A new study indicates that Canadians highly value emergency responders and healthcare workers compared to most other professions.

A recent public opinion survey (Maru) found that - among 29 professions measured - Canadians rank paramedics as the most respected job, with firefighters in second place. Nurses, doctors, and pharmacists occupy the top six places, with farmers ranking fourth.

Firefighters were ranked as the most respected profession in the 2021 version of the survey. Paramedics were not measured in last year's survey.

At the other end of the spectrum, social media platform owners were rated as the least respected jobs for the second consecutive year. Car salespeople, advertising practitioners, politicians, and union leaders make up the bottom five.

A list of 29 professions was presented to respondents in random order, and each was asked to rate them into one of four categories:

Great deal of respect - 100 points

Somewhat respected - 70 points

A little respect - 30 points

Then the average of the responses was calculated to give each profession its "respect score." The average respect score for the 29 professions measured was 67.9.

The respect scores by profession for this year were:

Paramedics - 92.0

Firefighters - 91.4

Nurses - 89.6

Farmers - 88.7

Doctors - 86.5

Pharmacists - 85.1

Armed forces personnel - 84.2

Scientists - 82.9

Airline pilots - 82.4

Grocery store workers - 80.8

Transit workers - 80.6

Teachers - 80.1

Veterinarians - 79.9

Engineers - 79.8

Police officers - 70.5

Judges - 68.8

Private sector long-term care home operators - 62.7

Journalists - 58.4

Lawyers - 55.8

Radio and television talk show hosts - 54.0

Bankers - 53.8

Clergy - 52.9

Professional athletes - 50.6

Business executives - 48.6

Union leaders - 46.7

Elected members of parliament - 46.3

Advertising practitioners - 41.6

Car sales representatives - 40.3

Social media platform owners - 33.9

The survey organizers randomly selected 1500 Canadian adults as participants in four different periods between March 18 and May 3.

Edited by: Dima Abu Khair