Cities across Canada are backing away from upzoning. After agreeing to allow fourplexes and other missing middle housing, municipalities like Calgary, Toronto, Markham, and Windsor are scaling back — or reversing — reforms altogether. What’s behind the pushback, and are YIMBYs losing the as-of-right fight?

In this segment, we break down:

Why cities are rejecting upzoning after agreeing to it

What Calgary’s reversal means for housing reform

Why Edmonton is succeeding where others aren’t

The politics behind fourplex opposition

Whether provinces — not cities — should lead upzoning

What advocates should do next

Is this just a temporary backlash, or the beginning of a broader retreat from upzoning?

(Quick note from Cara: This was recorded before the first round ended. If the Oilers are already out at this release, I would like the record to show that I believed in them right up until the end, and that next year is our year!)

Chapters:
00:15 | The Housing Accelerator Fund and Refusal to Implement Changes
01:03 | GTA Holdouts: Oakville, Markham, and Toronto
02:04 | Calgary's Policy Reversal After Election
03:06 | Edmonton: Getting Infill Housing Right (8 Units As-of-Right)
04:11 | Debunking the Myths
06:08 | The Policy Lesson: Working to Make Changes Stick
07:18 | The Path Forward: Debating Future Approaches
15:29 | Winning Hearts and Minds: Focusing on Benefits

Research/links:

Majority of Windsor council stands firm in fourplex decision, limits them to certain areas of the city
https://www.ctvnews.ca/windsor/article/majority-of-windsor-council-stands-firm-in-fourplex-decision-limits-them-to-certain-areas-of-the-city/

Fourplexes: A tale of two neighbouring communities
https://canada.constructconnect.com/dcn/news/projects/2024/04/fourplexes-a-tale-of-two-neighbouring-communities

2025: The year Edmonton built the missing middle
https://www.jacobdawang.com/blog/2026/zbr-two-year-review/

Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux

Produced by Meredith Martin

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