Social classes in Canada

Industrial workers are directly involved in industrial production — from the extraction of raw materials, to transportation, to transformation into intermediate or finished goods.

Examples:

• workers in mining, oil, and forestry industries;
• railway workers, dockers, truck drivers, etc.;
• workers in manufacturing (automotive, aerospace, tech, food processing, consumer goods, etc.) and construction.

These workers form the core of the working class. They are the ones who make sure people’s basic needs are met — homes, food, vehicles, heating, tools, and more.

Millions of workers are responsible for moving and selling goods. It’s at this stage that profit becomes real.

Examples:

• logistics and warehouse workers;
• retail clerks;
• service sellers and front-of-house employees;
• call-centre workers in sales.

These workers produce “intangible goods,” in other words, services. They generate profits for their employers by providing specialized assistance.

Here are a few examples:

• private school teachers,
• auto mechanics,
• janitors working for cleaning agencies,
• cooks and servers,
• nursing assistants in private clinics,
• movers,
• technical support call-centre employees.

People in the public sector don’t directly generate profit, but their work is essential for allowing others to continue selling their labour every day.

This includes:

Health and social services workers, who allow others to return to work after illness or injury:

• nursing assistants,
• orderlies,
• medical secretaries,
• stationary engineers,
• emergency dispatchers,
• cleaning staff.

Education workers, who prepare the next generation to replace those retiring:

• daycare educators,
• school monitors,
• elementary and secondary teachers,
• school secretaries,
• custodians,
• cafeteria cooks.

Public transit workers, who help others get to work:

• customer service agents.
• bus drivers,
• mechanics,

“Unproductive” workers do not generate profit for their employers. Instead, they are considered operating costs of the capitalist system — yet they number in the hundreds of thousands.

Examples:

• administrative assistants or customer-service agents in banks, insurance companies, or large corporate offices;
• technical or support staff in marketing, advertising, and communications (graphic designers, proofreaders, stage technicians, etc.).

They number in the millions in Canada. Their work keeps businesses and institutions run by the upper classes functioning, without directly contributing to the production of goods or essential services.

The working class also includes all those living in precarious conditions or unstable employment. They may move between jobs and unemployment, work under-the-table, or be excluded from the labour market altogether.

Examples:

• gig workers,
• people injured or unable to work,
• welfare recipients,
• and people facing barriers like mental-health issues, addiction, or precarious immigration status that keep them from steady employment.

The main difference between a salaried worker and a self-employed one lies in the “relationship of subordination”:

• an employee depends on an employer;
• a self-employed worker is their own boss.

They work for themselves, often using their own tools. They can negotiate rates, choose schedules, and decide how to work.

Examples of occupations that can be either employed or self-employed:

• “owner-operator” truck drivers.
• plumbers, electricians,
• graphic designers, stage or film technicians, web designers,

Professionals can be salaried or self-employed. They are often (though not always) more privileged economically and socially than other workers. They differ from others by:

• greater independence and autonomy in their work;
• less employer control over how they organize their work;
• higher technical or academic qualifications (often university-level);
• and, in many cases, membership in a professional order that regulates and protects their practice.

Their work is mainly intellectual, cultural, or technical.

Examples:

• professors, researchers, artists;
• lawyers, notaries, accountants;
• architects, designers, engineers;
• journalists, translators, programmers;
• doctors, therapists, clinical nurses, social workers.

Small entrepreneurs are owners of very small businesses (often family-run) with limited capital. They generally have:

• a small premises or plot,
• some tools or machines,
• and only a handful of employees.

Individually, they have little weight in the economy and limited political influence, so they are not part of the ruling class.

Most have fewer than 5–10 employees and are economically vulnerable:

• indebted to major banks,
• undermined by large corporate competition,
• at the mercy of public policies that favour the ruling elite.

These businesses are more likely to close, forcing their owners back into the working class.

Examples:

• small craft producers (soap, clothing, etc.),
• small farmers (dairy, beekeeping, etc.),
• local shop owners (independent convenience stores, cafés, garages),
• small local contractors (landscaping, roofing, etc.).

The lieutenants of the ruling classes are not part of that class because they have direct economic and political power, but rather because they serve it. Their role is to maintain control and discipline over the working population (by physical or ideological means) to preserve the existing social order.

This group includes:

• the judicial and penal system (judges, correctional officers, police, etc.);
• managers and technocrats;
• intellectuals and politicians;
• certain institutional branches of dominant religions.

This is not purely an economic category, but a political one: ensuring the stability and reproduction of ruling-class power.

The middle bourgeoisie consists of business owners and investors whose activities are mainly local or provincial, sometimes national. They differ from large corporations and oligarchs whose reach is international through multinationals and foreign investment.

They depend partly on the big players, collaborating through:

• subcontracts with multinationals,
• government contracts,
• or public subsidies.

They still wield real political influence, especially at the provincial and municipal levels, and occasionally federally.

Examples of companies:

• Lufa Farms (Quebec)
• Pacific Coastal Airlines (BC)
• Chez Ashton (Quebec)
• Sunrise Farms (BC, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario)
• Browns Shoes (Eastern Canada, a few locations in the West)
• Princess Auto (nationwide, HQ in Winnipeg)
• Gray Tools (Ontario)

At the very top sits the high bourgeoisie, made up of powerful monopolists and financial oligarchs, a tiny elite holding an immense share of national wealth, either directly or through corporations, investment funds, and other financial vehicles.

Among them are roughly 11 000 “ultra-rich” individuals worth over $30 million each, including well-known families such as the Thomsons, Westons, Irvings, McCains, Rogers, Pattisons, Richardsons, Saputos, Desmarais, and Bouchards.

These families alone hold a vast portion of Canada’s wealth. Statistics Canada data does not allow us to determine their exact assets, but we do know that the richest 1% of families in Canada (approximately 160,000 families) hold a quarter of the country’s total wealth.

The richest 0.5% of companies produce nearly 50 % of Canada’s GDP, while 91% of businesses have fewer than 100 employees and account for only 37% of it.

Alongside the oligarchs are the top executives, CEOs, and board members of major corporations, banks, and pension funds. Even if their personal wealth is only in the millions, their positions give them enormous economic, financial, and political power.

Example: David I. McKay, president of the Royal Bank of Canada, has a personal fortune of only a few million dollars, but with other executives he controls over $1.5 trillion in assets through the country’s largest bank.