Who we are and what we do
The Missing Middle Initiative (MMI) was launched on January 20, 2025, as a spin-off of the Smart Prosperity Institute’s PLACE Centre brand and is housed at the University of Ottawa’s Institute of the Environment. We are a think tank devoted to addressing the challenges facing young urban Canadians, for whom the middle class is becoming increasingly difficult to join.
MMI engages in four primary activities:
Authoring studies and research reports.
Producing the Missing Middle podcast and related videos.
Publishing “microresearch” pieces on our Substack.
Other knowledge generation and mobilization activities, which include speaking at events, facilitating workshops, and bringing together stakeholders on projects such as the National Housing Accord.
The studies and research reports are listed below, along with the Supporting Partner organization that funded them. The list includes reports published while the authors were at the Smart Prosperity Institute, or working under the PLACE Centre brand.
List of studies and research reports
Regulatory Delays, Dollar-Backed Stablecoins, and Affordability for Canadians, September 2025, with funding support from Coinbase.
Q2 2025 GTA and GGH Housing Report Card: Starts, Sales, and Employment, September 2025, with funding support from RESCON.
Strengthening the core: Increasing social license for healthy infill development in London, Ontario, June 2025, with funding support from the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Report Card on More and Better Housing, May 2025, with funding support from More and Better Housing Canada.
Housing Canada: A Sovereign Plan to Protect Canadians and Build a Resilient Housing System, March 2025, with funding support from a coalition including the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness.
Decarbonizing Canada’s Commercial Buildings: The Owner & Investor Perspective, December 2024, with funding support from REALPAC and the Canada Green Building Council.
Four Pathways to Housing Affordability, November 2024, with funding support from the Clean Economy Fund.
Ontario’s need for 1.7 million more homes: an update, April 2024, unfunded.
The Innovation Agenda for Canadian Real Estate, March 2024, with funding support from RealInnovators.
The Blueprint for More and Better Housing, March 2024, with funding support from a coalition including the Clean Economy Fund.
London, Ontario: Employment Prospects Reports 2023 - 2031 - Health Sector, October 2023, with funding support from the London Economic Development Corporation.
London, Ontario: Employment Prospects Reports 2023 - 2031 - Information Technology, October 2023, with funding support from the London Economic Development Corporation.
London, Ontario: Employment Prospects Reports 2023 - 2031 - Manufacturing, October 2023, with funding support from the London Economic Development Corporation.
London, Ontario: Employment Prospects Reports 2023 - 2031 - Construction, October 2023, with funding support from the London Economic Development Corporation.
Working Together to Build 1.5 Million Homes, August 2023, with funding support from Ontario’s Big City Mayors.
The National Housing Accord: A Multi-Sector Approach to Ending Canada’s Rental Housing Crisis, August 2023, with funding support from REALPAC and the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness.
Who Will Swing The Hammer?, May 2023, with funding support from West End Homebuilders’ Association and the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce.
EnerGuide Labeling of Homes at the Time of Sale, September 2022, with funding support from the Canadian Real Estate Association.
Ontario's Need for 1.5 Million More Homes, August 2022, unfunded.
Unlocking the Future - 5 Year Housing Outlook. Chapter 2: Climate Change, July 2022, with funding support from RE/MAX Canada.
Border Carbon Adjustments — Four Practical Challenges, April 2022, unfunded.
Efficient Nitrogen Fertilizer Management: Opportunities for Prince Edward Island's and Ontario's Agricultural Sector, March 2022, with funding support from Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (AAFC).
The Growth of London Outside of London, March 2022, with funding support from the London Development Institute.
One Million New Ontarians: As Ontario's population booms, policymakers must adapt new housing supply to meet demographic-based housing demand, February 2022, with funding support from Ontario’s Big City Mayors.
Forecast for Failure: How a broken forecasting system is at the root of the GTAH’s housing shortage and how it can be fixed, January 2022, with funding support from BILD.
Renewal and Reinvention of Alberta's Hydrocarbon Cluster: Learning from the past, December 2021, with funding support from Energy Futures Lab.
Banning Blind Bidding: Would it slow the growth in Canadian real estate prices?, October 2021, with funding support from the Canadian Real Estate Association.
Clean Growth in Canada’s Agriculture and Agri-food Sector, March 2022, with funding support from Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (AAFC).
Baby Needs a New Home: Projecting Ontario’s Growing Number of Families and their Housing Needs, October 2021, with funding support from the Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA).
Priced Out: A lack of housing options for working families in the Goods Production & Distribution District of Canada’s Innovation Corridor, September 2021, with funding support from the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
City of London: Factors that will impact a Community-Centred Recovery, August 2021, with funding support from the London Community Recovery Network.
Ontarians on the Move - Local Intelligence Report - Hamilton, June 2021, with funding support from the West End Homebuilders’ Association.
Made in Ontario: A Provincial Manufacturing Strategy, June 2021, with funding support from Ontario 360.
The Big Shift: Changes in Canadian Manufacturing Employment, 2003 – 2018, May 2021, with funding support from the Future Skills Centre.
Ontario’s Options: Evaluating How Provincial Carbon Pricing Revenues Can Improve Affordability, October 2020, unfunded.
Construction and Carbon: The Impact of Climate Policy on Building in Canada in 2025, May 2019, with funding support from Canada’s Building Trades Union (CBTU).