Canada’s Highest Paid CEOs Made $14.3 Million in 2021, Average Workers Made Under $58,800: Report

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) has put out a report that states the 100 best-paid CEOs in Canada make 243 times what a typical worker earns. On average, these CEOs who are mostly men made $14.3 million in 2021, surpassing the previous record of $11.8 million in 2018.

According to the latest report by CCPA, an Ottawa-based think-tank that looks at social, economic, and environmental issues, the 100 best-paid CEOs in Canada now make 243 times what a typical worker earns. These CEO’s made an average of $14.3 million in 2021 while Statistics Canada shared that the average private-sector worker made just under $58,800 in 2021. David Macdonald, senior economist at the CCPA and the report’s author, stated that what’s more concerning is the rapidly growing gap in wages.

Macdonald shared, “In a time of difficulty for workers facing inflation and at a time when we’ve seen economic growth, it really raises the fundamental question of who benefits from economic growth.” He questioned whether all Canadians benefit from economic growth or if it’s just the people at the very top.

Experts have also stated that the issue isn’t that the CEOs get paid more than average workers, but that the gap between pay is rapidly growing. They also question how these CEOs make as much as they do, as only eight percent of their income is from an actual salary. In the last few years, there has been an increase in “bonus-type compensation” which is based on the company’s performance.

Most of the money is made from variable compensation which includes bonuses, stock options, and shares. In 2020, during the pandemic, a lot of companies raised their consumer prices to account for supply chain disruptions and labor shortages. After the economy started to recover from the pandemic, some companies took advantage of inflation. These tactics ensured that higher executives collect significant bonuses based on their company’s performance.

The report also offers several suggestions on how the pay gap can be closed, two of which are the implementation of a wealth tax and the implementation of higher top marginal tax brackets. It also suggested a limit on the corporate deductibility of compensation over $1 million and taxing 100 percent capital gains as, for now, only 50 percent of capital gains are considered income for tax purposes.

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