rent control and new policy changes in Manitoba that could reshape the market. Will government intervention protect renters, or make the housing shortage worse? And what happens next as Canada’s population growth slows and hundreds of thousands of new units come online? 

00:40–01:38: Introduction: Rent Control in Manitoba and the Risk to New Housing Supply
01:38–02:58: CMHC Report Findings and the Impact of Supply on Decreased Rents
02:58–03:46: The Link Between Immigration Policy and Housing Scarcity
03:46–04:27: Future Rental Market Forecast: Supply-Demand Mismatch
04:27–05:38: Developers' Investment Decisions Based on Future Immigration Targets
05:38–09:24: The Core Debate: Personal Experience, Stability, and Rent Control's Impact on Supply
09:24–10:26: Detailed Breakdown of Manitoba's Bill 13 Rent Control Expansion
10:26–12:36: Controversy Over Above Guideline Increases (AGI) and Renters' Need for Stability
12:36–15:14: Concerns Over Sustainability, Discouraging Investment, and Who Should Cover Landlord Costs
15:14–16:17: Final Thoughts on Bill 13 and Conversation Conclusion
Research/Links:
NDP plan to expand Manitoba rent control protections
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-residential-tenancies-changes-renters-9.7125916

Big rent hikes — a made-in-Manitoba problem
https://www.policyalternatives.ca/news-research/big-rent-hikes-a-made-in-manitoba-problem/

Rent control killing jobs: landlords
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2026/04/07/rent-control-killing-jobs-landlords

Bill 13 - THE RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES AMENDMENT ACT
https://web2.gov.mb.ca/bills/43-3/b013e.php

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

Young Canadians are now less happy than seniors, and the gap is getting worse.
The latest World Happiness Report shows Canadians under 30 have fallen to 71st in the world for life satisfaction, while Canada’s overall ranking has dropped from 5th to 25th. In this episode, Mike Moffatt and Cara Stern break down what’s driving the decline — from housing affordability and falling “option freedom” to expectations, social media, and why the drop is concentrated in countries like Canada, the U.S., the U.K., and Australia.
We also explain how the World Happiness Report actually works, why expectations matter as much as income, and what policy choices may be making young Canadians feel like they’re playing by a different set of rules.
Chapters
00:00 Intro: The U-Shape of Happiness and Midlife Crisis
00:51 Canada's New Phenomenon: Young Adults Are Less Happy
01:48 From 5th to 25th: Canada's Global Happiness Ranking
03:00 How Happiness is Measured: The Gallup Poll Ladder Question
04:43 The Fundamental Equation of Happiness: Expectations vs. Reality
06:11 Canada's Mixed Ratings: Inequality and "Option Freedom"
07:18 Social Media's Impact: Passive vs. Communication Platforms
08:50 The Real Solution: Fixing Middle Class Housing and Policy Choices

Research/links:
World Happiness Report 2026 | The World Happiness Report
https://www.worldhappiness.report/ed/2026/

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

Canada has a massive problem: our national productivity is near the bottom of the G7. Decades of government policies, from free trade to tax cuts, haven't worked.

Why? Because policymakers are focused on greed (incentives) and not enough on fear (competition and risk).

We dive into the core failure of Canadian economic policy, exposing how corporate welfare and easy access to foreign workers kill innovation. Plus, hear the shocking truth about why Canadian retailers won't stock products from homegrown businesses until they succeed in the U.S. first.

We discuss Charles Lamman’s critique and Don Drummond's "confessions" to find out how to fix Canada's risk-aversion crisis and finally push our economy forward.

Chapters:
00:00:00 | Defining Productivity: Real GDP per Hour Worked
00:01:42 | Canada's Long Decline: The Charles Lamman Critique
00:03:15 | Don Drummond’s Confessions: The Failure of Decades of Policies
00:04:14 | Red Tape: The Omission That Stops Building
00:04:51 | The Core Flaw: Too Much Greed, Not Enough Fear
00:06:46 | Corporate Welfare and the Temporary Foreign Worker Trap
00:08:01 | Canada’s National Risk Aversion: Why Retailers Look South

Research:
Labour productivity and related measures, by business sector industry, seasonally adjusted, fourth quarter 2025
Productivity is an urgent problem for Canada. The response? A 15-year study
Confessions of a Serial Productivity Researcher
Canada: Q4 Productivity Slips Under the Weight of Tariffs and Uncertainty
From Bad to Worse: Canada’s Productivity Slowdown is Everyone’s Problem
Eighteen ideas on how to kickstart the Canadian economy
What Is Canada’s Productivity Performance and How Does It Compare to Other Countries?*
Towards An Inclusive Innovative Canada
https://canada2020.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/020317-EN-FULL-FINAL.pdf
https://www.ft.com/content/b7e6996b-f896-4a45-aad3-d1068e88341a?syn-25a6b1a6=1
Out of Nowhere: How Canada Fell Behind Alabama

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

If birth rates are falling, is it really because people want fewer kids—or because they feel like they can’t afford them?

In this episode, Cara Stern and Mike Moffatt unpack the growing gap between “preference” and “choice” when it comes to starting a family. From the rising financial and social costs of raising children to the pressure of modern parenting norms, they explore why having kids today feels harder, even for people who say they want them. The conversation dives into everything from delayed careers and housing affordability to the hidden impact of social media, the “arms race” of parenting, and what we can learn from Quebec’s subsidized childcare experiment.

The big takeaway: there’s no single cause and no single fix. But if we want a society where people can truly choose the family size they want, we may need to rethink everything from childcare and housing to culture itself.

Research/links:

Fertility Postponement, Economic Uncertainty, and the Rising Income Prerequisites of Parenthood – van Wijk and Billari (2024)
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/padr.12624

Fertility Incentives in Canada: A Cohort Analysis – Lee and Liu (2024)
https://clef.uwaterloo.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/CLEF-075-2024.pdf

The Role of Social Comparisons and Intensive Parenting – Mahler, Tertilt, and Yum, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (2025)
https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/5_Mahler_Tertilt_Yum_unembargoed.pdf

Not Just Later, but Fewer: Novel Trends in Cohort Fertility in the Nordic Countries – Demography (2021)
https://read.dukeupress.edu/demography/article/58/4/1373/174063/Not-

Just-Later-but-Fewer-Novel-Trends-in-Cohort
Workism and Fertility: The Case of the Nordics (2024)
https://www.aei.org/articles/workism-and-fertility-the-case-of-the-nordics/

The Effect of Family Fertility Support Policies on Fertility – Zhang et al. (2023)
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10049131/
Fertility trends across the OECD: Underlying drivers and the role for policy: 

Society at a Glance 2024 | OECD
https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/society-at-a-glance-2024_918d8db3-en/full-report/fertility-trends-across-the-oecd-underlying-drivers-and-the-role-for-policy_770679b8.html

Why Americans Are Delaying Parenthood
https://www.prb.org/news/why-americans-are-delaying-parenthood/

Canada is among countries with an ‘ultra-low fertility’ rate. What is behind the drop?
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/article/canada-is-among-countries-with-an-ultra-low-fertility-rate-what-is-behind-the-drop/

World Happiness Report 2026 | The World Happiness Report
https://www.worldhappiness.report/ed/2026/

She’s (Not) Having a Baby
https://www.cardus.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Shes-Not-Having-a-Baby.pdf
Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux
Produced by Meredith Martin
Funded by the Neptis Foundation https://neptis.org/