Money

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

Magna International CEO Donald Walker

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)

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
1Valeant Pharmaceuticals International IncCEOJoseph Papa *$1,299,990$81,831,262$83,131,252
2Magna International IncCEODonald Walker *$430,781$28,183,681$28,614,462
3Rogers Communications IncFormer President & CEOGuy Laurence$1,029,711$23,573,282$24,602,993
4Macdonald Dettwiler & Associates LtdFormer President & CEODaniel Friedmann$266,831$21,160,422$21,427,253
5Canadian Pacific Railway LtdCEOHunter Harrison$2,904,595$15,925,199$18,829,794
6Thomson Reuters CorpPresident & CEOJames Smith *$2,109,541$15,667,917$17,777,458
7Encana CorpPresident & CEODoug Suttles *$1,370,511$16,221,594$17,592,105
8CCL Industries IncPresident & CEOGeoffrey Martin$1,313,760$16,056,422$17,370,182
9Valeant Pharmaceuticals International IncFormer CEOJ. Michael Pearson *$887,104$14,984,687$15,871,791
10Waste Connections IncCEO & ChairmanRonald Mittelstaedt *$1,284,390$14,570,270$15,854,660
11Manulife Financial CorpPresident & CEODonald Guloien$1,803,437$13,577,618$15,381,055
12Linamar CorpCEOLinda Hasenfratz$618,431$14,023,043$14,641,474
13Waste Connections IncFormer President & CEO, Progressive WasteJoseph D. Quarin *$86,034$14,106,756$14,192,790
14Telus CorpPresident & CEODarren Entwistle$1,375,000$11,530,331$12,905,331
15Bank of Nova ScotiaGroup Head, International Banking & Digital TransformationIgnacio Deschamps$524,686$12,227,722$12,752,408
16Bombardier IncPresident & CEOAlain Bellemare *$1,381,415$11,196,594$12,578,009
17Royal Bank of CanadaPresident & CEODavid McKay$1,466,667$10,778,726$12,245,393
18Cott CorporationCEOJerry Fowden *$1,193,054$10,938,703$12,131,757
19Linamar CorpChairmanFrank Hasenfratz$446,064$11,551,891$11,997,955
20Canadian Natural Resources LtdExec ChairN. Murray Edwards$1$11,893,925$11,893,926
21CGI Group IncPresident & CEOMichael Roach$1,373,000$10,448,659$11,821,659
22CGI Group IncFounder & ExecSerge Godin$1,373,000$10,442,999$11,815,999
23Bank of Nova ScotiaPresident & CEOBrian Porter$1,000,000$10,763,714$11,763,714
24Canadian National Railway CoFormer President & CEOClaude Mongeau$1,457,280$10,122,786$11,580,066
25Agrium IncPresident & CEOCharles Magro *$1,496,304$10,026,084$11,522,388
26Suncor Energy IncPresident & CEOSteven Williams$1,375,000$10,107,343$11,482,343
27Enbridge IncPresident & CEOAl Monaco$1,377,000$10,014,427$11,391,427
28TFI International IncPresident & CEOAlain Bedard$1,742,112$9,616,501$11,358,613
29Quebecor IncPresident & CEOPierre Dion$1,300,000$9,998,655$11,298,655
30Barrick Gold CorpExecutive ChairmanJohn Thornton *$3,313,700$7,955,794$11,269,494
31Power Financial CorpPresident & CEOJeffrey Orr$4,450,000$6,773,367$11,223,367
32Shaw Communications IncExecutive ChairJames Robert Shaw$1,355,682$9,852,569$11,208,251
33Endeavour Mining CorpFormer CEONeil Woodyer *$795,369$10,167,578$10,962,947
34Linamar CorpPresident & COOJim Jarrell$480,569$10,364,126$10,844,695
35BCE IncPresident & CEO, BCE & BellGeorge Cope$1,400,000$9,361,529$10,761,529
36Agnico Eagle Mines LtdVice-Chair & CEOSean Boyd *$1,550,732$9,199,149$10,749,881
37Bank of MontrealCEOWilliam Downe$1,987,650$8,653,658$10,641,308
38Aecon Group IncFormer President & CEOTerrance L. McKibbon$689,555$9,870,233$10,559,788
39Onex CorporationCEOGerald Schwartz$1,723,124$8,763,565$10,486,689
40Toronto-Dominion BankPresident & CEOBharat Masrani$1,000,000$9,343,954$10,343,954
41Alimentation Couche-Tard IncPresident & CEOBrian Hannasch$1,587,353$8,673,347$10,260,700
42Transcanada CorpPresident & CEORussell Girling$1,300,008$8,838,014$10,138,022
43Celestica IncPresident & CEORobert A. Mionis *$1,126,773$8,794,228$9,921,001
44Teck Resources LtdPresident & CEODonald Lindsay$1,493,500$8,050,980$9,544,480
45Canadian Imperial Bank of CommerceCEOVictor Dodig$1,000,000$8,191,750$9,191,750
46Open Text CorpCEO & CTOMark Barrenechea$1,251,142$7,795,728$9,046,870
47Sun Life Financial IncPresident & CEODean Connor$1,076,923$7,926,771$9,003,694
48Air CanadaPresident & CEOCalin Rovinescu$1,400,000$7,599,225$8,999,225
49Kinross Gold CorpPresident & CEOPaul Rollinson *$1,283,383$7,063,037$8,346,420
50Goldcorp IncPresident & CEODavid Garofalo$1,250,000$7,069,888$8,319,888
51Canadian National Railway CoPresident & CEOLuc Jobin$1,106,208$7,195,958$8,302,166
52Canadian Natural Resources LtdPresidentSteve Laut$567,000$7,672,154$8,239,154
53Shaw Communications IncPresidentJay Mehr$1,491,250$6,697,816$8,189,066
54Restaurant Brands International IncCEODaniel Schwartz$1,060,384$7,123,120$8,183,504
55National Bank of CanadaPresident & CEOLouis Vachon$1,125,015$6,990,168$8,115,183
56Canadian Imperial Bank of CommerceGroup Head, CMOHarry Culham$500,000$7,552,550$8,052,550
57Cenovus Energy IncPresident & CEOBrian Ferguson$1,350,000$6,691,460$8,041,460
58Fortis IncPresident & CEOBarry Perry$1,100,000$6,906,611$8,006,611
59Eldorado Gold CorpPresident & CEOPaul Wright$902,800$6,895,680$7,798,480
60Endeavour Mining CorpPresident & CEOSebastien de Montessus *$1,193,054$6,565,881$7,758,936
61Hudson's Bay CoGoverner & Exec ChairRichard Baker$790,140$6,959,888$7,750,028
62Imperial Oil LtdChairman, President & CEORich Kruger$1,139,328$6,438,490$7,577,818
63George Weston LtdChairman & CEO, George Weston Ltd. & Loblaw Cos LtdGalen G. Weston$1,100,000$6,441,156$7,541,156
64George Weston LtdFormer President & CEOPaviter Binning$1,100,000$6,416,676$7,516,676
65National Bank of CanadaEVP Financial MarketsDenis Girouard$333,691$7,126,142$7,459,833
66Transalta CorpPresident & CEODawn L. Farrell$960,556$6,429,222$7,389,778
67Novagold Resources IncPresident & CEOGregory Lang *$979,773$6,279,620$7,259,392
68Shaw Communications IncCEOBradley Shaw$2,259,470$4,978,018$7,237,488
69Gildan Activewear IncPresident & CEOGlenn Chamandy$1,056,146$6,037,469$7,093,615
70Power Corporation of CanadaDeputy Chairman & Co-CEOAndré Desmarais$1,175,000$5,700,897$6,875,897
71Intact Financial CorpCEOCharles Brindamour$1,048,231$5,774,186$6,822,417
72Canadian Tire CorpPresident & CEOStephen Wetmore$596,154$6,222,158$6,818,312
73Power Corporation of CanadaChairman & Co-CEOPaul Desmarais, Jr.$1,175,000$5,598,689$6,773,689
74Maple Leaf Foods IncPresident & CEOMichael H. McCain$1,080,104$5,473,952$6,554,056
75Ritchie Bros AuctioneersCEORavi Saligram$1,325,480$5,129,905$6,455,385
76SNC-Lavalin Group IncPresident & CEONeil Bruce$1,100,000$5,312,211$6,412,211
77National Bank of CanadaCTO & EVP Strategic InitiativesRicardo Pascoe$450,006$5,910,957$6,360,963
78Husky Energy IncFormer President & CEOAsim Ghosh$1,597,140$4,738,303$6,335,443
79Mitel Networks CorpPresident & CEORichard D. McBee *$1,069,631$5,234,927$6,304,558
80Brookfield Asset Management IncSenior ManagingBruce Flatt *$795,334$5,385,958$6,181,292
81Transcontinental IncPresident & CEOFrançois Olivier$995,649$5,123,419$6,119,068
82Great-West Lifeco IncPresident & CEOPaul Mahon$1,135,327$4,928,837$6,064,164
83Methanex CorpPresident & CEOJohn Floren$951,000$5,094,953$6,045,953
84Riocan Real Estate Investment TrustCEOEdward Sonshine$1,300,000$4,703,700$6,003,700
85Hudson's Bay CoCEOGerald Storch$1,580,280$4,380,221$5,960,501
86Cameco CorpPresident & CEOTim Gitzel$1,025,000$4,899,134$5,924,134
87Finning International IncPresident & CEOScott Thomson$927,000$4,950,749$5,877,749
88Brookfield Asset Management IncSenior Managing PartnerBrian W Kingston$927,890$4,840,933$5,768,823
89Nevsun Resources LtdPresident & CEOClifford T. Davis$730,000$4,885,523$5,615,523
90CAE IncPresident & CEOMarc Parent$888,667$4,720,910$5,609,577
91Saputo IncPresident & COODino Dello Sbarba$1,025,000$4,473,143$5,498,143
92Yamana Gold IncChairman & CEOPeter Marrone *$1,957,403$3,524,657$5,482,060
93IGM Financial IncPresident & CEO, Mackenzie Inc & Mackenzie InvestmentsBarry McInerney$477,564$4,916,208$5,393,772
94Atco Ltd & Canadian Utilities LtdPresident & CEONancy Southern$1,000,000$4,371,540$5,371,540
95IGM Financial IncPresident & CEOJeffrey Carney$1,116,667$4,213,181$5,329,848
96B2Gold CorpPresident & CEOClive Johnson$1,000,000$4,305,796$5,305,796
97Franco-Nevada CorpPresident & CEODavid Harquail$751,050$4,543,096$5,294,146
98Lundin Mining CorpCEOPaul Conibear *$864,397$4,401,695$5,266,092
99Saputo IncCEOLino Saputo Jr.$1,300,000$3,900,000$5,200,000
100TMX Group LtdCEOLouis Eccleston$750,000$4,428,401$5,178,401
* Compensation converted from USD; † “Other Compensation” includes: cash bonuses, stock-based bonuses, options-based bonuses, pension value, and any other payments aside from base salary. Full details at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

This post originally appeared at Canadian Business.

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