CEOs covered by new labour code make up to 199 times more than their workers
OTTAWA — As some of Canada’s biggest employers welcome the government’s new restrictions on the right to strike, new analysis from the Canadian Labour Congress finds that CEOs at six of Canada’s biggest employers make as much as 199 times the average compensation in their industries.
In 2024, the CEOs of Air Canada, CN, CPKC, Rogers, Bell, and TELUS received between $12.4 million and $23.6 million each in total compensation.
That amounts to between 124 and 199 times the average annual compensation per job in their respective industries.
“These CEOs make more in a few hours than what many workers earn in an entire year,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “And now they are cheering legislation that would weaken workers’ leverage to negotiate for better wages and working conditions.”
Employer groups have publicly welcomed Bill C-39’s changes to section 107, with some calling for even broader government intervention in labour disputes.
Bill C-39 would give the Minister of Labour broad discretion to intervene in a legal strike where the minister forms the “opinion” that the strike is, or could be, contrary to the “national interest”. The CLC has called for those provisions to be removed.
“The right to strike is what gives workers leverage at the bargaining table,” said Bruske. “Without it, workers are left asking some of the richest and most powerful corporations in the country to voluntarily give them a fair share.”
The CEO-worker gap is stark:
- TELUS CEO: $20.6 million — 199 times the average compensation in telecommunications.
- CPKC CEO: $23.6 million — 188 times the average compensation in rail transportation.
- CN CEO: $18.6 million — 148 times the average compensation in rail transportation.
- Rogers CEO: $14.1 million — 136 times the average compensation in telecommunications.
- Air Canada CEO: $12.4 million — 128 times the average compensation in air transportation.
- Bell CEO: $12.8 million — 124 times the average compensation in telecommunications.
“When workers lose leverage, employers gain it,” said Bruske. “The government’s proposed legislation tips the balance at the bargaining table. Workers will be the victims of this bill, and corporations that already hold enormous economic power will be its only winner.”
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