Nostr notes by Dr. Mike P. Moffatt

New episode! Canada is launching a new sovereign wealth fund, but ...

2026-05-20T13:24:51Z

New episode! Canada is launching a new sovereign wealth fund, but what exactly is it, and why is Prime Minister Mark Carney betting big on it? We examine how sovereign wealth funds work, using Norway as an example.

Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YElkFUfntAw

Around this time last year, I sold all of my US stocks and ...

2026-02-25T11:17:01Z

Around this time last year, I sold all of my US stocks and reinvested 10% in Canada, 90% in non-US/non-Canada.

A year later, up 26%. Given the TSX is up nearly 35% y-o-y, I do wish I had invested more in Canada, but my portfolio was already overweight Canada to begin with.

Since 2004, incomes for young dual-earner couples are up 76%. But ...

2026-02-19T12:15:47Z

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

Out of budget lockup. I recently wrote: "Ottawa imposes a 10 ...

2025-11-04T21:14:51Z

Out of budget lockup. I recently wrote: "Ottawa imposes a 10 percent luxury tax on yachts... yet a family buying a semi in Scarborough pays the equivalent of 15 percent in [DCs] and land transfer taxes."

Today the gov't addressed this by eliminating the luxury tax on yachts.

Canada needs to restore the dream of homeownership. We also need ...

2025-04-24T11:17:19Z

Canada needs to restore the dream of homeownership. We also need to recognize that core housing need is much higher among renters. Any solution to the housing crisis must help both groups, not pit one against the other.

To get price-to-pre-tax-family-income ratios down to 4 for ...

2025-04-15T15:30:40Z

To get price-to-pre-tax-family-income ratios down to 4 for single-family homes, we would need prices to stay flat in Oakville for 40 years for wages to catch up.

Read more here: https://www.missingmiddleinitiative.ca/p/can-homes-become-affordable-again

New piece! "Even if we could somehow double the rate of ...

2025-04-15T13:21:15Z

New piece! "Even if we could somehow double the rate of real-wage growth, the oldest Millennials would be 65 years old and receiving CPP payments by the time housing returned to 2005-levels of affordability in Kitchener-Waterloo."

Read here: https://www.missingmiddleinitiative.ca/p/can-homes-become-affordable-again

CMHC housing data released. Housing starts in Ontario down almost ...

2025-04-15T12:52:52Z

CMHC housing data released. Housing starts in Ontario down almost 40% in Q1 this year relative to last year.

Alberta had more starts, in absolute terms, than Ontario.

Spoiler for an upcoming piece, on why 3+ bedroom homes matter. We ...

2025-04-15T09:57:51Z

Spoiler for an upcoming piece, on why 3+ bedroom homes matter. We can't simply tell families not to have kids, force families to live in cramped conditions, or price families out of our cities, and stay compliant with international law.

Spoiler for tomorrow's piece: "Even if we could somehow ...

2025-04-14T18:47:08Z

Spoiler for tomorrow's piece: "Even if we could somehow double the rate of real-wage growth, the oldest Millennials would be 65 years old and receiving Canada Pension Plan payments by the time housing returned to 2005-levels of affordability in Kitchener-Waterloo."

New Missing Middle episode! Today, we discuss the discontent that ...

2025-04-02T13:58:48Z

New Missing Middle episode! Today, we discuss the discontent that many young people are experiencing regarding Canada and the country's continued decline in the World Happiness Report rankings. (6th in 2016, 18th in 2025)

Watch here: https://youtu.be/2qwBW_r0IGQ

Just sold off every US stock and ETF in my RRSP. Wish I had done ...

2025-03-11T15:27:17Z

Just sold off every US stock and ETF in my RRSP. Wish I had done it weeks ago.

The feds set a 3.9M homebuilding target - over 500K units a year. ...

2025-02-05T23:28:27Z

The feds set a 3.9M homebuilding target - over 500K units a year. But today, the CMHC forecasts that starts will be under 250K a year and fall each of the next 3 years.

This is a crisis. We need bold action from the feds if they're going to hit their target.

A first for the Missing Middle! We had a video banned on TikTok. ...

2025-01-25T16:51:04Z

A first for the Missing Middle! We had a video banned on TikTok. Looks like somebody didn't like me talking about Trump Tariffs.

Sadly I expect we'll see more of this censorship going forward.