As of 9:43 this morning, the average member of the 100 highest-paid CEOs in Canada made as much money as the average Canadian makes in a year, at $58,000. That’s according to a report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, which states that the top executives made an average $14.3 million in salary, bonuses, stock options and shares in 2021, which is 243 times the average worker salary.

That’s up considerably from the previous record high of 227 times the average wage in 2018. CCPA Senior Economist David Macdonald says, while inflation hurts workers, it’s great for corporate profits that have hit historic highs. He explains that when profits go up, executive bonuses go up, and these bonuses encompassed 83 per cent of the best-paid CEO’s total compensation. Macdonald says, “We think of inflation as bad for everyone, but for CEOs it’s the gift that keeps on giving. Historically high profits based on historically high inflation mean historically high bonuses for CEOs.”

The report includes some suggestions for the federal government to address the income inequality:
-Limiting corporate deductibility of compensation over $1 million
-Closing the capital gains inclusion rate loophole, used almost exclusively by the rich
-Implementing higher top marginal tax brackets
-Introducing a wealth tax