JIM WATSON via Getty Images Canadian Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada Justin Trudeau speaks during the Center for American Progress 10th Anniversary Conference in Washington, DC, October 24, 2013. AFP PHOTO / Jim WATSON (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

Justin Trudeau didn't exactly jump at a recent opportunity to talk about one of his favourite topics.

During Wednesday's visit to a downtown Toronto skateboard shop, the Liberal leader balked at a recent international study on the income gap — one that suggests Canada's middle class isn't in such dire shape after all.

According to Sun News, he refused to answer questions about the New York Times report — opting instead to leave the building with a skateboard tucked under his arm.

In the past, Trudeau has had a lot to say about the plight of the middle class.

A TV ad, released by the Liberals last November, claims the economy has doubled over the past three decades, while middle class incomes rose by a mere 15 per cent.

Indeed, Trudeau has been making the so-called struggles of Canada's middle class a top talking point these days, promising to resuscitate what he has deemed a long-stagnant mass of middle-earners.

The trouble is, Canada's middle class may be booming.

Earlier this week, the New York Times published the results of a study suggesting America's middle-earners have been eclipsed by their Canadian counterparts.

"After-tax middle-class incomes in Canada — substantially behind in 2000 — now appear to be higher than in the United States," the newspaper reported. "The poor in much of Europe earn more than poor Americans."

The Times derived its findings from surveys spanning some 35 years, describing the data as some of the "most detailed publicly available comparisons for different income groups in different countries over time."

Conservatives wasted no time in touting the study, with Employment Minister Jason Kenney tweeting: