The Missing Middle Podcast

Cara Stern, Mike Moffatt, and Meredith Martin
  • 4.2 (5)
  • News Commentary
  • Weekly

Welcome to the Missing Middle, a podcast about why the middle class in Canada is disappearing. We hope to help you understand why life is becoming unaffordable for so many in this country, and what can be done to reverse course.

  1. 9h ago

    Why Toronto Settles for Mediocre Transit | Not Just Bikes

    Toronto’s new LRT lines have large, clean, accessible stations. So why are they so slow? In this episode of DemograFix, Cara Stern talks to Jason Slaughter, creator of the YouTube channel Not Just Bikes, about how Toronto’s new Finch West and Eglinton Crosstown LRTs compare with light rail in Copenhagen, Amsterdam and even Kitchener-Waterloo. They discuss who’s to blame for the slow trains, why LRTs crawl through intersections, and what real transit signal priority looks like compared with Toronto’s half version. We also look at why Kitchener-Waterloo’s ION runs the same trains so much better, why Toronto squanders a streetcar network other cities would kill for, why Canadians don’t complain more about mediocre transit, and Ontario’s bike lane law. Plus: does Jason worry that people will think he just hates North America? Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:55 How Toronto's LRTs compare 03:21 Whose fault: Metrolinx or the TTC 05:20 Why LRTs slow down at intersections 08:55 What signal priority is 10:52 Toronto's half version of signal priority 15:58 The cost of retrofitting 17:45 Kitchener-Waterloo's ION runs better 19:19 Streetcars and subway slow zones 23:55 Why transit riders don't complain 27:27 Ontario's bike lane law 30:49 The suburban vote and driving downtown 35:12 Too negative about North America 38:50 How people get into urbanism Research/links: Jason Slaughter, Not Just Bikes How can a NEW Transit Line be THIS BAD!? (Finch West LRT) This Small City’s LRT is so Good it Made me Angry North America Will Never Be the Netherlands - Interview with Not Just Bikes They Finally Built Good Transit!? 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 linkedin.com/in/francisgabrielcarmona/ Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux Produced by Meredith Martin Edited by Sean Foreman and Canadian Civil

    Why Toronto Settles for Mediocre Transit | Not Just Bikes

  2. 2d ago

    How Every Gift Card Is an Interest-Free Loan to a Corporation

    Gift cards might feel like free money or a clever budget hack, but they are really interest-free loans to stores that make billions in profit when you forget to spend them. In this episode of Classonomics, Sabrina Maddeaux and Mike Moffatt break down whether holiday gift card deals and self-budgeting hacks actually save Canadians money or simply hand retailers interest-free loans, how corporate balance sheets turn billions in forgotten balances and "breakage" into pure profit, the mechanics of why the Starbucks app holds more customer deposits than a typical community bank, what happened when Hudson's Bay’s creditor protection left shoppers as empty-handed unsecured creditors, and why the behavioural psychology of "treat money," friction, and inflation makes holding onto gift cards a losing financial bet. Chapters: 00:00 - Every Gift Card Is a Loan 00:55 - How Much Canadians Spend on Gift Cards 02:09 - Why People Buy Gift Cards for Themselves 04:27 - Accounting 101: Your Gift Card Is the Store's Debt 05:30 - Breakage: How Forgotten Balances Become Profit 07:34 - The Bank of Starbucks 11:37 - The $27 Billion Junk Drawer 12:29 - Why We Don't Spend Our Gift Cards 15:02 - Mall Cards, Visa Cards & Other Friction Traps 16:51 - Gift Cards vs. Inflation 17:54 - Are Gift Card Deals Actually a Good Deal? 19:12 - Why Parking Money on a Card Costs You 20:39 - Hudson's Bay: When Your Gift Card Becomes Worthless 21:49 - What Protections Do Canadians Have? 23:11 - Who Really Wins Gift Card Season Links/Research: Retail Council of Canada Reports on Holiday Spending  Canadians Keep Gift Spending Steady — and Push Deal-Hunting to New Heights - Retail Council of Canada  Canada Gift Card Business Report 2026: An $11.18 Billion  With Their Eyes on Affordability, Consumers Increasingly Gift Themselves, Blackhawk Finds – Digital Transactions  Gift Cards and Mental Accounting: Green‐lighting Hedonic Spending - Helion - 2014 - Journal of Behavioral Decision Making - Wiley Online Library  While Most (72%) Canadians Give and Receive Gift Cards Each Year, Many Are Tossing Away Cash by Not Using Card's Full Value | Ipsos  https://sherwood.news/business/starbucks-could-use-a-cio-to-invest-the-usd2-2b-float-from-its-rewards/  https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/your-starbucks-balance-is-working-harder-than-you-think/  https://www.bankrate.com/f/102997/x/c53caa68d4/gift-card-survey-press-release.pdf  Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux Produced by Meredith Martin Edited by Sean Foreman and Canadian Civil

