As you return to work in the new year, here’s something to consider: by Jan. 2 at 10:54 a.m., Canada’s 100 top-paid CEOs would have already made an average of $62,661, close to an average Canadian’s annual salary.
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) has released a new report analyzing compensation for Canada’s 100 highest-paid CEOs.
The report highlights the ever-increasing wealth gap. These CEOs earned $13.2 million in 2023 — the third-highest average since the CCPA started tracking CEO pay in 2008.
At the top of the list is Patrick Dovigi, CEO of waste management company GFL Environmental Inc., who earned $68,464,987. Below is a list of the 10 highest-paid CEOs in 2023:
CEOs are not like the rest of us. While the average provincial minimum hourly wage for an average worker is around $15.20, the minimum hourly wage for CEOs was $3,255 an hour in 2023.
“Following two blistering years of all-time high compensation, Canada’s 100 highest-paid CEOs pocketed $13.2 million, on average, in 2023 — the third biggest haul since we’ve been tracking CEO pay,” reads the report.
“On average, these 100 CEOs were paid 210 times more than the average worker’s wage in 2023 — from its high of over 240 times more pay in the previous two years.”
The 100 highest-paid CEOs aren’t getting richer because of their salaries, which average around $1.3 million, but because of their “juicy bonuses” — an average of $10.7 million per CEO.
Companies blamed supply chain issues and other factors as Canadians saw the price of goods rise. However, the CCPA argues that “extra inflation dollars” went to corporate pockets as companies recorded record profits, which, in turn, led to record-high CEO bonuses. So, how did these men and women end up in these highly paid roles?
According to the CCPA, 76 per cent of CEOs were promoted from within the company and worked for an average of 21 years in the same company.
“Their skills and value are quite tied to the company they run,” states the report. The 100 highest-paid CEO list is still very much “an old boys’ club,” with only three women on the list. However, there appears to be some minor progress: for every dollar earned by a male CEO, a woman made $1.40.
To address inequality in Canada, the CCPA suggests a higher tax bracket and a wealth tax on items worth over $10 million. Some changes have also been made over time.
In 2021, CEO profits from stock options were halved after the federal government capped the stock option deduction at $200,000 a year. In 2024, the government treated stock profits like income, increasing the inclusion of capital gains to 66 per cent. This means that the government would raise $955 million in taxes from just 100 CEOs.
“Historically speaking, Canada’s marginal tax rate for the richest is low. In the post-war years, top marginal income tax brackets stood within the 70 per cent range — not 50 per cent,” states the report. “History is teaching us a lesson: there is room to stretch on this tax policy.”
