Although salary increases have been tempered during the recession, compensation packages for executives at many of Canada’s top companies continue to rise. While those packages vary from industry to industry and from province to province, the general picture in 2010 is positive.

Businessweek recently reviewed the 2009 pay for the chief executive officers at a handful of Canada’s largest banks, including Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal and Royal Bank of Canada. They found that the CEOs received an average increase of 10 percent last year, with some going as high as 29 percent. And, they discovered the trend was continuing in 2010.

On the other hand, the Vancouver Sun’s Top 100 Executive Pay list for publicly traded companies in British Columbia in 2007 was dominated by the executives of mining companies. However, the Sun also found that CEO’s in other industries were beginning to claim more spots in the top 100.

THE SURVEY SAYS
Perhaps the most compelling evidence that fair weather is ahead for Canada’s executives comes from the Conference Board of Canada, a non-profit, applied research organization specializing in economic trends, organizational performance and public policy issues. » Read more: Executive Compensation Forecast – Fair Weather Ahead