Briefing highlights
- Canadian CEOs among highest paid in world
- Volkswagen to cut 30,000 jobs
- Inflation rate inches up to 1.5%
$9.32-million
Average Canadian CEO pay package
It pays – big – to be a Canadian CEO.
Indeed, according to a new global ranking of average compensation, our chief executive officers are the fourth-highest-paid in 25 countries measured.
The average in Canada is $9.32-million (U.S.), slightly behind Britain, a bit more behind Switzerland, and way behind the United States, to whom no other country comes close.
The compensation packages, which takes in salaries, bonuses, pensions, perks and equity schemes, were taken from the public filings of companies listed in primary stock indexes, in Canada's case the S&P/TSX composite.
The findings are from at least half the companies, or 100 of them, listed on the index in question.
Global CEO pay index
| Rank | Economy | Index value | CEO pay (millions $U.S., latest filing) | Equity index universe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | World | 100 | $6.51 | – |
| 1 | U.S. | 260.27 | $16.95 | S&P 500 |
| 2 | Switzerland | 162.51 | $10.58 | Swiss Market Index |
| 3 | Britain | 147.53 | $9.61 | FTSE 100 |
| 4 | Canada | 143.14 | $9.32 | S&P/TSX Composite |
| 5 | Netherlands | 132.93 | $8.66 | AEX |
| 6 | Germany | 128.34 | $8.36 | DAX 30 |
| 7 | South Africa | 109.69 | $7.14 | FTSE/JSE TOP40 |
| 8 | Norway | 106.92 | $6.96 | OBX |
| 9 | Spain | 94.41 | $6.15 | IBEX 35 |
| 10 | Singapore | 85.92 | $5.60 | FTSE Straits Times |
Global CEO pay-to-average income ratio
| Rank | Economy | Pay ratio | CEO pay (millions $U.S., latest filing) | GDP per capita PPP 2016/2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa | 541.4 | $7.14 | $13,194.00 |
| 2 | India | 483.06 | $3.10 | $6,423.00 |
| 3 | U.S. | 298.98 | $16.95 | $56,689.00 |
| 4 | Britain | 228.7 | $9.61 | $42,006.00 |
| 5 | Canada | 202.98 | $9.32 | $45,921.00 |
| 6 | Switzerland | 179.34 | $10.58 | $59,011.00 |
| 7 | Germany | 175.65 | $8.36 | $47,582.00 |
| 8 | Spain | 172.42 | $6.15 | $35,656.00 |
| 9 | Netherlands | 172.32 | $8.66 | $50,235.00 |
| 10 | Israel | 119.42 | $4.11 | $34,444.00 |
Bloomberg also switched things up to look at CEO compensation a bit differently, as measured against the populace. Here, Canada slips a notch while South Africa and India rise to the top.
This measure isn't perfect, Bloomberg says, but you still get the picture.
As The Globe and Mail’s Janet McFarland reports, last year was a rough one for many of Canada’s embattled natural resource companies.
But some boards still boosted compensation for their CEOs even as workers lost their jobs, exposing the philosophical divide in corporate Canada about executive pay during a slump.
VW cuts deep
Volkswagen AG plans to cut 30,000 jobs, but these will come through buyouts, early retirements and attrition without the need to fire employees.
The cuts are projected to save the embattled auto maker €3.7-billion a year.
“We will be strengthening the company’s economic viability and competitiveness and will be safeguarding the future of our plants,” Herbert Diess, chairman of the brand board of management, said in a statement.
Inflation inches up
As CIBC World Markets puts it, inflation in Canada continues to be a non-news story.
Annual inflation inched up in October to 1.5 per cent from September’s pace of 1.3 per cent, according to Statistics Canada’s latest reading.
Of course, if you strip out prices at the gas pump, the rate of inflation dipped to 1.4 per cent last month from 1.5 per cent in September.
“Canadian inflation continues to be a no-news story, in the sense that it’s not hot enough to quell at least some risk of a rate cut should the economy disappoint,” said CIBC chief economist Avery Shenfeld.