What happens when one city councillor gets Toronto council to vote in favour of “studying” garden suites on a single block, potentially undoing years of zoning reform? In this episode of The Missing Middle, Mike Moffatt and Meredith Martin dig into the Craven Road and Parkmount Avenue dispute to reveal how neighbourhood politics, NIMBYism, and endless “consultation” are slowing Toronto’s housing progress. From the satirical truth of McSweeney’s “Every NIMBY Speech at a Public Hearing” to the real frustrations of current and future home owners, Meredith and Mike explore why the city’s gentle density goals keep stalling, and how one councillor’s compromise could set a dangerous precedent for zoning across the city.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
01:47 The NIMBY phenomenon
03:32 Outlining the Craven and Parkmount garden suite dispute
05:45 Proposed compromises and their implications
07:30 Mike’s take on the compromise plan
09:29 Good zoning reforms make good neighbours
10:14 Future residents are excluded from the process
11:49 The Role of city councillors, residents and planners
14:15 Call to action

Research/links:
Every NIMBY’s Speech At a Public Hearing
https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/every-nimbys-speech-at-a-public-hearing

NIMBYs will Fight Even the Gentlest of Density
https://youtu.be/6WavljFV7fM?si=O3jyplV1JRwiIxtd

Paula Fletcher
https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/council/members-of-council/councillor-ward-14/

Notice of Public Meeting - City-Initiated Amendment to Zoning By-law 569-2013 for performance standards for garden suites on through lots (Parkmount Road / Craven Road) - 91-209 Parkmount Road (Odd Addresses Only) and 160 Mountjoy Avenue

https://secure.toronto.ca/nm/api/individual/notice/6660.do

How Cities Keep Screwing up Multiplex Housing
https://youtu.be/MeojzNbB6Io?si=fbZ8hl3b6vnN-DrL

Broken Zoning: Why We Can’t Fix the Housing Crisis Without a Map
https://youtu.be/yuAsjJsiuyQ?si=iWyBl1j_LfNJ4S3y

Simpson reference:
https://youtu.be/lOTyUfOHgas?si=mbIwSskm6Jdll8yU

Journal of a New COBRA Recruit
https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/journal-of-a-new-cobra-recruit

Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux

Produced by Meredith Martin

This podcast is funded by the Neptis Foundation and brought to you by the Smart Prosperity Institute.

Ontario’s family housing crisis is spreading fast, and it’s not just a GTA problem anymore. In this episode of The Missing Middle podcast, Sabrina Maddeaux and Mike Moffatt delve into a new report that reveals how the shortage of family-friendly homes in the GTA is driving young families east and south, reshaping entire regions from Peterborough to Ottawa.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:55 Understanding ground-oriented ownership homes

04:00 The ripple effect of GTA's housing shortage

06:40 Population growth and its impact on housing

09:00 Drive-until-you-qualify: migration patterns

13:29 Future projections for housing needs

16:08 How eastern Ontario should prepare for population growth

18:30 You can’t expect families to change their preferences

19:58 Would Sabrina ever move east?

Research/links:

Read our report here

https://www.missingmiddleinitiative.ca/p/families-on-the-move-670000-more

Who Really Wins with Return-to-Office Mandates?

https://youtu.be/208zVYQWfh4?si=Gg3hdhPRr_iJItjY

Hosts:

Sabrina Maddeaux https://x.com/SabrinaMaddeaux

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

Producer: Meredith Martin

https://twitter.com/meredithmartin

@meredithmartin.bsky.social

Editor: Sean Foreman

@seanegertonforeman

@seanforeman.bsky.social

Coop Student: Djeima Alicia Ramos

This podcast is 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

This podcast is funded by the Neptis Foundation and brought to you by the Smart Prosperity Institute.

In this episode of The Missing Middle, Mike Moffatt and Sabrina Maddeaux dig into the rise of shrinkflation, from grocery store products like cereal and Kraft Dinner to Canada’s shrinking condos, and reveal how companies, developers, and government policies are quietly giving Canadians less for more. From deceptive packaging and behavioral economics tricks to the rise of shoebox condos and poor layouts, we explore how rising costs, investor-driven development, and flawed housing policies are reshaping everyday life. If you’ve ever wondered why your groceries don’t stretch as far or why today’s apartments feel more like closets than homes, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:08 Understanding shrinkflation

02:54 Sabrina’s a KD fangirl - who knew?

05:12 The economics behind shrinkflation

07:22 Price anchoring explained

08:25 The shrinking size of living spaces

11:52 Why are units getting so much smaller?

15:39 What’s driving bad design?

18:02 Generational perspectives on housing preferences

19:22 Constrained optimization explained

21:26 Is the investor condo market dead?

23:30 Policy changes to combat shrinkflation

research/links:

Working paper Mike refers to:

Shrinkflation∗

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15tpbhBziggFL-RvjlVgjqBQcNXzcIrWh/view

Condo size data

https://www.mpac.ca/en/News/PressRelease/spacioushomescompactcondosMPACdatarevealsshiftinghousingtrendsacrossOntario

The condo crash won’t fix our housing problem. In fact, it just might make it worse

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/the-condo-crash-wont-fix-our-housing-problem-in-fact-it-just-might-make-it/article_7c44519f-cdbe-4978-b575-ffc1ef9a76bd.html

Hosts:

Sabrina Maddeaux https://x.com/SabrinaMaddeaux

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

Producer: Meredith Martin

https://twitter.com/meredithmartin

@meredithmartin.bsky.social

Editor: Sean Foreman

@seanegertonforeman

@seanforeman.bsky.social

Coop Student: Djeima Alicia Ramos

This podcast is 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

This podcast is funded by the Neptis Foundation and brought to you by the Smart Prosperity Institute.

Ontario’s housing market is in crisis, and it’s not just condos in downtown Toronto. In this episode of The Missing Middle Podcast, Mike Moffatt and Sabrina Maddeaux break down a bleak new report on housing starts and sales across 34 municipalities. From plummeting pre-construction sales and stalled ground-oriented homes, to the looming loss of 21,000 jobs, we explore why affordability is worse than ever, why government housing targets are falling short, and what it all means for buyers, renters, and the economy.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and overview of the housing crisis

01:59 Insights from the residential construction report card

03:19 Falling housing starts and rising unemployment

04:10 Understanding housing starts and sales dynamics

06:01 What is a housing start?

08:00 1.5 million homes by 2032 is unachievable

09:19 Any good news?

10:02 Political accountability and the housing crisis

Research/Links:

Failing Grades, Falling Starts: Ontario Housing’s Bleak Mid-Year Checkup

Condo Crashes, Shrinkflation, & The Death of Homeownership?

Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux

Produced by Meredith Martin

This podcast is funded by the Neptis Foundation and brought to you by the Smart Prosperity Institute.

In this episode of The Missing Middle, Sabrina Maddeaux and Mike Moffatt break down Ontario’s new return-to-office mandate and the big banks’ similar policies, asking what they really mean for younger workers and families already facing high housing costs, long commutes, and stagnant wages. They explore the trade-offs between productivity, commuting, and control, while producer Meredith Martin joins to share her perspective as a former union leader on mentorship, collaboration, and what might be lost if remote work fully takes over.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:15 Return to office mandates: An overview

04:22 What Premier Ford’s RTO mandate is trying to achieve

05:15 Impact on younger workers and families

06:55 Disconnect between RTO mandates and ESG targets

09:26 Meredith thinks humans should see each other IRL

12:43 The role of mentorship and social interaction at work

15:20 Debating how much office culture has changed

research/links:

Productivity During and Since the Pandemic

The Post-Pandemic Workplace: The Experiment Continues

Number of Canadian commuters increases for fourth straight year in 2025

Romance in the work place:

Esther Perel on How Technology Is Changing Love and Work | Prof G Conversations

New SHRM Survey: Workplace Romance 2023

Mixing work with pleasure: Two-thirds of Brits have been romantically involved with a colleague

Return to the Office:

Amazon Tells Corporate Workers to Be Back in the Office 5 Days a Week

Executives and Research Disagree About Hybrid Work. Why?

Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux

Produced by Meredith Martin

This podcast is funded by the Neptis Foundation and brought to you by the Smart Prosperity Institute.

