Meredith Martin 🇨🇦

Canada vs Alabama: The Comparison Canadians Don’t Want to Hear GDP comparisons sparked outrage. But the real story is Canada’s declining living standards and a growing generational divide.

And for those of you who prefer to read the transcript rather than watch/listen, here's a link to our Substack: open.substack.com/pu... 🤓

Out of Nowhere: How Canada Fell Behind Alabama Is the Canadian dream officially broken? A recent headline claiming Canada is now poorer than Alabama sparked outrage and pearl-clutching from coast to coast. But beyond the headlines, what does the data actually say about our quality of life? In this episode of Classonomics, hosts Mike Moffatt and

This week, Mike & Sabrina explore why Canadian policymakers are so obsessed with “dunking on Americans” that we’ve ignored a decade of stagnation, a plummeting Human Development Index, and a housing crisis that has created two different Canadas.

Fact: Measured by GDP per capita, Canada is poorer than Alabama. All the pearl-clutching in the world will not change the numbers. @SabrinaMaddeaux & @MikePMoffatt discuss it on this week's Classonomics.

Without a child I could dance across the sexism of my era, whereas becoming a mother shoved my face right down into it.

All Fours, Miranda July

Tomorrow at Noon EST, we'll be hosting a live Answer Period on YouTube. We'll be looking at 2026 housing predictions, and taking predictions and questions from the audience; click on the link to leave a prediction or question.

Link: www.youtube.com/watc...

The CMHC housing catalogue would have been awesome if the units were for family-sized homes. But, unfortunately, they weren’t 👎🏼

New short from MMI producer Sean Foreman! He looks at the CMHC housing catalogue and how it's failing to meet families' needs.

Watch here: www.tiktok.com/@them...

Cities Keep Planning for Seniors to Downsize. The Data Shows They're Not Moving. How flawed assumptions about seniors helped shape today’s housing shortage.

And for those of you who prefer to read the transcript rather than watch/listen, here's a link to our Substack:

The Giant Planning Error That Destroyed Housing Supply For decades, housing planners have assumed that seniors would eventually downsize, freeing up family homes for the next generation. But that hasn’t happened. In this episode, Cara Stern and Mike Moffatt explore why most seniors choose to stay in their homes and why that decision is often perfectly

For decades, housing planners have assumed that seniors would eventually downsize, freeing up family homes for the next generation. But that hasn’t happened. Cara Stern & @MikePMoffatt discuss why on today's ep of Demografix.

Someone needs to tell city planners that the polices designed to allow seniors to age-in-place have worked, and therefore, seniors are not snapping up tiny condos and leaving their family-sized homes. Cara Stern & @MikePMoffatt share their thoughts on today's ep. of Demografix.

BUILD HOUSING YOU UTTER GOON

And for those of you 🤓 who prefer to read the transcript rather than watch/listen, here is a link to our Substack: open.substack.com/pu...

Who is Getting Richer? (Spoiler: Not You) If Canada isn’t in a recession, why does it feel like one for so many Canadians? In this episode of Classonomics from The Missing Middle, hosts Sabrina Maddeaux and Mike Moffatt dig into one of the biggest contradictions in today’s economy. On paper, everything looks great. GDP is growing. Corporat

You’re Not Crazy — The Economy Really Is Split in Two, with @MikePMoffatt & @SabrinaMaddeaux break down what’s really happening beneath those rosy headlines through the lens of the K-shaped economy

What happens when economic indicators like GDP growth paint a rosy picture, while many (young) Canadians are struggling to afford rent and groceries? @MikepMoffatt & @SabrinaMaddeaux get into on this week's Classonomics.

“Marriage and family should not be considered a luxury good,”
www.nytimes.com/2026...

In the wake of the Olympics, with Heated Rivalry still smouldering, hockey has never been bigger The sport finds itself square in the gaze of mainstream pop culture, if only momentarily

“It’s being able to get your head around the idea that people will love and hate you, sometimes simultaneously, and do both things at an unreasonable level.“

The Middle Class Squeeze: Why Rising Incomes Don’t Feel Like Progress Exploring the gap between economic statistics and lived reality for today’s middle class.

And for those who prefer to read the transcript rather than watch/listen, here's a link to our Substack:

You’re “Middle Class” on Paper. So Why Do You Feel Broke? If $130,000 is the new poverty line… what does that make you? In this episode of Classonomics, we tackle the viral argument that the middle class isn’t struggling — it’s being mismeasured. On paper, incomes are up and unemployment is low. So why does it feel harder than ever to afford a home, raise

Here's the full episode where @SabrinaMaddeaux & @MikepMoffatt tackle the viral argument that the middle class isn’t struggling — it’s being mismeasured.

Is our inflation data lying to us? How can the price of TVs be 95% less than they were in 2000 but still cost $900? @SabrinaMaddeaux & @MikePMoffatt dig into data on Today's Classononomics

Trump’s State of the Union was historic in at least one respect: It was the longest SOTU ever. Was the plan to turn public opinion around by boring America into submission? open.substack.com/pu...

Opinion | John Roberts Is Losing Patience With Trump How to read the gratuitous paragraph in the chief justice’s tariff opinion.

Good read

Ontario Cities are Sitting on $10 Billion in Cash Development charges aren't murdering the housing market, instead it's involuntary manslaughter

Both scenarios are perfectly legal, but are they cool? I do not think so.

The cities of Ontario have done something similar with Development Charge money. As of 2023-2024, the City of Toronto held approximately $3.1 billion in accumulated development charge (DC) reserves, part of a total of $10+ billion held across all Ontario municipalities.

Inequality has widened in part because we tax income more heavily than wealth. The ultra-wealthy derive most of their resources from assets, report relatively little income, and borrow against their holdings, enabling them to access wealth while limiting taxes.

Good thing all of our national pride doesn’t hang on one sport.

The Disappearing "Third Place": Why It’s So Hard to Make Friends as an Adult How cities make it harder to find your people

And if you prefer to read, here's the transcript:
www.missingmiddleini...
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Why It’s So Hard to Make Friends As an Adult Why is it so hard to make friends once you leave school? In this episode of The Missing Middle, Cara Stern and Mike Moffatt dive into the "Loneliness Epidemic" and the disappearing concept of the Third Place – those vital social hubs that aren't home (the first place) or work (the second place). Fro

We talk about loneliness, making friends as an adult, and the death of third places in today's episode of DemograFix on the Missing Middle podcast.

Watch the full segment here or listen wherever you get your podcasts: youtu.be/WYFTsrvwr0o...
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Why does the City of Toronto still give non-means-tested discounts to seniors for rec programs when young Canadians are, on average, poorer, more likely to live in poverty, and report feeling disconnected from their community at higher rates? Might be time for a change.
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Winter is really kicking the shit out of Toronto this year. I hope the rest of the country is enjoying it.