    How Every Gift Card Is an Interest-Free Loan to a Corporation

  3. Nov 6

    Is It Time to Abolish Property Tax Deferrals?

    Are property tax deferral programs really helping struggling seniors, or are they subsidizing wealthy homeowners at everyone else's expense? In this episode of DemograFix, Cara Stern and Mike Moffatt unpack the hidden costs of senior property tax deferrals and why these well-intentioned programs may be making housing affordability worse for younger generations. They explore how property tax breaks can become low-interest loans for multimillion-dollar homeowners, why some of the seniors most vulnerable to poverty don't qualify for these benefits, and how taxpayers end up footing the bill through higher property taxes and reduced municipal services. They also dig into British Columbia's controversial program, where homeowners with multimillion-dollar properties could defer their entire property tax bill at heavily discounted interest rates, effectively turning a senior benefit into an investment opportunity for the wealthy. So who really benefits from these programs? And why are governments subsidizing homeowners to stay in expensive family-sized houses while young families struggle to find homes they can afford? Chapters: 00:00 - The Boomer Tax Break Bankrolled by Young Renters 01:45 - "House Rich, Cash Poor" is Just an Excuse 03:59 - The Hidden Incoherence Killing Family Neighborhoods 06:19 - B.C.’s Multi-Millionaire Tax Deferral Loophole 08:49 - Reverse Robin Hood: The Big Wealth Transfer 11:56 - Why Politicians Are Terrified to Fix This 14:13 - Real Solutions vs. The Downsizing Trap 18:50 - How to Expose the True Cost to Voters Research/links: How B.C.'s property tax system delivers big benefits to multimillionaires, and why some say it needs to change How a Tax Break for Struggling Seniors Became a Billionaire Subsidy Low income statistics by age, gender and economic family type Underused Ontario schools could be sold by Ford government for housing in new education bill 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 University Of Ottawa Co-op Student Francis Gabriel Carmona, https://www.linkedin.com/in/francisgabrielcarmona/ Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux Produced by Meredith Martin Edited by Sean Foreman and Canadian Civil

    Is It Time to Abolish Property Tax Deferrals?

  4. Nov 4

    Is Alberta Killing Its Housing Advantage? | Interview with Millennial Moron

    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

    Is Alberta Killing Its Housing Advantage? | Interview with Millennial Moron

  5. Oct 30

    Parking Is Ruining Our Cities. Here’s Why | Henry Grabar

    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

    Parking Is Ruining Our Cities. Here’s Why | Henry Grabar

  6. Oct 28

    The "Kitchen Window Test": Why Modern Housing Fails Kids

    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

    The "Kitchen Window Test": Why Modern Housing Fails Kids

  7. Oct 23

    Did Ontario Turn a Blind Eye to Career College Fraud? | Alex Usher

    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

    Did Ontario Turn a Blind Eye to Career College Fraud? | Alex Usher

  8. Oct 21

    Why Nobody Can Afford to Have Fun Anymore

    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

    Why Nobody Can Afford to Have Fun Anymore
See All (227)

Hosts & Guests

Ratings & Reviews

4.2
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

Welcome to the Missing Middle, a podcast about why the middle class in Canada is disappearing. We hope to help you understand why life is becoming unaffordable for so many in this country, and what can be done to reverse course.

Information

  • Creator
    Cara Stern, Mike Moffatt, and Meredith Martin
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    227
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Missing Middle Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Missing Middle Podcast

You Might Also Like