In this episode of The Missing Middle, Sabrina Maddeaux and Mike Moffatt dig into Canada’s condo market crash, the rise of “housing shrinkflation,” and what it all means for young Canadians chasing the dream of homeownership. They unpack why falling condo prices aren’t actually fixing the housing crisis, how developers and government policies have fueled the problem, and why middle-class buyers are being left behind. If you’ve been wondering whether Canada is headed for a nation of “forever renters,” this is a conversation you don’t want to miss.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

02:02 The condo market collapse: an overview

04:03 The impact of shrinkflation on housing

04:54 Ron Butler pop up

07:48 Government policies and middle-class homeownership

11:56 The future of homeownership in canada

Research/links

Sabrina’s Toronto Star column https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/the-condo-crash-wont-fix-our-housing-problem-in-fact-it-just-might-make-it/article_7c44519f-cdbe-4978-b575-ffc1ef9a76bd.html

New Condo Sales in GTA Hit 3rd-Highest Level on Record in 2019: Report

https://storeys.com/new-condo-sales-gta-2019/

Homeownership rate for City of Toronto:

https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/as-sa/fogs-spg/alternative.cfm?topic=7&lang=E&dguid=2021A00033520&objectId=7

Toronto condo market is in ‘free fall,’ federal housing minister says

https://www.thestar.com/real-estate/toronto-condo-market-is-in-free-fall-federal-housing-minister-says/article_66c26722-1f22-4b28-bf95-3e98f2e02159.html

Ron Butler: Condo Crash Meets Housing Crisis

https://youtu.be/9xD5veEsB3U?si=-9A-N2jecO8u63N8

Hosts:

Sabrina Maddeaux https://x.com/SabrinaMaddeaux

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

Producer: Meredith Martin

https://twitter.com/meredithmartin

@meredithmartin.bsky.social

Editor: Sean Foreman

@seanegertonforeman

@seanforeman.bsky.social

This podcast is 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

This podcast is funded by the Neptis Foundation and brought to you by the Smart Prosperity Institute.

Ever wonder what people at think tanks actually do all day? In this episode of The Missing Middle, Sabrina Maddeaux and Mike Moffatt pull back the curtain on the mysterious world of think tanks. From how they’re structured and funded, to the challenges of staying independent, they explore what really goes on behind the scenes. You’ll also hear about career opportunities for young professionals, why U.S. think tanks dwarf their Canadian counterparts, and how think tanks influence policies that affect our everyday lives—from housing to poverty reduction. If you’ve ever been curious about the brains behind public policy, this episode is for you.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

03:00 Understanding think tanks

04:38 The structure and function of academic think tanks

07:53 Funding models: how think tanks sustain themselves

09:34 Misconceptions about think tank funding

11:58 Maintaining independence: challenges and strategies

16:13 Career opportunities in think tanks

18:09 Comparing Canadian and American think tanks

Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux

Produced by Meredith Martin

This podcast is funded by the Neptis Foundation and brought to you by the Smart Prosperity Institute.

Why do some infill housing projects spark outrage while others fly under the radar? In this episode of The Missing Middle, host Sabrina Matto sits down with former London City Councillor and researcher Jesse Helmer to unpack 15 years of planning committee decisions. They explore why certain housing proposals face fierce opposition, what factors reduce pushback, and how cities can actually build more homes with community support. From surprising success stories to lessons learned in local politics, this conversation sheds light on the politics of infill housing—and why it matters for solving Canada’s housing crisis.

If you’re interested in urban planning, housing affordability, or how communities can embrace smarter growth, this episode is for you.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:00 Infill development research with Jesse Helmer

02:40 Factors influencing opposition to housing proposals

05:30 Research methodology and analysis

08:23 Following up with residents after a project is built

11:15 Jesse’s personal journey as a London city councillor

14:08 Optimism for housing solutions

16:28 Personal reflections about Jesse’s time on London city council

Research:

https://www.missingmiddleinitiative.ca/p/the-politics-of-infill-housing-what

Guest: Jesse Helmer: https://x.com/jesse_helmer

Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux

Produced by Meredith Martin

This podcast is funded by the Neptis Foundation and brought to you by the Smart Prosperity Institute.