B.C. provincial politicians will enjoy a nearly $5,000 increase to their salaries while federal politicians see a $8,500 bump as of April 1.
The base salary for a provincial MLA has risen from $115,046 to $119,532 whereas the base salary for a federal MP is now $203,100, up from $194,600.
B.C. politicians received their pay raise as salary hikes automatically adjusted to inflation, unlike much of the private sector and even the public service; last year, the legislature did vote unanimously to forgo its 2023 increase, which would have amounted to eight per cent.
In addition to the base salary, Premier David Eby now has a $107,579 salary top up for a total remuneration of $227,111;ministers enjoy an additional $59,766 and ministers of state get a $41,836 top up.
Meanwhile, in Ottawa, the job of prime minister will see a $203,100 top up, meaning current Prime Minister Justin Trudeauwill earn $406,200 over the next year. Not accounting for the difference in currencies, Trudeau now earns more annually than the president of the United States.
An elected member of U.S. Congress earns $174,000.
PoliticalSalaries.com ranks Canada second behind the U.S. in terms of political salaries per capita GDP, among G7 countries.
A poll commissioned by the Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation (CTF) indicates as many as 80 per cent of Canadians do not support the pay raises in Ottawa.
“The federal government is more than $1 trillion in debt, taxpayers are struggling to afford basic necessities and MPs don’t deserve raises, so this is the perfect time to stop rubberstamping the pay raises politicians give themselves every year,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF federal director in a statement.
“MPs stopped pay raises in the past and they should stop this year’s pay raise,” added Terrazzano.
