Donald Walker of Magna International tops the list of Canada’s highest paid working CEOs—second only to Valeant Pharmaceuticals CEO Joseph Papa. (Chris Young/CP)
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These are Canada’s top 100 highest-paid CEOs for 2018
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International tops the list for a second year running—even after a $100 million pay cut for its CEO
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International tops the ranking of Canadian CEO salaries for a second time this year—and that’s after a $100 million pay cut. Michael J. Pearson, Valeant’s former CEO, smashed the record for the top spot last year with $183 million in total compensation; this year Valeant’s new CEO, Joseph Papa, held on to the number-one ranking with $83 million. Despite that 55% pay cut, Papa still easily bested the second-highest paid CEO on the list, Magna International’s Donald Walker, at $28 million.
This ranking is compiled each year by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, using publicly available data. (Companies take varying amounts of time to disclose executive compensation, which is why this ranking covers the year 2016.) The left-leaning think tank uses the figures to highlight the gap between what the average Canadian makes compared to C-suite executives. This year’s average CEO salary among the top 100 highest-paid executives topped $10.4 million, which is 209 times the annual wage of an average Canadian.
The report’s author, CCPA Senior Economist David Macdonald, said the growing gap between CEOs and the average employee is particularly stark as several of these business leaders—Loblaw Cos. CEO Galen G. Weston, for instance—have been vocal opponents of raising the minimum wage. “Canada’s corporate executives were among the loudest critics of a new fifteen dollar minimum wage in provinces like Ontario and Alberta, meanwhile the highest paid among them were raking in record-breaking earnings,” Macdonald said in a news release.
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 |
This post originally appeared at Canadian Business.
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