Rich Canadians Don’t Care About Poor People, Least Likely to Support Minimum Wage Hike

It seems the richest people in Canada are too busy splurging on first-class air travel and avoiding taxes to be concerned about the state of the country’s poorest citizens.

According to a recent Forum Research poll, while the majority of respondents approved of the idea of increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour, Canada’s one-percenters were not as supportive.

Wealthy Canadians are among those most opposed to the idea, with 36 per cent against.

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“It is curious that the very wealthiest, who have no need of it, are the most likely to object to what has been described as an adequate living wage for a young family, while it is championed, obviously, by the least wealthy,” said Lorne Bozinoff, president and founder of Forum Research, in a statement.

Of course, raising the minimum wage will not magically eradicate poverty. In fact, it might even create more problems than it solves.

According to Morley Gunderson, economics professor emeritus and CIBC chair in youth employment at the University of Toronto, such a large increase would likely decrease employment prospects for youth, who are already struggling to find work.

Knowing this, it’s easy to see why the 18-34 demographic had the highest disapproval rate of any age group.

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However, considering that Alberta is already planning to raise their minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2018 and Ontario just raised theirs to $11.40, it is possible that this wage increase will be a reality across Canada in time.

The survey found that Atlantic Canada was the region of Canada most supportive of a wage hike, with 73 per cent in favour. Ironically Alberta, where the wage increase is actually going to be happening, was the least enthusiastic about it with 49 per cent in favour and 45 per cent against.

As Gunderson points out, there’s no easy solution. Research is inconclusive about whether raising the minimum wage would be harmful or helpful so in the meantime, we’ll be trying to raise our salaries the old fashioned way: a promotion.

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