Canada’s housing crisis. Youth unemployment. Immigration debates. A broken healthcare system.

What if we told you a book published in 1996 predicted almost all of it?

In this episode of The Missing Middle, Cara Stern and Mike Moffatt revisit the Canadian classic Boom, Bust & Echo to explore how demographics, especially the aging of the baby boomers, reshaped Canada’s economy, housing market, job prospects, and public policy.

We break down:

• Why youth unemployment was a policy choice

• How demographics quietly drive housing prices

• What governments got right — and very wrong

• Why immigration policy, real estate, and healthcare are deeply connected

• And how Canada ended up with a generational economic imbalance

This isn’t just history. It explains why life is harder for young Canadians today and what choices led us here.

If you care about housing affordability, jobs, immigration, public policy, and Canada’s economic future, this episode is for you.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

00:49 Why Boom, Bust, and Echo (BBE) still matters

03:00 What the book got right and wrong

04:25 Prediction about the rise of home health care

06: 06 Policy dilemma: high demand for PSWs & balancing budgets

08:12 Immigration policy advice from Boom, Bust and Echo

09:03 Governments didn’t take the advice

10:55 BBE real estate prediction

11:45 Housing market predictions: what went wrong

15:10 Boomers, Millennials & real estate

16:40 BBE prediction on future changes to taxation policy

17:13 The politics of moving taxation from income to capital

19:50 Real estate prediction for aging boomers

20:34 Naturally occurring retirement communities

23:40 Following where people actually live

24:47 Demographics are facts that help us understand the future

Research/links:

Boom, Bust & Echo: How to Profit from the Coming Demographic Shift

https://www.amazon.ca/Boom-bust-echo-profit-demographic/dp/0921912978

David Foot on Aging Society & Youth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy7y2w9i_aA

What David Foot didn't tell us

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/what-david-foot-didnt-tell-us/article784233/

Finding Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities - Agenda segment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ynlwpsye2c0

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 why homeownership for Canadians under 40 has fallen off a cliff. Spoiler: it’s not just zoning, NIMBYs, or avocado toast. The federal government plays a much bigger role in today’s housing mess than it likes to admit.

They break down how rapid population growth collided with a massive slowdown in building family-sized homes, why “dog-crate condos” became the default housing plan, and how taxes, development charges, and investors quietly push prices even higher. They also ask the uncomfortable question: do first-time buyer programs actually help young people — or just lock in high prices?

From down payments that feel impossible, to policies that accidentally reward investors over families, this episode gets into what’s broken, who benefits, and what Ottawa could actually do if it wanted to bring the dream of homeownership back to life.

If you’ve ever wondered how Canada managed to make buying a home feel impossible — this one’s for you.

00:00 – Intro: Is the dream of homeownership dead?

01:08 – The Federal Role: Debunking the "Provincial Responsibility" trope

01:58 – How Federal immigration and monetary policy impact housing

04:12 – A Blueprint to Restore Homeownership: The 4 big hurdles

06:30 – Not All Units are Equal

10:22 – How Population Growth Affects Supply and Demand

12:06 – Time to Reduce Taxes on Homes

14:05 – Making It Easier for First-Time Buyers

16:14 – Will these Policies just Drive Prices Up?

17:59 – The "Second-Time Buyer" crisis and downsizing seniors

21:09 – Incentivizing Seniors to Downsize

22:00 - Getting investors out of single-family homes: The MURB plan

Research/Links

A Blueprint to Restore Homeownership for Young Canadians

https://www.missingmiddleinitiative.ca/p/a-blueprint-to-restore-homeownership

The Quiet Death of the Investor Condo? MURBs May Change the Game

https://www.missingmiddleinitiative.ca/p/the-quiet-death-of-the-investor-condo

How to get single family homes out of the hands of investors

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/this-is-how-the-government-can-get-single-family-homes-out-of-the-hands-of/article_0f92b0f4-e67e-4a84-aa62-2c9316492363.html

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.

Do you actually own the things you pay for anymore?

In this episode of the Missing Middle Podcast, economist Mike Moffatt and Cara Stern explore how ownership is quietly disappearing from everyday life—and what that means for consumers, younger generations, and the economy as a whole.

From streaming services and digital books to video games, cars, exercise bikes, and even housing, more and more products are shifting from one-time purchases to subscription-based access. While these models offer convenience and regular updates, they also raise serious concerns about control, pricing, and long-term access.

Mike and Cara examine the “illusion of ownership” and more about “constrained optimization,” where economic circumstances make traditional ownership nearly impossible for younger generations. Questioning if we are being pushed into a future where the top 0.001% owns all assets while the middle class is permanently transformed into a generation of renters. Mike and Cara break down the policy choices required to reclaim property rights and protect the Canadian dream of actually owning the things you pay for.

Is society moving toward a future where access replaces ownership? And what do we give up when that happens?

👇 Share your thoughts in the comments:
Are subscriptions worth the convenience, or are we losing something more important?

📩 Questions or feedback? Email us at missingmiddlepodcast@gmail.com

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

00:56 What was the best year for music ever?

02:13 The loss of physical media

03:30 Millennials and the benefits of digital

05:37 The illusion of digital ownership and revoked access

06:40 Digital subscription models

10:10 Rentier capitalism

12:35 The benefits and downsides of subscription

14:04 Two schools of thought on ownership

15:30 Constrained optimization in housing and cars

18:07 The future of ownership and rentier capitalism

19:26 You'll own nothing and be happy

20:47 A way out: The right to repair

Research/links:

https://blog.roonlabs.com/44-days-in-91/

Welcome to 2030. I own nothing, have no privacy, and life has never been better

Welcome to 2030. I own nothing, have no privacy, and life has never been better | by World Economic Forum | World Economic Forum | Medium

https://medium.com/world-economic-forum/welcome-to-2030-i-own-nothing-have-no-privacy-and-life-has-never-been-better-ee2eed62f710

You'll own nothing and be happy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You%27ll_own_nothing_and_be_happy

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.