Families earning a combined income of up to $120,000 in 2015 are expected to benefit the most from the Conservatives’ family tax relief plan.

Department of Finance figures show that 68 per cent of the benefits from the Conservatives’ proposed tax relief measures will apply to those whose annual family income ranges from less than $60,000 to as much as $120,000 in 2015.

A total of 4 million families will benefit from what the government has touted as a family-friendly package, the government figures show. The measures are expected to cost the government $4.62 billion in 2015.

The plan, unveiled in last October, is largely viewed as a way for Conservatives to court middle-class voters ahead of a federal election scheduled for later this year.

“Two-thirds of the benefits will go to low- and middle-income families,” Finance Minister Joe Oliver said in the House of Commons Tuesday. “I’m proud that our government has presented … a benefit plan for four million Canadian families – every one of them.”

Share of family tax relief distribution for 2015:

  • Under $30,000: 25 per cent
  • $30,000-$60,000: 11 per cent
  • $60,000-$90,000: 15 per cent
  • $90,000-$120,000: 17 per cent
  • More than $120,000: 32 per cent

Average relief for families:

  • Less than $60,000: $970
  • $60,000-$120,000: $1,219

The figures, obtained by The Canadian Press through the Access to Information Act, call into question what constitutes a “middle class” family.

According to Statistics Canada, the median 2012 income level for families of at least two people was $82,100. That figure is before taxes, but includes government transfers.

According to a Finance Department spokesman, internal analysts used the same measurement to calculate income.

C.D. Howe Institute’s Finn Poschmann says in Canada, the definition of a middle-class income may depend on geography.

Two-earner families with kids will earn more in urban centres than those who live in rural areas, he said.

By 2015, an average two-income family with kids in Toronto and in Calgary is going to be making about $150,000 a year,” Poschmann told CTV News. “That’s a fair bit of money and it would go a lot farther say, in Cape Breton.”

With files from The Canadian Press