Question

Describe the major social classes in Canada: upper class, middle class, working-class, and lower class. Consider the size of each class, as well as the income levels, typical schooling, and type of work that characterize people at each level.

Answer 1

Classes in Canada are like any other country, wherein the society has been subdivided into three main categories which are the upper class, the middle class and the working class. This helps in differentiating people on the basis of their income level and living standards and is widely used as a technique to ensure that benefits are provided to the right kind of people across the world.

The country has the following main classes, each of which are as described: -

1) Upper Class: -

The upper class in Canada are about 10% of the total population and constitute those sections of the society who either may have ancestral wealth which has been accumulated by them over the years, or those rich sections which have risen to power thanks to the corporations which have provided them with heavy salaries due to their experience, degree or both. The salary or income average is above $200,000 and they are about 37,60,000 people in this category. Further, most of their education is from private schools and colleges and their life style is much better than rest of the world.

2) Middle Class: -

This constitutes semi-skilled or skilled labour force and is a majority part of the country. About 65-70% of the country’s total population is the middle class, that primarily work for the upper class and hold jobs or business that give them an average revenue for their capital investments. Most of these people earn between 30,000$ to 200,000$ their education is from public schools generally while some may still enjoy the benefits of a private one. These are the mass consumers of goods and services and the biggest section of the society which pays the highest in terms of taxes. There are about 26,320,000 people in this category considering that the total population of the country is around 3.76 Crores.

3) Lower Class: -

Again, the lower class constitutes the section which lives in poverty. It constitutes 20-30% of the total population and these people earn less than 30,000$ per year and have a tough time in managing themselves. Almost all of these people are enrolled in public colleges or schools and are semi-skilled or unskilled in nature. They live in small houses or on rent and their lifestyle is such that it barely manages the minimum. The total strength is estimated to be around 11,280,000

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