Canada’s 100 highest-paid chief executive officers earned 209-times more than the average worker in 2016, according to a new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
The study shows CEOs make an average of $10.4 million a year. This is 209 times the average income of $49,738.
On an hourly basis, the minimum wage for the richest CEOs rose to $2,489.62 in 2016.
By 11 a.m., the most elite individuals will earn the average $49,738 wage of most Canadians.
“Canada’s corporate executives were among the loudest critics of a new $15 minimum wage in provinces like Ontario and Alberta, while the highest-paid among them were raking in record-breaking earnings,” said David Macdonald, a CCPA senior economist and the author of the report.
“CEOs are making 316 times more than someone who makes $15 an hour. If shareholders can afford this year’s CEO pay hike, they should absolutely be endorsing higher wages at the bottom as well.”
Canada’s Top 100 Highest-Paid CEOs
| Rank | Company | Title | Name | Base Salary |
Other Compensation † |
Total Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc | CEO | Joseph Papa * | $1,299,990 | $81,831,262 | $83,131,252 |
| 2 | Magna International Inc | CEO | Donald Walker * | $430,781 | $28,183,681 | $28,614,462 |
| 3 | Rogers Communications Inc | Former President & CEO | Guy Laurence | $1,029,711 | $23,573,282 | $24,602,993 |
| 4 | Macdonald Dettwiler & Associates Ltd | Former President & CEO | Daniel Friedmann | $266,831 | $21,160,422 | $21,427,253 |
| 5 | Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd | CEO | Hunter Harrison | $2,904,595 | $15,925,199 | $18,829,794 |
| 6 | Thomson Reuters Corp | President & CEO | James Smith * | $2,109,541 | $15,667,917 | $17,777,458 |
| 7 | Encana Corp | President & CEO | Doug Suttles * | $1,370,511 | $16,221,594 | $17,592,105 |
| 8 | CCL Industries Inc | President & CEO | Geoffrey Martin | $1,313,760 | $16,056,422 | $17,370,182 |
| 9 | Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc | Former CEO | J. Michael Pearson * | $887,104 | $14,984,687 | $15,871,791 |
| 10 | Waste Connections Inc | CEO & Chairman | Ronald Mittelstaedt * | $1,284,390 | $14,570,270 | $15,854,660 |
| 11 | Manulife Financial Corp | President & CEO | Donald Guloien | $1,803,437 | $13,577,618 | $15,381,055 |
| 12 | Linamar Corp | CEO | Linda Hasenfratz | $618,431 | $14,023,043 | $14,641,474 |
| 13 | Waste Connections Inc | Former President & CEO, Progressive Waste | Joseph D. Quarin * | $86,034 | $14,106,756 | $14,192,790 |
| 14 | Telus Corp | President & CEO | Darren Entwistle | $1,375,000 | $11,530,331 | $12,905,331 |
| 15 | Bank of Nova Scotia | Group Head, International Banking & Digital Transformation | Ignacio Deschamps | $524,686 | $12,227,722 | $12,752,408 |
| 16 | Bombardier Inc | President & CEO | Alain Bellemare * | $1,381,415 | $11,196,594 | $12,578,009 |
| 17 | Royal Bank of Canada | President & CEO | David McKay | $1,466,667 | $10,778,726 | $12,245,393 |
| 18 | Cott Corporation | CEO | Jerry Fowden * | $1,193,054 | $10,938,703 | $12,131,757 |
| 19 | Linamar Corp | Chairman | Frank Hasenfratz | $446,064 | $11,551,891 | $11,997,955 |
| 20 | Canadian Natural Resources Ltd | Exec Chair | N. Murray Edwards | $1 | $11,893,925 | $11,893,926 |
| 21 | CGI Group Inc | President & CEO | Michael Roach | $1,373,000 | $10,448,659 | $11,821,659 |
| 22 | CGI Group Inc | Founder & Exec | Serge Godin | $1,373,000 | $10,442,999 | $11,815,999 |
| 23 | Bank of Nova Scotia | President & CEO | Brian Porter | $1,000,000 | $10,763,714 | $11,763,714 |
| 24 | Canadian National Railway Co | Former President & CEO | Claude Mongeau | $1,457,280 | $10,122,786 | $11,580,066 |
| 25 | Agrium Inc | President & CEO | Charles Magro * | $1,496,304 | $10,026,084 | $11,522,388 |
| 26 | Suncor Energy Inc | President & CEO | Steven Williams | $1,375,000 | $10,107,343 | $11,482,343 |
