Who are the constituents Wayne Long says he's defending - according to the numbers

Wayne Long, the Liberal MP for Saint John-Rothesay, has said he chose to break ranks with his own party over proposed tax changesbecause he could not sit by as the government pushed ahead with changes his constituents overwhelmingly oppose.

On Tuesday, Long supported a failed Conservative motion that would have extended the consultation period on the federal government's proposed changes to the tax mechanisms used by incorporated small businesses.

• New Brunswick MP kicked off 2 committees for breaking Liberal ranks on tax changes

By voting against the motion, Long opposed a whipped vote on a Liberal platform commitment to crack down on high-income earners using Canadian-controlled private corporations to reduce personal income taxes.

He told CBC News he did a "massive amount of consulting" with constituents, who were overwhelmingly opposed to the changes. He said his riding has the largest concentration of small businesses in the country, and many doctors who work at the regional hospital.

But who are Long's constituents, and how much do they make?

CBC News crunched some data to find out.

Fewer small businesses than other cities

Long's claim that his riding has one of the highest concentrations of small businesses in Canada may not be accurate.

According to a June 2016 report from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, more than half of Canada's small employer businesses are concentrated in Ontario and Quebec 407,175 and 235,075, respectively.

In Atlantic Canada, Nova Scotia was home to the greatest number of small businesses, totalling 29,298.

In New Brunswick, there were 25,002 small business employers.

Saint John actually has a lower concentration of businesses and people who are self-employed than many other mid-sized cities in Canadaand even in New Brunswick, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business' annual report on entrepreneur-friendly cities.

The CFIB's latest report, published in November 2016, showed that Saint John has 2.8 business establishments per 100 residents, while 6.7 per cent of people are self employed.

By comparison, Fredericton has 3.1 business establishments per 100 residents, while 7.9 per cent of residents are self-employed.

The mid-sized cities with the highest concentration of small businesses were Swift Current, Collingwood, and Penticton.

High rates of low income

According to 2016 census data, Long's Saint John-Rothesay riding has low income rates well above the national average.

Nearly 21per cent of the total population of the riding is considered low income based on the low income measure after tax. This measure is based on households living on less than half of the median household income after taxes.

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Canada-wide, 14.2 per cent of the population is considered low income after tax.

In the riding, 30.2 per cent of children livein low income households. The national average is 17 per cent.

Small percentage of high earners

Long's riding also has a lower percentage of people who make $100,000 or above.

Census data shows that in 2015, about six per cent of people in Long's riding reported having employment income of $100,000 and over. Employment income is defined as all income received as wages, salaries, and commissions from paid employment and/or self employment.

When looking at total income, that number drops to 5.4 per cent.

Total income includes employment income, income from investment sources, employer and personal pension sources, and other cash income such as child support payments and social assistance.

Nationally, about nine percent of people reported employment income and total income of $100,000 and over.

Long defends his stance

Met at the Saint John airport by dozens of supporters and a handful of reporters, Long said he met with hundreds of constituents who expressed their frustration with the proposed changes before choosing to vote against his party.

These included small business people, as well as many professionals like doctors and lawyers, he said.

"The resounding message that they felt on the defensive, they felt vilified," he said.

Long has made poverty reduction one of his key issues since being elected in 2015.

On Friday, he said he didn't think he was contradicting himself by standing against his party's initiative, which the Liberals have said is meant to crack down on high-income earners.

"There's a lot of people who contribute to our economy and make our economy run in Saint John, that on one side, people say 'They're the wealthy,' but on another side, there's a lot of hard-working small business people who really aren't that wealthy, that employ people, that contribute to our economy," he said.

"So I'm leery of 'Well if you're doing this, you're not really advocating for people who live in poverty.' I totally disagree with that."

He also said that while there may not be that many small businesses in his riding, those businesses employ thousands of people.