Lecture 3 (Canadian Identity, Racial and Ethic Subcultures/Income and Social Class)

How do we describe ourselves?

• Global peacekeepers

  • But our commitment of uniformed personnel to UN peacekeeping is at an all-time low

• Inclusive and tolerant

  • But more ethnic and racial hate crimes

• Diverse

  • But many Canadians no longer support immigration levels

• Have universal health care

  • But long wait-lists for non-urgent procedures,  not enough family doctors and regular ER closures

What has Canada given us?

• basketball

• hockey helmet

• peanut butter 

• garbage bags 

• insulin

• cardiac pacemaker 

• egg cartons 

• butter tarts

Canada is Tim Hortons 

• Hamilton has one Tim Hortons for every 7500 residents

• “Double double” added to the Oxford Canadian dictionary

Subcultures

• In addition to being part of Canadian national culture, consumers in Canada also belong to many different subcultures

• Members of a subculture share beliefs and experiences that set them apart from the “mainstream”

• This part of the course focuses on regional, ethnic and racial subcultures

Ethnic and Racial Subcultures in Canada

• British and French are our two largest ethnic subcultures

• After these, German, Italian, South Asian, Chinese, Ukrainian, Dutch, Polish and Russian are the largest groups

• Larger ethnic subcultures are most prominent in largest urban centers

• Some ethnicities and races are smaller in overall numbers but are very important presences in certain regions

  • e.g., Ukrainian and Aboriginal Canadians on the Prairies; Greek and Polish in Ontario

Rethinking Canada’s Colonial Past

• May 2023 Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla

• 52% of Canadians polled (Angus Reid) did not want Canada to continue as a constitutional monarchy for generations to come

Ethnic and Racial Subcultures

• Ethnic and racial origin appears to have especially strong effects on religion, rituals, and food

• Marketers need to use the right words and symbolic language but also must be careful with stereotypes

Reaching French Canadians

• More attention paid to advertising aesthetics although not necessarily different product choices

  • Strict protection of French language in all forms of Quebec communication with 90 cities and towns having the right to offer services in both official languages; without this bilingual designation, French must be used

Reaching Other Ethnic Subcultures

• Must consider the level of acculturation

  • Assimilation – adopt practices of mainstream culture

  • Maintenance – maintain practices of birth culture

  • Resistance – actively resist ideas of new culture

  • Segregation – tend to live, shop and worship in an area that is identified with their own ethnicity

Ethnic and Racial Strategies in GTA

• Wal-Mart Canada releases advertisements aimed at Mandarin, Cantonese, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and South Asian markets

• Adonis is a Mediterranean specialty store started in Montreal in 1978.

• 16^th store will open in London, ON, to cater to consumers who have been driving into Mississauga

Regional Subcultures

• Regional and ethnic subcultures overlap to some extent

  • Atlantic Canada

  • Quebec

  • Ontario

  • Prairies

  • West Coast

  • The North

The Cowboy West in Alberta

• Everybody hosts Stampede parties – from oil companies to law firms to art galleries to the U.S. consulate

• An accepted part of business culture

Feng Shui in Vancouver

• 5000-year-old Chinese philosophy

  • Balancing wood, fire, earth, metal and water

  • Popularity spread from Chinese population to mainstream

Slurpee Capital of the WORLD

• In this city, 7400 are sold per month per store

  • Canadian average is 4900

• Beats national average, even in winter

• Closest rival is Calgary at 7000 / month

• One 7-Eleven for every 12,500 residents

• Popular to mix flavors to arrive at your own personal blend

• …….and it is…….Manitoba, Winnipeg

Where was the Caesar Invented?

• Invented in 1969; @350 million Caesars are consumed annually in Canada

• The drink is still the most popular one at the Westin Hotel bar where it was invented

• One large corporation based in the city estimated they spent @$12,000 per year buying them for clients

• It is so popular in the region that half the country’s clamato juice sales are here…Calgary, Alberta 

Canadians Love What Packaged Grocery Item?

• More than 90% of Canadian households have purchased it at some time

• Canadians eat more per capita than any other country in the world

• About 245,000 boxes a day!

• Cereal

Demographic Variables

• Demographic variables are statistics that are used to describe individuals in a population

• We have already considered nationality, ethnicity and region of the country

• Other examples are:

  • Income

  • Social class

  • Age

  • Gender

  • Education

  • Marital status and numbers of children

  • Religion

  • Occupation

Consumer Income

• How much money is available to spend?

• How confident are you about the future?

Canadian Personal Debt to Income Ratio

Canadian households' debt to disposable income ratio lowered again in first quarter 2025 to 173.94, marking a series of consecutive declines. 

Cutting Back

Even before the pandemic, 60% of polled Canadians said they were cutting back on extras like entertainment as well as essentials like groceries

Homeless in Ontario

More than 80,000 homeless people in Ontario in 2024 – 25% more than two years ago.  

Consumer Social Class

• Social class incorporates income but is more complex and also considers:

  • Rank, position, social standing

  • Lifestyle

  • Occupational prestige

  • Where you live

Measuring Social Class

• Sometimes difficult to assess because of:

  • Status inconsistency

  • Class mobility

  • Subjectivity in measurement

  • Individual aspirations

Social Class, Income and Purchasing

• Income tends to be a better predictor than social class when purchases are “big-ticket” but not status-related

• Social class is a better predictor when purchases involve visibility and status, even when they are not costly

• A combination of social class and income works best to predict expensive high-status purchases

  • We often make choices in order to indicate our current or aspiration class

  • We also often make a point of avoiding purchases that would indicate a lower class

Targeting the Poor

• Do you see ethical problems in how basics are made available to low-income consumers in Hamilton

  • Groceries?

  • Big-box stores?

• How could this be improved?

• Who is responsible?

Hamilton’s First Urban Farm

McQuesten Urban farm is an innovative neighbourhood development initiative that provides a space where people can come together to grow, cook, share and advocate for good food.