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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt

@mikepmoffatt.bsky.social
12K followers 73 following 2.8K posts

Co-Host, "Missing Middle". Husband. Father. Brother. Son. Economist. Housing guy. I used to do other stuff.

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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Myth-busting episode! "Just build new metros" is a common proposal for the housing crisis. But Canada already has more metros than similar countries, and the history of newtowns from Ontario's Townsend and Australia's Monarto, is poor. Watch here: www.youtube.com/watc...
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Spoiler for an upcoming report. Although newcomers to Canada disproportionately settled in cities, Toronto's share of Ontario births actually fell during the immigration boom years, as the City priced out middle-class families.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Through a Freedom of Information request, the Toronto Star got access to an Ontario Mayors' WhatsApp chat. Turns out, Mayors have things to say about our work! (FWIW, we stand by our piece).
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
New episode! In "Why Young People Are Losing Faith in the Political System," we look at what research tells us about the relationship between the housing crisis and political views across North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Watch here: www.youtube.com/watc...
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
As promised, our new interview with Bank of Canada Governor Carolyn Rogers, where we discuss housing affordability, productivity, how the BoC thinks about housing when making rate decisions, and whether Canada is an optimal currency area. Watch here:
youtube.com
Bank of Canada’s Carolyn Rogers on Productivity, Trade-offs, and Housing
Join us for an exclusive post-speech interview with Bank of Canada Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers following her address to the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce and CFA Society Victoria. In this conversation, Rogers sits down to unpack her frank speech on Canada's housing affordability di
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Bonus episode! Today at 5 PM EST, we'll release an interview with Bank of Canada Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers, where we'll chat about the housing crisis, the relationship between interest rates and housing affordability, and how housing is measured in the CPI.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
There's only one head of household per household. So 3 roomates sharing an apartment would only have one head-of-household.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
There's no MOE, as it's not a poll.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
The 2024 Canadian Housing Survey was released a couple of weeks ago. Not surprisingly, it shows that homeownership rates are falling for people in their late 20s and early 30s.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
New episode! We examine how Canada’s outdated Employment Insurance model leaves young professionals and gig workers behind amid record spikes in youth unemployment, explore why current rules penalize urban renters, and how we can fix it. Watch here: www.youtube.com/watc...
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
In other news, this just popped up on my Facebook memories page. 3 years ago today. So much has changed since then. And by "so much", I mean my haircut.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
We have more than one economic because of the exchange rate.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Not necessarily, no. In fact, there's a good chance they'll start to rise faster than incomes again. There's still a pretty large structural imbalance of homes.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
My latest at the Globe. While the recent spike in bond yields and interest rates was caused by transitory factors, we should expect a secular rise in rates over the next 2 decades due to population aging and growing government debt. Read here:
theglobeandmail.com
Bad news for young people: Interest rates could go up for decades
Resolving Hormuz conflict will reduce inflation and interest rates in the short run, but long-run factors will push rates higher over time
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Nobody asked you to point this out, Munro.
static.klipy.com
Clint Eastwood: Get Off My Lawn
ALT: Clint Eastwood: Get Off My Lawn
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Reposted by Dr. Mike P. Moffatt
John Michael McGrath @jm-mcgrath.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The corollary to this is that progressive urbanism must also be at least a little bit libertarian to be liberatory; to get organic, informal networks you need to allow the uncontrolled and unpredictable, whether that's different and novel housing or jobs or amusement.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Thanks! I think it would work well.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
As life milestones get pushed further into our 30s, biology remains the one deadline that refuses to bend. In this episode of DemograFix, we take a deep dive into the business, economics, and realities of egg freezing. Watch here: www.youtube.com/watc...
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Reposted by Dr. Mike P. Moffatt
The Rundown @therundowntvo.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Why has housing remained so unaffordable, and what would it take to change that? Economist @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social of @missingmiddleca.bsky.social joins @jeyantvo.bsky.social to explain how interest rates and the broader economy are shaping Canada’s housing market.
youtu.be
Is Canada's Housing Crisis About to Get Worse? | The Rundown
YouTube video by TVO Today
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The Globe and Mail asked a bunch of policy wonks for their ideas to improve our tax system. Mine: A "like-kind exchange" to get new rental apartments built in Canada rather than the US. The full piece here: www.theglobeandmail....
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Reposted by Dr. Mike P. Moffatt
Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 24/09/2026
Americans may not be able to afford to buy a home, but at least they also can’t afford gas or groceries
nytimes.com
Mortgage Rates Hit 7% as Iran War Fallout Crushes a Weak Housing Market (Gift Article)
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the United States jumped to 7.03 percent, putting pressure on housing affordability.
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Reposted by Dr. Mike P. Moffatt
The Rundown @therundowntvo.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
“Housing is this kind of slow-moving, glacial crisis.” — @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social of @missingmiddleca.bsky.social tells @jeyantvo.bsky.social why governments can't afford to take their eye off housing, even as trade and international issues dominate the agenda. | Producer: Mike Attenborough
