New report shows continued rise in Canadian executive pay

Canadian executive pay rates are continuing to increase at a rapid pace, according to a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).

Figures from the CCPA show that the 100 highest-paid chief executive officers (CEOs) on the TSX Index earned an average of C$8.38 million (£5.29 million) in annual pay in 2010.

This represents an increase of 27 per cent compared to the year before, which contrasts sharply to pay packets for average workers, which are lower now than they were at the height of the 2008-09 recession.

According to the CCPA, this shows that executive pay rates are creating a growing sense of inequality in Canada, which is even more pronounced when taking into account that only one of the top 100 best-paid CEOs is female.

Economist Hugh Mackenzie, the report's author, said: "The average of Canada's CEO elite 100 makes 189 times more than Canadians earning the average wage. If you think that's normal, it's not."

This comes after data from Corporate Knights last month revealed that boardroom diversity efforts in the nation have also stagnated between 2009 and 2011.