REITs, Rent & Rage: Canada’s Housing Tug-of-War Artwork

The Missing Middle with Mike Moffatt and Sabrina Maddeaux

Welcome to the Missing Middle, a podcast about why the middle class in Canada is disappearing. We hope to help you understand why life is becoming unaffordable for so many in this country, and what can be done to reverse course.

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The Missing Middle with Mike Moffatt and Sabrina Maddeaux

REITs, Rent & Rage: Canada’s Housing Tug-of-War

July 30, 2025 • Cara Stern, Mike Moffatt, and Meredith Martin • Season 1

In this episode of The Missing Middle, Mike Moffatt and Sabrina Maddeaux unpack the controversy around REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) and their role in Canada’s housing crisis. Are REITs really blocking affordable housing, or is the real issue deeper than greedy landlords? Mike and Sabrina break down how REITs work, why they’ve become political scapegoats, and what actually needs to change to build more truly affordable homes. If you’ve ever wondered who should be our landlords — mom-and-pops, corporations, or governments — this is the conversation you need to hear.

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Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:55 Who should our landlords be?

03:44 Real Estate Investment Trusts

04:45 Mutual fund trust

05:45 Canada has an undeveloped REIT system

06:53 REIT push back on affordable housing

09:12 Who is to blame for affordable housing not getting built?

10:30 All of the other things that make it expensive to build

12:09 Should the government build more affordable housing?