Last dirty secret: Maclean’s exposes size of Canadians’ paycheques
Posted August 15, 2013 9:21 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A new Maclean’s magazine cover story takes an in-depth look about who earns what in Canada.
The Last Dirty Secret: How Big (or Small) is Your Paycheque is all about money, according to the magazine’s senior editor Jason Kirby.
“Everybody wants to know how they stack up to everybody else, and at a time when we just share so much about our lives, it’s the last dirty secret what’s in our paycheque, so it’s just something people are naturally curious about,” Kirby said.
Maclean’s calls it the first ever guide to what Canadians earn.
Kirby said he was shocked to learn how much police chiefs in Canada earn.
“We look at police chiefs in Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg, and compare them to their counterparts in Chicago, Portland and Memphis, and it’s almost two to three times the salaries chiefs up here get versus in the States,” he said.
The article compares a lot of other salaries from politicians to pop stars.
In terms of the “Justins,” federal Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau earns $245,000, while superstar Justin Bieber makes $55 million.
For those thinking about a career change, a skydiving instructor can make up to $20,000 grand in just six months.
It’s also lucrative to be Santa — a rental Santa, that is — who can earn up to $10,000 over the six-week Christmas season. Shopping mall rates can vary, but the big money comes from corporate events.
Below is a quick look at what some other prominent Canadians are earning:
- Gerry Schwartz & Heather Reisman, behind Onex and Indigo Books and Music — $16 million
- Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins captain — $12 million
- Russell Peters, comedian — $3 million
- Don Cherry, hockey commentator — $800,000
Below is a list what other careers pay:
- Cirque du Soleil acrobat, contortionist or trapeze artist — $40,000-$70,000/year
- Courtroom sketch artist — $30,000/year
- Private investigator — $60,000 to $100,000/year
- Reality-TV director — $150,000/year
- MLB umpire — $120,000 to $350,000/year
The latest issue of Maclean’s magazine is on newsstands Thursday.
