By: Phil Froats
Last year the 60 CEOs of Canada’s largest companies were paid $647,133,700 or an average of $10,785,600. That’s over $200,000 per week and up 41% from the amounts paid in 2006. Almost half of this was profits realized from the exercise of company options. Compensation ranged from $550,000 per year for Michael Grandin at Fording Canadian Coal Trust to $51,516,000 for Michael Lazaridis at Research in Motion. By using figures provided by the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency we calculated that it would take a little over 16,200 Canadians with an average income of $39,915 each to make as much as these 60 gentlemen did.
Did the 41% increase in total CEO compensation translate into a comparable rise in shareholder return. In a word, NO. The average total shareholder return in 2007 for the companies involved was 13.2% meaning the CEOs got 27.8% more in compensation than shareholders got in return. Below is a table showing the 60 CEOs, the companies, total 2007 compensation, percent change from 2006, total shareholder return in 2007 and the difference between the increase in individual CEO compensation and the company’s total return. In the difference column positive numbers indicate the CEO’s increase was more than the shareholder return and negative numbers mean the CEO’s increase was less.
Compensation
| Company | CEO | Total 2007 Compensation | Compensation Change from 2006 % | Total Share Return in 2007 % | Difference Comp. Change to Share Return % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACE Aviation Holdings | Robert Milton | 42,928,100 | 289.8 | 28 | 261.8 |
| Agnico-Eagle Mines | Sean Boyd | 2,122,770 | -77.6 | 13.5 | -91.2 |
| Agrium | Michael Wilson | 18,406,710 | 79 | 96.6 | -17.5 |
| Air Canada | Monte Brewer | 1,328,420 | -8.9 | -31.8 | 22.9 |
| Alimentation Couche Tard | Alain Bouchard | 1,863,360 | -14.1 | -27.4 | 13.3 |
| Bank of Nova Scotia | Richard Waugh | 13,965,850 | 4.4 | -0.1 | 4.6 |
| Barrick Gold Corp | Gregory Wilkins | 7,858,260 | 3.5 | 17.6 | -14.1 |
| BCE | Michael Sabia | 6,252,490 | 39.7 | 31.4 | 8.3 |
| Bombardier | Laurent Beaudoin | 5,090,700 | 37.5 | 50.9 | -13.3 |
| Brookfield Asset Management | Bruce Flatt | 841,170 | -85.3 | -4.4 | -80.9 |
| Brookfield Properties Corp | Richard Clark | 1,350,000 | 12.3 | -35.8 | 48.1 |
| Cameco Corp | Gerald Grandey | 9,478,810 | 25.1 | -15.8 | 40.9 |
| Canadian National Railway Co | Hunter Harrison | 12,395,120 | 72.2 | -5.4 | 77.5 |
| Canadian Natural Resources | Murray Edwards | 649,500 | -45.9 | 17.4 | -63.2 |
| Canadian Natural Resources | Allan Markin | 649,500 | -45.9 | 17.4 | -63.2 |
| Canadian Oil Sands Trust | Marcel Coutu | 2,370,290 | 10.8 | 24.9 | -14.2 |
| Celestica | Craig Muhlauser | 5,222,670 | 228.6 | -36.2 | 264.9 |
| CI Financial Income Fund | William Holland | 6,803,140 | -14 | 14 | -28 |
| CIBC | Gerry McCaughey | 2,651,570 | 20.6 | -25.6 | 46.1 |
| Empire Co. | Paul Sobey | 1,567,140 | -2.3 | 5.1 | -7.4 |