| 27 | Enbridge Inc | President & CEO | Al Monaco | $1,377,000 | $10,014,427 | $11,391,427 |
| 28 | TFI International Inc | President & CEO | Alain Bedard | $1,742,112 | $9,616,501 | $11,358,613 |
| 29 | Quebecor Inc | President & CEO | Pierre Dion | $1,300,000 | $9,998,655 | $11,298,655 |
| 30 | Barrick Gold Corp | Executive Chairman | John Thornton * | $3,313,700 | $7,955,794 | $11,269,494 |
| 31 | Power Financial Corp | President & CEO | Jeffrey Orr | $4,450,000 | $6,773,367 | $11,223,367 |
| 32 | Shaw Communications Inc | Executive Chair | James Robert Shaw | $1,355,682 | $9,852,569 | $11,208,251 |
| 33 | Endeavour Mining Corp | Former CEO | Neil Woodyer * | $795,369 | $10,167,578 | $10,962,947 |
| 34 | Linamar Corp | President & COO | Jim Jarrell | $480,569 | $10,364,126 | $10,844,695 |
| 35 | BCE Inc | President & CEO, BCE & Bell | George Cope | $1,400,000 | $9,361,529 | $10,761,529 |
| 36 | Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd | Vice-Chair & CEO | Sean Boyd * | $1,550,732 | $9,199,149 | $10,749,881 |
| 37 | Bank of Montreal | CEO | William Downe | $1,987,650 | $8,653,658 | $10,641,308 |
| 38 | Aecon Group Inc | Former President & CEO | Terrance L. McKibbon | $689,555 | $9,870,233 | $10,559,788 |
| 39 | Onex Corporation | CEO | Gerald Schwartz | $1,723,124 | $8,763,565 | $10,486,689 |
| 40 | Toronto-Dominion Bank | President & CEO | Bharat Masrani | $1,000,000 | $9,343,954 | $10,343,954 |
| 41 | Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc | President & CEO | Brian Hannasch | $1,587,353 | $8,673,347 | $10,260,700 |
| 42 | Transcanada Corp | President & CEO | Russell Girling | $1,300,008 | $8,838,014 | $10,138,022 |
| 43 | Celestica Inc | President & CEO | Robert A. Mionis * | $1,126,773 | $8,794,228 | $9,921,001 |
| 44 | Teck Resources Ltd | President & CEO | Donald Lindsay | $1,493,500 | $8,050,980 | $9,544,480 |
| 45 | Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce | CEO | Victor Dodig | $1,000,000 | $8,191,750 | $9,191,750 |
| 46 | Open Text Corp | CEO & CTO | Mark Barrenechea | $1,251,142 | $7,795,728 | $9,046,870 |
| 47 | Sun Life Financial Inc | President & CEO | Dean Connor | $1,076,923 | $7,926,771 | $9,003,694 |
| 48 | Air Canada | President & CEO | Calin Rovinescu | $1,400,000 | $7,599,225 | $8,999,225 |
| 49 | Kinross Gold Corp | President & CEO | Paul Rollinson * | $1,283,383 | $7,063,037 | $8,346,420 |
| 50 | Goldcorp Inc | President & CEO | David Garofalo | $1,250,000 | $7,069,888 | $8,319,888 |
| 51 | Canadian National Railway Co | President & CEO | Luc Jobin | $1,106,208 | $7,195,958 | $8,302,166 |
| 52 | Canadian Natural Resources Ltd | President | Steve Laut | $567,000 | $7,672,154 | $8,239,154 |
| 53 | Shaw Communications Inc | President | Jay Mehr | $1,491,250 | $6,697,816 | $8,189,066 |
| 54 | Restaurant Brands International Inc | CEO | Daniel Schwartz | $1,060,384 | $7,123,120 | $8,183,504 |
| 55 | National Bank of Canada | President & CEO | Louis Vachon | $1,125,015 | $6,990,168 | $8,115,183 |
| 56 | Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce | Group Head, CMO | Harry Culham | $500,000 | $7,552,550 | $8,052,550 |
| 57 | Cenovus Energy Inc | President & CEO | Brian Ferguson | $1,350,000 | $6,691,460 | $8,041,460 |
| 58 | Fortis Inc | President & CEO | Barry Perry | $1,100,000 | $6,906,611 | $8,006,611 |
| 59 | Eldorado Gold Corp | President & CEO | Paul Wright | $902,800 | $6,895,680 | $7,798,480 |
| 60 | Endeavour Mining Corp | President & CEO | Sebastien de Montessus * | $1,193,054 | $6,565,881 | $7,758,936 |
| 61 | Hudson’s Bay Co | Governer & Exec Chair | Richard Baker | $790,140 | $6,959,888 | $7,750,028 |
| 62 | Imperial Oil Ltd | Chairman, President & CEO | Rich Kruger | $1,139,328 | $6,438,490 | $7,577,818 |
| 63 | George Weston Ltd | Chairman & CEO, George Weston Ltd. & Loblaw Cos Ltd | Galen G. Weston | $1,100,000 | $6,441,156 | $7,541,156 |
