This study examines the relationship between the urban aspirations of middle-class residents across the Montreal area and political narratives of urban development. Building off of past research that explores the discourses and planning directives of metropolitan- and municipal administrations surrounding housing development, we reflect on how these currently align with and even reinforce the preferences and aspirations of new middle-class residents. Our empirical analysis is based on interviews with residents alongside a content analysis of policy and planning documents from a selection of Montreal's metropolitan, municipal and neighbourhood-level administrations. We problematize how these narratives might be driving the geographical localization of housing aspirations and how these are similar across the urban-suburban continuum.