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= Canadian Class System = The Canadian Class System is a hierarchical means of describing and distinguishing between certain groups of people based on economic and social status in Canada. They can be defined by terms such as Upper class and Middle class, for example. This system is based on the idea that a higher class equates to an individual having a more fulfilled life than another person in a lower class.

Classifications
This system of socioeconomic differentiation is comprised of multiple classes. These classes are divided by widely accepted boundaries pertaining to one's income, education and perception of self-wealth.

Underclass
One of the many sub-sections of the Canadian Class System is the Underclass. Underclass can be defined as the most extreme results of social dislocation, with potential family disruption, and poor parental supervision as noticeable effects. The underclass constitutes the group of the population that faces the struggles of ongoing poverty. Living month to month is a challenge, as meeting their essential needs is their main priority. A common trait among individuals residing in this group is a general lack of employable skill and limited to no full time work experience. The yearly household income is below $15,000, therefore there is a heavy reliance on government assistance, sometimes that being the only source of income.

Many anti-poverty activists in Canada use Statistics Canada's definition of low income cut-off (LICO) as the poverty line. It states that a given household must spend at least 20 percent more on food, shelter, and clothing than the average Canadian household to be considered low income. As of 2018, that figure would account for approximately 55 percent of total income. These factors make it excessively difficult to hire individuals pertaining to this group.

Working Class
The Working class makes up approximately 30 percent of the Canadian population, and mostly consists of skilled and semi skilled manual workers. Examples of skilled workers include carpenters, plumbers, and electricians, whereas semi skilled workers include occupations like low-level clerical workers and salespeople. A key element pertaining to this social class is the repetitive nature of work as well as extensive supervision. Statistics Canada notes that there are nearly one million Canadians that work a part-time job but would prefer full-time hours. Also, in 2013, 80 percent of the total jobs created were part-time, while full-time work accounted for 19 percent. This illustrates a large discrepancy with market supply and demand in Canada as it relates to work.

Lower Middle Class
The Lower Middle Class in Canada can be considered to be the likes of managers, small business operators, senior executive assistants, as well as select minor professionals, such as school teachers and social workers, to name some examples. A major distinction between the lower middle class and the working class is the level of education. For working class citizens, the peak of their learning could very well be at the secondary level, whereas lower middle class citizens can expect to attend a post-secondary institution, but not necessarily complete their degree. While people who reside in this class do not possess a large invest income or personal savings, they can afford small luxuries such as occasional vacations, regularly eating out, later-model cars, and have the capacity to send their children to post-secondary. Another distinct feature about this group is that as a whole, they do not feel empowered enough to make substantial changes in the political landscape, and therefore hardly participates in local, provincial, or national politics.

Upper Middle Class
While Upper middle class citizens do not exactly possess a ridiculous amount of wealth more than the lower middle class, the gap is visible in that people in this group can afford to drive new cars, take international holidays, and live in luxurious homes. This is mostly due to the general level of education that people in this group have received. A large majority have earned a university degree, with some even possessing a graduate degree. Despite the relatively disparity between the aforementioned classes, many people in Canada consider themselves to be middle class citizens. In census data from 2015, the median Canadian household income was $70,336, also, Statistics Canada reported that the average range for income for citizens to be $33,000-$130,000. These figures would indicate a threshold for where one could identify themselves on the Canadian Class System, as the median income can be considered a definite cut-off for upper and lower Middle class. Individuals in the upper middle class also have a higher propensity to participate in politics and volunteer organizations.

Upper Class
The Upper class in developed countries are the wealthiest and most privileged individuals of society, often influencing significant change. Individuals pertaining to this class earn multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars at least, however, the majority do not derive their main economic expenditure from income, but rather accumulated wealth. In 2011, the National Household Survey (NHS) reported that the top 1 percent of workers had jobs in five of the ten broad occupation groups: management occupations (38.8%), health occupations (14.3%), business, finance and administration occupations (13.7%), occupations in education, law and social, community and government services (11.0%) and natural and applied sciences and related occupations (9.9%), accounting for 87 percent of the top 1 percent. While earning excessively more than the other groups, the average 2014 income for the top 1 percent in Canada being $466,700, upper class citizens pay back an inordinately larger amount to the government, as the average income tax paid by this group was $159,500, about 20 percent of all income tax collected.