The Missing Middle Podcast

Can Alberta keep its title as Canada's housing affordability champion, or is it about to become its own worst enemy?
In this episode of Classonomics, Mike Moffatt and Millennial Moron dig into Alberta's growing housing battles. Why is Danielle Smith stepping in to overrule municipal zoning decisions in Calgary and Edmonton? How did the humble eightplex become a controversial, compromise-filled housing option? And why can it take years of red tape, parking rules and neighbourhood opposition to get new homes built?
From the politics of infill to the hidden costs of endless approval delays, we explore what's standing in the way of more housing, and whether Alberta is putting its biggest affordability advantage at risk
Is Alberta showing the rest of Canada how to build more homes, or how to get in its own way?

Chapters:
00:00 - Alberta's Housing Model Under Pressure
03:36 - Construction Timelines: Alberta vs. Ontario
06:29 - Why Edmonton’s Infill Reforms Sparked Provincial Pushback
09:14 - The Flawed Design of Modern Multiplexes
11:43 - The Political Contradictions of Housing Deregulation
14:41 - Neighborhood Pushback & The Myth of Suburb Capacity
20:04 - Immigration, Housing Crises & Federal CMHC Loans
23:28 - Calgary’s Office-to-Residential Conversion Playbook
26:43 - How to Fix Community Engagement for Better Housing
31:07 - Danielle Smith and the Battle Over Parking Minimums
33:38 - Presumptive Upzoning: A Market-Based Solution
36:40 - Canadian Real Estate Listings vs. European Castles
40:35 - An Applied Math Approach to the Housing Bubble 

Research:
2025 Provincial HOMES Report Card
https://www.missingmiddleinitiative.ca/p/2025-provincial-homes-report-card

Millennial Moron
https://www.youtube.com/@MillennialMoron

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

Why is housing so expensive? Parking might be part of the answer.

In this episode of DemograFix, Cara Stern talks to Henry Grabar, author of Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World, about how parking minimums, parking costs and car dependency have shaped our cities and made housing more expensive.

We discuss why developers build so much parking, how parking requirements can delay or block new housing, what happens when cities eliminate parking minimums, and whether making parking harder is actually a good way to get people out of their cars.

Plus: why are there at least three parking spaces for every car in America?

Pick up Henry's book, Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World, wherever you get your books.

#Parking #Housing #urbanplanning 

Chapters:

00:00 Parking vs. Housing: The Real Cost
01:28 The "Free Parking" Fallacy
03:18 Ridiculous Zoning Laws
05:15 How Parking Drives Up Your Rent
07:58 Why SimCity Left Out Parking
11:09 Why NIMBYs Fight New Housing
15:33 Why Carrots Don't Work on Drivers
18:33 The Dark Side of Parking Fines
20:29 How Parking Kills Small Towns
24:43 Why American Cities Look Empty

Research/links:

Paved Paradise
http://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/634461/paved-paradise-by-henry-grabar/9781984881151

Henry Grabar
https://www.henrygrabar.com/

Not-So-Free Parking
https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2023/08/paved-paradise-grabar

America, Land of the Free Parking
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/10/books/review/paved-paradise-henry-grabar.html

The Edmonton Exception
https://2067journal.ca/the-edmonton-exception/

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 Classonomix, Sabrina Maddeaux and Mike Moffatt break down what actually makes a home “family-friendly,” and what a survey of 4,000 Canadians reveals about whether townhomes, strawberry-box bungalows, and apartment towers are truly fit for raising kids. They unpack the developmental science behind childhood outcomes, introduce the “kitchen window test” for fostering independent play, and explain why the family-friendly courtyard apartments popular across Europe remain effectively illegal to build under Canadian zoning and building codes.
Chapters:
00:00 The Great Family Exodus
00:58 Defining Family Friendly Homes
05:15 Rating Canadian Homes: Suburbs to Condos
10:05 The Low-Rise vs. High-Rise Trap for Kids
14:38 What Science Says About Raising Kids in Suburbs
18:05 Why Public Parks Fail Young Families
19:23 The "Kitchen Window Test"
20:15 The European Courtyard Alternative
22:41 Why It’s So Hard to Build Family Housing

Research:
Social housing: A key part of past and future housing policyhttps://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2020/10/social-housing-a-key-part-of-past-and-future-housing-policy_ef96d6d9/5b54f96b-en.pdf
Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux
Produced by Meredith Martin
Edited by Sean Foreman and Canadian Civil

How did hundreds of millions of dollars in Ontario student aid end up at the centre of a major funding scandal, and why did it take so long for the government to act?

In this episode of DemograFix, Cara Stern sits down with Alex Usher, president of Higher Education Strategy Associates and author of the annual State of Post-Secondary Education in Canada report, to investigate the OSAP funding scandal and the Ontario Provincial Police’s criminal probe into alleged fraud at private career colleges.

They unpack how Ontario’s student aid system went wrong, what the investigation means for students and taxpayers, and what this scandal reveals about the flaws in Canada’s post-secondary funding system. 

