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Class divisions in Canada are frequently overlooked or erased. With increasing socioeconomic inequality, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to revisit the political importance of class. This panel will confront major contemporary issues relating to class politics in Canada. Panelists will discuss definitional parameters of class, the nature of class awareness, and the presence of distinct working-class interests. The panel will also examine the role of political parties, as their messaging and policy commitments continue to target an amorphous middle class. Lastly, panelists will consider the potential for greater class diversity in Canadian legislatures, as politicians are overwhelmingly drawn from a small number of white-collar professions.

Panelists:

• Daniel Westlake, Buchanan Post-Doctoral Fellow in Canadian Democracy at ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥
• Melanee Thomas, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Calgary
• Ted Hsu, Former research physicist, former Member of Parliament, and 2022 Ontario Liberal Party candidate for Kingston-and-the- Islands

Moderated by: Jacob Robbins-Kanter PhD Candidate in Canadian Poltiics at ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