| 64 | George Weston Ltd | Former President & CEO | Paviter Binning | $1,100,000 | $6,416,676 | $7,516,676 |
| 65 | National Bank of Canada | EVP Financial Markets | Denis Girouard | $333,691 | $7,126,142 | $7,459,833 |
| 66 | Transalta Corp | President & CEO | Dawn L. Farrell | $960,556 | $6,429,222 | $7,389,778 |
| 67 | Novagold Resources Inc | President & CEO | Gregory Lang * | $979,773 | $6,279,620 | $7,259,392 |
| 68 | Shaw Communications Inc | CEO | Bradley Shaw | $2,259,470 | $4,978,018 | $7,237,488 |
| 69 | Gildan Activewear Inc | President & CEO | Glenn Chamandy | $1,056,146 | $6,037,469 | $7,093,615 |
| 70 | Power Corporation of Canada | Deputy Chairman & Co-CEO | André Desmarais | $1,175,000 | $5,700,897 | $6,875,897 |
| 71 | Intact Financial Corp | CEO | Charles Brindamour | $1,048,231 | $5,774,186 | $6,822,417 |
| 72 | Canadian Tire Corp | President & CEO | Stephen Wetmore | $596,154 | $6,222,158 | $6,818,312 |
| 73 | Power Corporation of Canada | Chairman & Co-CEO | Paul Desmarais, Jr. | $1,175,000 | $5,598,689 | $6,773,689 |
| 74 | Maple Leaf Foods Inc | President & CEO | Michael H. McCain | $1,080,104 | $5,473,952 | $6,554,056 |
| 75 | Ritchie Bros Auctioneers | CEO | Ravi Saligram | $1,325,480 | $5,129,905 | $6,455,385 |
| 76 | SNC-Lavalin Group Inc | President & CEO | Neil Bruce | $1,100,000 | $5,312,211 | $6,412,211 |
| 77 | National Bank of Canada | CTO & EVP Strategic Initiatives | Ricardo Pascoe | $450,006 | $5,910,957 | $6,360,963 |
| 78 | Husky Energy Inc | Former President & CEO | Asim Ghosh | $1,597,140 | $4,738,303 | $6,335,443 |
| 79 | Mitel Networks Corp | President & CEO | Richard D. McBee * | $1,069,631 | $5,234,927 | $6,304,558 |
| 80 | Brookfield Asset Management Inc | Senior Managing | Bruce Flatt * | $795,334 | $5,385,958 | $6,181,292 |
| 81 | Transcontinental Inc | President & CEO | François Olivier | $995,649 | $5,123,419 | $6,119,068 |
| 82 | Great-West Lifeco Inc | President & CEO | Paul Mahon | $1,135,327 | $4,928,837 | $6,064,164 |
| 83 | Methanex Corp | President & CEO | John Floren | $951,000 | $5,094,953 | $6,045,953 |
| 84 | Riocan Real Estate Investment Trust | CEO | Edward Sonshine | $1,300,000 | $4,703,700 | $6,003,700 |
| 85 | Hudson’s Bay Co | CEO | Gerald Storch | $1,580,280 | $4,380,221 | $5,960,501 |
| 86 | Cameco Corp | President & CEO | Tim Gitzel | $1,025,000 | $4,899,134 | $5,924,134 |
| 87 | Finning International Inc | President & CEO | Scott Thomson | $927,000 | $4,950,749 | $5,877,749 |
| 88 | Brookfield Asset Management Inc | Senior Managing Partner | Brian W Kingston | $927,890 | $4,840,933 | $5,768,823 |
| 89 | Nevsun Resources Ltd | President & CEO | Clifford T. Davis | $730,000 | $4,885,523 | $5,615,523 |
| 90 | CAE Inc | President & CEO | Marc Parent | $888,667 | $4,720,910 | $5,609,577 |
| 91 | Saputo Inc | President & COO | Dino Dello Sbarba | $1,025,000 | $4,473,143 | $5,498,143 |
| 92 | Yamana Gold Inc | Chairman & CEO | Peter Marrone * | $1,957,403 | $3,524,657 | $5,482,060 |
| 93 | IGM Financial Inc | President & CEO, Mackenzie Inc & Mackenzie Investments | Barry McInerney | $477,564 | $4,916,208 | $5,393,772 |
| 94 | Atco Ltd & Canadian Utilities Ltd | President & CEO | Nancy Southern | $1,000,000 | $4,371,540 | $5,371,540 |
| 95 | IGM Financial Inc | President & CEO | Jeffrey Carney | $1,116,667 | $4,213,181 | $5,329,848 |
| 96 | B2Gold Corp | President & CEO | Clive Johnson | $1,000,000 | $4,305,796 | $5,305,796 |
| 97 | Franco-Nevada Corp | President & CEO | David Harquail | $751,050 | $4,543,096 | $5,294,146 |
| 98 | Lundin Mining Corp | CEO | Paul Conibear * | $864,397 | $4,401,695 | $5,266,092 |
| 99 | Saputo Inc | CEO | Lino Saputo Jr. | $1,300,000 | $3,900,000 | $5,200,000 |
| 100 | TMX Group Ltd | CEO | Louis Eccleston | $750,000 | $4,428,401 | $5,178,401 |