They also explore the growing generational divide: why Gen Z is facing more debt, fewer opportunities, and a tougher path to financial security than previous generations.

Subscribe for more conversations about Canada’s economy, demographics, and the policies shaping our future.

Chapters:

00:00 – "I Did Everything Right" (Why Gen Z is Struggling)
01:51 – What is a Career College?
02:38 – The $1 Billion OSAP Fraud Scandal Exposed
05:13 – Why Ontario Cut Student Grants Instead of Stopping Fraud
06:25 – Hundreds of Colleges Are About to Go Under
10:32 – Cover-ups, Lawsuits & Freedom of Information
11:05 – Is a College Degree Still Worth It in 2026?
12:16 – The Truth About "Credential Inflation"
14:51 – Do We Really Need 4-Year Degrees Anymore?
18:47 – Net-Zero Tuition: How Student Aid Actually Works

Research:
The Contemptible OSAP Cover-Up
https://higheredstrategy.com/the-contemptible-osap-cover-up/

How Doug Ford’s OSAP changes are forcing Ontario students to make a choice: Go deep into debt or drop out
https://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/how-doug-fords-osap-changes-are-forcing-ontario-students-to-make-a-choice-go-deep-into-debt-or-drop-out/article_3cdce5f9-fec7-4faf-95f9-a79592f487a0.html

Court records show Ontario's 'serious concerns' about three career colleges
https://www.thetrillium.ca/news/education-and-training/court-records-show-ontarios-serious-concerns-about-three-career-colleges-12851478

This Ontario career college has suspended classes. Here’s why
https://www.cp24.com/politics/queens-park/2026/10/18/this-ontario-career-college-has-suspended-classes-heres-why/

$385M in OSAP grants sent to students at 7 career colleges last year, documents show
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/article/385m-in-osap-grants-sent-to-students-at-7-career-colleges-last-year-documents-show/

The State of Post-Secondary Education in Canada, 2026
https://higheredstrategy.com/the-state-of-post-secondary-education-in-canada-2026/

Credits:
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

Paige Saunders
https://site.canadiancivil.com/profiles/

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

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

University Of Ottawa 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

Why is it getting so hard to afford a night out? From $200 dinners and sky-high concert tickets to the disappearance of cheap bowling alleys and dinner parties, having fun is becoming a luxury. In this episode of Classonomics, Sabrina Maddeaux and Mike Moffatt break down how soaring housing costs, stagnant wage growth and rising entertainment prices are changing the way we socialize. As affordable third spaces disappear and young Canadians spend more time alone, are we facing a loneliness crisis fuelled by the cost of living? And what happens when we can no longer afford the everyday experiences that bring us together?

Chapters:

00:00 - Why Having Fun Got So Expensive
00:49 - The Data Behind the Loneliness Epidemic
03:10 - Rent, Wages & Skyrocketing Ticket Prices
07:16 - Splurge Culture: Concerts vs. Real Life
10:34 - What Happened to Cheap Hangout Spots?
13:55 - How the Housing Crisis Killed Dinner Parties
22:15 - The Rise of the "Alone Economy"
25:17 - The Hidden Cost of Living Alone

Research:

NetNewsLedger - Funflation is raising concert, sports and streaming costs for Canadians:
https://www.netnewsledger.com/2026/07/16/funflation-is-raising-concert-sports-and-streaming-costs-for-canadians/

Bloomberg Opinion (Allison Schrager) - Why Bowl Together When You Can Scroll Alone? (Lucky Strike, league decline, third places):
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2026-10-04/why-bowl-together-when-you-can-scroll-alone

The Atlantic (Derek Thompson) - Why Americans Stopped Throwing Dinner Parties (42% to 12% hosting monthly):
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/10/americans-socialization-dinner-decline-hosting/688846/

Pollstar - 2025 Year-End Business Analysis (average ticket $96.17 in 2019, $132.62 in 2025; stadium average $216.13, up 18.3%):
https://news.pollstar.com/?p=1214179

City of Toronto staff report (July 2026) - grassroots music venues: ~5% own their buildings, ~30 lost 2014 to pandemic, 50% property tax cut:
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2026/ec/bgrd/backgroundfile-289602.pdf

Statistics Canada - Survey of Household Spending, 2023 (recreation $5,231; one-person households and shelter share):
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/250521/dq250521a-eng.htm

Statistics Canada - Time pressure and time spent with friends over the last 30 years:
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/250617/dq250617d-eng.htm

Canadian Press - Canadians spending less time with friends:
https://www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/article/canadians-spending-less-time-with-friends-especially-those-of-working-age-statcan/

Statistics Canada - Canadian Social Survey: Loneliness in Canada (2021):
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/211124/dq211124e-eng.htm
https://asiatimes.com/2026/09/asias-lonely-economy-of-one/

Statistics Canada - Loneliness as a Quality of Life Framework indicator:
https://www160.statcan.gc.ca/society-societe/loneliness-solitude-eng.htm

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