| Enbridge | Patrick D. Daniel | 4,130,440 | 56 | 2.7 | 53.3 |
| EnCana Corp | Randy Eresman | 6,681,300 | 4.8 | 27.5 | -22.7 |
| Enerplus Resources Fund | Gordon Kerr | 2,452,280 | -16.7 | -12.4 | -4.3 |
| Fairfax Financial Holdings | V. Prem Watsa | 619,000 | 0.2 | 25.9 | -25.7 |
| Fording Canadian Coal Trust | Michael Grandin | 550,000 | 111.5 | 71.9 | 39.7 |
| George Weston | W. Galen Weston | 1,002,400 | -56.3 | -26.8 | -29.5 |
| Husky Energy | John C.S. Lau | 14,251,960 | 195.4 | 18.2 | 177.3 |
| IGM Financial | Murray Taylor | 1,590,970 | 19.4 | 5.5 | 14 |
| IGM Financial | Charles Sims | 2,137,600 | 54.9 | 5.5 | 49.4 |
| Kinross Gold Corp | Tye Burt | 12,282,130 | 257.9 | 32.4 | 225.5 |
| Loblaw Cos | Galen G. Weston | 1,068,800 | 77 | -29 | 105.9 |
| Magna International | Donald Walker | 11,624,010 | 125.7 | -13.4 | 139.1 |
| Magna International | Siegfried Wolf | 12,840,580 | 162.6 | -13.4 | 176.1 |
| Manulife Financial Corp | 14,715,670 | -27.5 | 5.4 | -32.9 | |
| Maple Leaf Foods | Michael McCain | 4,587,100 | 291.4 | 21.7 | 269.7 |
| Nexen | Charles Fischer | 21,441,940 | 79.5 | 0.3 | 79.2 |
| Nortel Networks Corp. | Mike Zafirovski | 6,946,490 | 15.8 | -52.1 | 67.9 |
| Nova Chemicals Corp. | Jeffrey Lipton | 29,615,990 | 685.7 | 0.4 | 685.3 |
| Onex Corp. | Gerald Schwartz | 12,622,000 | -7.8 | 23.8 | -31.6 |
| Penn West Energy Trust | William Andrew | 603,800 | -60 | -17.6 | -42.5 |
| Petro-Canada | Ron Brenneman | 18,308,380 | 103 | 12.7 | 90.4 |
| Potash Corp of Saskatchewan | William Doyle | 24,689,470 | 684.7 | 158.8 | 525.9 |
| Power Corp Of Canada | Andre Desmarais | 28,675,760 | 76.7 | 16.4 | 60.3 |
| Power Corp Of Canada | Paul Desmarais Jr. | 29,292,830 | 22.1 | 16.4 | 5.7 |
| Power Financial Corp | R. Jeffrey Orr | 5,068,750 | 70.3 | 11.3 | 59 |
| Quebecor | Pierre Karl Peladeau | 3,325,000 | 59.2 | 0.2 | 59 |
| Research In Motion | James Balsillie | 32,054,000 | -6.7 | 126.6 | -133.4 |
| Research In Motion | Michael Lazaridis | 51,515,600 | -25.9 | 126.6 | -152.6 |
| Rogers Communications | Ted Rogers | 16,527,190 | 0.9 | 30.9 | -30 |
| Royal Bank of Canada | Gordon M. Nixon | 37,800,300 | 153.5 | -5.6 | 159 |
| Sears Canada | Dene Rogers | 1,578,380 | 13.5 | -1 | 14.4 |
| Shaw Communications | Jim Shaw | 6,709,220 | 18.2 | 31.3 | -13.1 |
| SNC-Lavalin Group | Jaques Lamarre | 9,148,760 | 99.4 | 54.4 | 45 |
| Sun Life Financial | Donald Stewart | 13,837,440 | 28.8 | 15.9 | 12.9 |
| Suncor Energy | Rick George | 18,264,510 | 17.8 | 18.1 | -0.3 |
| Teck Cominco | Donald Lindsay | 3,632,000 | 18.7 | -17.3 | 36 |
| TELUS Corp | Darren Entwistle | 7,562,910 | -6.4 | -4.9 | -1.5 |
| Toronto-Dominion Bank | Edmund Clark | 9,840,470 | 17.1 | 2.6 | 14.4 |
| TransCanada Corp | Harold (Hal) Kvisle | 6,361,420 | -10.9 | 3.5 | -14.4 |
| Yamana Gold | Pierre Marrone | 17,381,270 | 407.6 | -15.5 | 423.2 |
3 Responses to “ CEO Compensation Increases ”
Fat cats indeed.
By Mark on Dec 23, 2008
One word “criminal”
By J the M on Dec 23, 2008