The Missing Middle with Mike Moffatt and Sabrina Maddeaux

This week, the federal government announced some big changes to mortgage policies in Canada. Specifically, it’s expanding 30-year mortgage amortizations to anyone buying a new build, or to all first-time homebuyers. It’s also raising the insured mortgage cap from $1 million to $1.5 million.In this conversation journalist Cara Stern and economist Mike Moffatt discuss the changes and the implications for first-time homebuyers, investors, and the overall housing market, while also addressing concerns about increased debt and the long-term effects on housing prices. Links:Insurable versus Uninsured MortgagesHosted 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.

Rents are down in some college towns, and some are crediting the government's international student reforms. In news stories about rents falling, the media often frame price reductions as a bad thing, even though it’s a huge relief for students. Mike and Cara discuss the price drops and why the media tend to ignore the positive side of the story.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.

Economist Mike Moffatt and journalist Cara Stern discuss Canada's record levels of population growth -- and how the majority of it came from record levels of temporary immigration.Since these numbers became known, due to backlash from the public, the federal government has announced it would implement policies it hopes will reduce the number of non-permanent residents, particularly international students, through attrition. The increase in population growth has put pressure on housing, healthcare, and education. International students often face exploitation and are blamed for various issues. The rental market has been heavily impacted, but it remains to be seen if there will be a decrease in prices. The lack of affordable housing options limits opportunities for students to live near their universities.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.

Cities across Canada are implementing vacant home taxes to address the issue of homes sitting empty. These taxes aim to encourage owners to sell or rent out their vacant properties. Economist Mike Moffatt and journalist Cara Stern discuss the challenges in implementation of these taxes including issues with reporting and enforcement. Studies have shown that these taxes have had a small but positive impact in getting homes back on the market, without slowing down housing construction. 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.

On May 23, professionals who work in the industry to develop missing middle housing, as well as those interested in building them, gathered at the Toronto Reference Library for a one-day conference.The Missing Middle podcast team spoke to the presenters and will be sharing those interviews with you each week on Fridays throughout the next month.Ryan Valente is a project manager for Highcroft Homes, where he works on custom home development in Toronto. He talks about what it's like building in Toronto these days, and what still needs to change.Links:Highcroft Homes https://www.highcrofthomes.ca/Producers: Cara Stern https://twitter.com/carasternMeredith Martin https://twitter.com/meredithmartinRuth TecleTechnical production by Mike Greene https://www.instagram.com/mikegreenemedia/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 conversation, Cara and Mike discuss the financial considerations of having children. They touch on topics such as housing costs, childcare expenses, and the impact on income during parental leave. They also explore the limitations of the government's childcare program and the need for increased availability of affordable childcare options. The conversation highlights the challenges faced by younger generations in affording housing and starting a family, and the potential consequences of these challenges on population growth and societal cohesion.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.

On May 23, professionals who work in the industry to develop missing middle housing, as well as those interested in building them, gathered at the Toronto Reference Library for a one-day conference.The Missing Middle podcast team spoke to the presenters and will be sharing those interviews with you each week on Fridays throughout this month.Naama Blonder is an architect and urban planner with Smart Density, which she co-founded. She spoke to us on the day Toronto City Council was about to approve an expansion to what's allowed to be built on its major streets -- which previously had been much more limited than you'd think!Links:Smart Density https://smartdensity.com/Naama Blonder https://x.com/naama_blonderProducers: Cara Stern https://twitter.com/carasternMeredith Martin https://twitter.com/meredithmartinRuth TecleTechnical production by Mike Greene https://www.instagram.com/mikegreenemedia/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.

There's been a lot of news lately about the low-wage stream of the temporary foreign worker program -- but the high-wage stream has similar problems.In this episode, Cara and Mike explore the types of jobs that are being filled through this stream, and whether the wages offered are truly competitive. They worry about the impact of bringing in foreign tech workers on the wages and opportunities for domestic tech workers, many of who end up leaving Canada in pursuit of better opportunities. They suggest reforms to the program, such as making it harder to prove a shortage of local workers and increasing wage transparency.Links:Reddit thread: "I made a map of every employer who had a LMIA accepted because they couldn't find Canadian workers (2023-Present)"https://www.reddit.com/r/torontoJobs/comments/1ehrmuw/i_made_a_map_of_every_employer_who_had_a_lmia/?rdt=62928Link to gov data:https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/90fed587-1364-4f33-a9ee-208181dc0b97Hosted 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.

On May 23, professionals who work in the industry to develop missing middle housing, as well as those interested in building them, gathered at the Toronto Reference Library for a one-day conference.The Missing Middle podcast team spoke to the presenters and will be sharing those interviews with you each week on Fridays throughout the next month.Blair Scorgie is a planner and urban designer, as well as an instructor at Toronto Metropolitan University. He talks about Toronto's newest multiplex bylaws, and what it could mean for building affordable, missing middle housing.Chapters:00:00 Introducing Blair Scorgie02:29 Creating a New Market for Development04:08 The Need for Incentives for Affordable Housing05:35 Recommendations for Further Changes to the BylawsLinks:https://x.com/BlairScorgieProducers: Cara Stern https://twitter.com/carasternMeredith Martin https://twitter.com/meredithmartinRuth TecleTechnical production by Mike Greene https://www.instagram.com/mikegreenemedia/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.

Canada has seen a significant increase in the number of low-wage temporary foreign workers, raising concerns about the impact on the job market. The low-wage stream of temporary foreign workers is tied to specific employers and is measured relative to the provincial median wage. The government made changes to the program in 2022, allowing more temporary foreign workers and weakening the rules around their hiring. This has led to questions about whether the government is intentionally suppressing wages and making it easier for corporations to function with low wages. Mike and Cara discuss the effects of this program on Canadian residents, and what reforms are needed to make it fairer to workers.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.