A survey conducted by York’s Institute for Social Research, reveals that more than half of Canadians are afraid for their own financial futures.
A survey of 1,800 individuals found an overwhelming consensus among Canadians on the state of the income inequality.
Lesley Jacobs, a professor in the departments of political science and social science, says the idea of the survey came from the varying amounts of information out there concerning the wide income gap and wanting to get a Canadian perspective on it.
“What we were interested in, first and foremost, was to get a Canadian perspective on the growing income gap,” says Jacobs. “If you look at the various discussions of the income gap, we especially discovered there have been virtually no surveys done on it. So we were really trying to fill a gap.”
According to the report, 67 per cent of Canadians were worried about their children’s financial future compared to 55 per cent that were concerned about their own.
“A lot of people were concerned not so much about themselves, but their children’s prospects,” says Jacobs.
There was still a general consensus on the income inequality, despite differences in political opinion.
“Across all three parties, there was overwhelming agreement that the income gap was growing,” says Jacobs.
When looking at strategies for closing the gap, many alternatives were suggested.
“Education was a big factor that people cited as the best way to insulate themselves from the growing gap,” says Jacobs.
“People said they think the provincial and federal government should be doing things about the income gap and that they weren’t doing enough,” says Jacobs.
The majority believed factors such as getting a university education or an increase in minimum wage would increase their chances of having a higher income, and would help to close the gap between the wealthy and the poor.
Abbi Sharvendiran
Contributor
