Dr. Mike P. Moffatt

Founding Director, PLACE Centre. Co-Host, "Missing Middle". Husband. Father. Brother. Son. Economist. Housing guy. I used to do other stuff. Details in link.

Last Notes

2026-06-09 14:45:24 UTC

Latest by me at the Globe and Mail, on the substantial drop in children under-5 living in the GTA and Greater Montreal Area, and the "doom loop" it creates when amenities for kids close, furthering the exodus of young families.
Read here: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/personal-finance/article-families-school-daycare-cities-living-standards-construction/

2026-05-16 12:29:10 UTC

Our wonky, policy-heavy podcast hit a milestone this week: 1 million views on YouTube! Thanks to everyone who watches and subscribes. We're looking forward to the next million!
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/584/254/671/248/334/original/6b1dab46ac431b5c.png

2026-02-23 13:24:11 UTC

New piece. The middle-class housing crisis harms the economy, social cohesion, and society writ large.
That's not opinion: That's backed by 30+ academic studies. We bring receipts.
How Canada’s Middle-Class Housing Crisis Is Undermining Its Future
https://www.missingmiddleinitiative.ca/p/how-canadas-middle-class-housing

2026-02-19 12:15:47 UTC

Since 2004, incomes for young dual-earner couples are up 76%. But new family-sized starter-home prices rose 265%. A generation of young families has been priced out of housing; it's time for governments to take the problem seriously.
Read here: https://www.missingmiddleinitiative.ca/p/new-starter-homes-are-now-twice-as
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/097/243/342/624/383/original/f9a6bb986c6eb3a4.jpeg

2026-02-06 15:53:47 UTC

New episode! We discuss a recent study showing a 13% drop in employment among young workers in AI-exposed fields since the release of ChatGPT, and we examine AI as a "job killer". Cara's worried; I'm less so.
Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGXsOK8nOl0
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/024/490/519/233/458/original/dec2b2bb30cff6b3.jpeg

2025-12-03 12:28:44 UTC

Governments continue to focus on small homes, like garden suites, in cities. Meanwhile 48% of 5+ person households are in core housing need in the City of Toronto.
Prioritizing small homes discriminates against newcomers who disproportionately form multigenerational households.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/655/634/043/436/934/original/70545c89e05efceb.png

2025-11-17 20:05:35 UTC

Today, Premier Ford suggested expanding the First-Time Homebuyers GST credit to all: "Why don’t we give it to everyone, not just first-time homebuyers, anyone who buys a new home”
I'm surprised the feds & province haven't done this already.
https://globalnews.ca/news/11529607/ontario-premier-finance-minister-first-time-homebuyers-tax-discount/

2025-10-23 14:07:45 UTC

Of all the housing charts not made by MMI, this one is my favourite. It shows how, despite rhetoric, housing shortages aren't a global phenomenon, but they do seem to be an Anglo-American one.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/423/868/630/786/209/original/35bb1d43dfd3589c.jpeg

2025-10-13 15:41:26 UTC

Bonus Thanksgiving piece! We conduct an in-depth analysis of the migration of families from the GTA to Eastern Ontario, noting that more than three-quarters of Ontario couples with children reside in a ground-oriented home they own.
Read here: https://www.missingmiddleinitiative.ca/p/a-story-in-seven-parts-understanding
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/367/613/954/049/732/original/798ca4ddb3a3d629.png

2024-10-26 10:47:06 UTC

Every conversation I've had with a municipality this week.
Municipality: Your analysis is incomplete, and you're drawing the wrong conclusion because you didn't account for factor X.
Me: I'd love to include that factor. Can you send me any data on X?
Municipality: <crickets>

2024-10-16 11:10:10 UTC

Time for a $2 Billion Housing Tax Cut
The feds could increase new housing supply and affordability with one simple trick: Make good on a 1989 promise to regularly update the GST New Housing Rebate, which has become largely obsolete due to inflation.
https://thehub.ca/2024/10/16/mike-moffatt-title-federal-government-housing-gst/