Canada has no official statistical measurement to define “middle class”, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said in a reply to an order paper question from Conservative MP Kevin Sorenson Tuesday.

“Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada defines the middle class using a broader set of characteristics than merely income. Middle-class Canadians can generally be identified by the values they hold and the lifestyle they aspire to. Middle-class values are values that are common to most Canadians and from all backgrounds,” Morneau began an answer.

“They believe in working hard to get ahead and hope for a better future for their children. Middle-class families also aspire to a lifestyle that typically includes adequate housing and health care, educational opportunities for their children, a secure retirement, job security and adequate income for modest spending on leisure pursuits, among other characteristics.”

In addition to a definition of the middle class, Sorenson — minister of state (Finance) in the Harper government and currently the chair of the standing committee on public accounts — had asked for a salary range for middle-class individuals, couples and families.

Morneau answered that the income required to attain a middle class lifestyle can “vary greatly” based on Canadians’ specific situations — whether they have child care expenses, for example, or live in large cities where housing tends to be more expensive.

“As a result, it is not possible to pin down a specific income range that would capture everyone who is in the middle class and exclude everyone who is not. In addition, Canada has no official statistical measure of what constitutes the middle class,” Morneau concluded.

Though Morneau couldn’t define the middle class by income, his first budget contained what the government called a “middle class tax cut” — from 22 per cent to 20.5 per cent, on income between $45,282 and $90,563.

“Our government believes that a strong economy starts with a strong middle class. Canada’s middle class has gone too long without a raise, and in challenging economic times, we have taken action to help them,” Morneau said a January 2016 debate on Bill C-2, which made the changes.