Canada is launching a new sovereign wealth fund, but what exactly is it, and why is Prime Minister Mark Carney betting big on it?

In this episode of Classonomics, Mike Moffatt and Meredith Martin break down the proposed Canada Strong Fund, how sovereign wealth funds work, and why comparisons to Norway’s famous $2 trillion oil fund may not tell the full story. They explore whether debt-financed infrastructure investing can actually grow the economy, why critics are calling it a “sovereign debt fund,” and what this could mean for housing, ports, transit, energy infrastructure, and future generations of Canadians.

Topics covered:
• What sovereign wealth funds actually are
• How Norway built its trillion-dollar oil fund
• Why Canada is creating the Canada Strong Fund
• The debate over debt-financed infrastructure
• How infrastructure investment affects housing and economic growth
• The risks, criticisms, and unanswered questions surrounding the fund

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Sovereign Wealth Funds

00:41 What is a Sovereign Wealth Fund?

01:29 Norway’s Two Sovereign Wealth Funds Explained

03:19 Why Norway Created a Second Fund

05:13 How Canada’s Fund Differs From Norway’s

06:28 Criticism Over Debt Financing

08:22 Will the Fund Benefit Future Generations?

09:58 Why the Announcement Confused Canadians

12:03 Final Thoughts And Outro

Research/links:

The Canada Strong Fund: Nation-Building or State Venture Capitalism?

https://www.asiapacific.ca/publication/canada-strong-fund-nation-building-or-state-venture-capitalism

What Canada can learn from Norway's Sovereign Wealth Fund

https://www.mjemcgill.com/articles/what-canada-can-learn-from-norways-sovereign-wealth-fund

Our pension funds must be sovereign wealth funds, too – even if pensioners take a hit

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-our-pension-funds-must-be-sovereign-wealth-funds-too-even-if/

Canada's spring budget projects economy to grow and deficit to fall

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz0278zyznjo

Neither Norway nor Singapore: Decoding Canada’s new sovereign wealth fund

https://globalnews.ca/news/11825911/norway-singapore-canada-sovereign-wealth-fund/

Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux

Produced by Meredith Martin

Funded by the Neptis Foundation https://neptis.org/

Ontario has started cutting development charges. But is this the breakthrough Ontario’s housing market needs, or just the first step?

In this episode of The Missing Middle Podcast, Mike Moffatt sits down with Kim Fairley, President of Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA), to unpack what Ontario’s new development charge reforms mean for homebuyers, builders, and municipalities – and what still needs to happen next.

They discuss:
• Why development charges can add up to $200,000 to the cost of a new home in Ontario
• How some Ontario cities have raised DCs by 1,000%–5,000% since 2000
• Why Sault Ste. Marie has no development charges—and what other cities can learn from it
• Whether recent provincial and federal reforms will actually improve affordability
• What Ontario’s housing market could look like over the next 6–18 months

Chapters:

00:00 Intro: Ontario’s new development charge deal: what changes?

03:55 Is housing finally getting more affordable?

05:14 Northern Ontario’s housing market: a different reality

07:09 Sault Ste. Marie has no development charges

08:07 Do buyers know how much development charges cost?

10:25 Why transparency on development charges matters

12:08 Lower housing costs without raising taxes?

13:35 Do Ontarians support cutting development charges?

16:07 Can politicians actually work together on housing?

17:08 What happens next for Ontario housing?

18:18 Progress made, but the hard part starts now

Research/links:

How to Lower Development Charges Without Raising Property Taxes

https://www.missingmiddleinitiative.ca/p/how-to-lower-development-charges

A Pathway to Development Charge Reform

https://www.orea.com/advocacy/Development-Charge-Reform

Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux

Produced by Meredith Martin

Funded by the Neptis Foundation https://neptis.org/

Why are so many young Canadians leaving and why are some people suggesting they should be punished for it?

In this episode of The Missing Middle, Mike Moffatt and Sabrina Maddeaux break down the growing “brain drain” from Canada to the United States and the shocking proposal that young people who leave should pay a $500,000 exit fee.

They dig into what’s really driving this trend: unaffordable housing, stagnant wages, limited career opportunities, and policy decisions that increasingly favour older, wealthier generations.

This isn’t about loyalty. It’s about survival and a country that may no longer offer young people a path to the life their parents had.

📊 Topics covered:

• The truth about Canada’s brain drain
• Why young workers are choosing the U.S.
• The economics behind the productivity gap
• Immigration policy and labour market impacts
• Housing, wages, and generational inequality
• What Canada would need to do to win young people back

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

01:00 Why Young Canadians Are Leaving

02:25 Cost Of Living And The U.S. Pull Factor

03:16 The Real Cost Of Brain Drain

04:05 Canada’s Productivity Problem

05:12 Punishing Young People Instead Of Fixing Problems

05:58 How Politics Shifted Against Younger Generations

07:14 Is Brain Drain Being Overblown?

08:02 Why The Viral Brain Drain Chart Misleads

08:50 Canada’s Record Emigration Problem

09:29 Losing The Best And Brightest

10:30 Immigration, Talent, And Retention Failures

11:14 Is Canada Becoming America’s Farm Team?

12:38 How Temporary Workers Changed The Labour Market

13:55 What Policies Could Win Young Canadians Back?

14:12 Housing As The Core Issue

15:17 Taxes, Transfers, And Generational Inequality

15:46 Canada’s Value Proposition Problem

16:16 Closing Thoughts And Listener Questions

Research:

Sabrina's National Post column: Fix the brain drain by fixing Canada, not with a $500K exit tax | National Post

Statistics Canada — Recent trends in migration flows from Canada to the United States: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/36-28-0001/2025007/article/00006-eng.htm

The Hub — “Can anyone solve Canada’s brain drain problem?”: https://thehub.ca/2026/04/03/can-anyone-solve-canadas-brain-drain-problem/

HRD: Canada's talent exodus: What senior HR leaders can't afford to ignore | Human Resources Director

Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux

Produced by Meredith Martin

Funded by the Neptis Foundation https://neptis.org/