Toronto – January 7, 2019 – Once again, Canadian executives are laughing to the bank: shortly after 11 a.m. on January 2, the average top-earning CEO in Canada made what the typical Canadian worker earns in an entire year. A new Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) report examined the 100 highest-paid CEOs at TSX-listed companies for 2017 and found the following:

$10 million

The average annual compensation for a CEO in Canada was $10 million in 2017.

197 times

The country’s 100 highest-paid CEOs are now making 197 times more than the average worker’s income of $50,759.

77%

The percentage of total pay for the richest CEOs that came in the form of “variable pay” – including cash bonuses, stock, and options to buy stock – in 2017.

On average, base pay makes up only 12 percent of a CEO’s total compensation in Canada, while cash bonuses (34 percent), stock options (25 percent), shares (18 percent), and pension accrual (6 percent) comprise the rest.

Women underrepresented among Canada’s CEOs

Once again, only three women made it to the top 100 CEO rankings in 2017, unchanged from 2016.

320 times

Canada’s CEOs currently make 320 times more than a worker who earns $15 an hour.

$2,581.64

The lowest wage among Canada’s richest CEOs in 2017 was $2,581.64 an hour, up from $2,489.62 an hour in 2016.

Source: David Macdonald, “Mint Condition: CEO Pay in Canada,” Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Online, January 2019.