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Sure, he very well may be. I'd rather think about the history of fonts than what goes through that dude's mind.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
So it's old English, in the way that the city in SW Ontario is called Kitchener and not Berlin.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This leaves out the American re-branding of the font after World War I: www.vintagedetroit.com/old-english-...
vintagedetroit.com
Old English or Old German: Which D Is It?
The Detroit Tigers may not win a lot of baseball games any more, but at least they look good on the field. The Tigers are lucky to be able to wear one of the most iconic uniforms in American sports. T...
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
It's English.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Higher ed is *stunningly* bad at political risk. Just horrible. And it shows up in course offerings. No business school in Canada taught it until Ivey introduced it about a decade ago. Whereas it's pretty standard at US schools.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
You probably had way more of those conversations than I did, but I had a few back in that era, talking about how the federal gov't would eventually have no choice but to impose caps and scale back. I got told off for "fear mongering". Yet the feds went 5x further than I thought they would.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I've been going back and reading some of @alexusherhesa.bsky.social's posts on the int'l student issue from 2023 or so, and they hold up really well. Like this one: higheredstrategy.com/the-bailiffs...
higheredstrategy.com
The Bailiffs Are at the Door | HESA
Just a short one today, because I am spending my Sunday on a flight to Almaty and have less time than usual to blog. Last month, I wrote “The Bill is Coming Due”.  It largely revolved around the theme...
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Ford ultimately has to wear this, as he could have stopped this but didn't. That said, some of the college leadership had been around since David Peterson was Premier.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The international student growth was an order of magnitude larger than the TFW program, and allowed employers to do the same thing.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Turns out - not exactly. The big reforms that allowed this happened under Wynne. Ford is ultimately responsible because he failed to correct the issues that were apparent under the Wynne government. But this issue pre-dates Ford.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
It was out of control prior to Ford. What Ford did, though, was to nix the reforms that the Wynne government was about to make. But this issue pre-dates Ford.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Also, I keep seeing in this threads the blame put on private/career colleges. All the private/career colleges across all of Canada COMBINED brought in fewer than one public sector institution in Kitchener. This was a made-in-government phenomenon.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
This narrative is out there, but only partly true. We had one community college bring in 30,000 international students into a 600,000 person metro area overnight. There is no housing policy on the planet would prevent this from causing tensions.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
This is almost as bad as when Archie Bunker sent a package to England that was meant for London, Ontario. Almost.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
New episode! I sit down with The Wealthy Barber author David Chilton to discuss how Canadian personal finance advice must adapt to skyrocketing housing costs, easy credit, and shifting markets, and how things have changed since the early 90s. Watch here: www.youtube.com/watc...
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Here's something fun I stumbled upon. My Uncle Chuck owned a couple of hair salons, including one in London. Here's an ad of theirs from 1982. I love, absolutely love the design on this.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
New episode! Cara talks to Tom Babin, an urban cycling advocate and creator of the YouTube channel Shifter, about how and why bike lanes triggered a culture war and what this means for the future of transportation. Watch here: www.youtube.com/watc...
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
What is this, the Carter Administration?
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
New piece at iPolitics, with Adam Mongrain (@adammongrain.bsky.social) of More and Better Housing. Canada joining the EU as an "Associate Member" could lower the cost of building a home in Canada while opening new export markets. Read here:
ipolitics.ca
Canada wants more trade with Europe. Start with housing
A well-crafted deal with the EU could also lower the cost of building a home in Canada, while opening new markets for suppliers and manufacturers of construction materials.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Today, the EU President said she wants "Canada to [be] the first associate member of the EU." Join our 9:30 am livestream on YouTube to get answers to your questions about what this means for Canada. Reply with your Q below.
youtube.com
Canada Joins the EU?
Thanks for joining our exclusive live broadcast. Feel free to share your questions and interact with other participants in the chat.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
He was near the top last year as well. It's probably not a coincidence. Gimenez hits only one pitch type well: fastballs, and he's more likely to get them with runners on base to avoid passed balls and stolen bases.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
He's got a +'ve win probability added with his bat, because he has been so absurdly clutch this season.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
They can always write off frivolous stuff. This is about being able how big capital investments are treated.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
static.klipy.com
Seinfeld: George's 'Gotcha' Wink
ALT: Seinfeld: George's 'Gotcha' Wink
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
To be fair, AI isn't as much of an existential threat as Bono.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Productivity Mega Deduction vs Productivity Super Deduction is my all-time favourite kaiju film.
static.klipy.com
Vincent X Vincent
ALT: Vincent X Vincent
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
This is really smart. The federal government is now allowing full capital expensing on 2/3rds of capital investments by businesses to incentivize investing back into companies, rather than sitting on dead money. www.canada.ca/en/dep...
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
We're doing a livestream Q&A tomorrow at 9:15am on the future of the Canada-EU relationship. Reply to this post with your question; we'll get to as many as we can. Looking forward to seeing you there!
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