4.2 Percent Pay Hike for MPs Will Give Them an Extra $8K to $16K This Year: Taxpayers Federation

Two people walk toward the Centre Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, in a file photo. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)

Members of Parliament may be receiving a pay increase of between $8,000 and more than $16,000 a year in 2024, according to new figures released by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF).

The estimated 4.2 percent pay hike is slated for April 1 unless a wage freeze is put into effect, the CTF says.

The projected rise would push backbench MP annual salaries up to $202,700 from the current rate of $194,600. Cabinet ministers would collect $299,300 up from $287,400 while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would take home $405,400 compared to the current annual rate of $389,200.

“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 rubber stamping the pay raises politicians give themselves every year,”  CTF Federal Director Franco Terrazzano said in a Jan. 22 release. “MPs stopped pay raises in the past and they should stop this year’s pay raise.”

MPs are traditionally given pay raises on April 1 each year. The amount is based on the average annual increase in union contracts with corporations that have more than 500 employees.

The average annual salary among all full-time workers in Canada is $67,000, according to Statistics Canada.

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While final pay numbers have not been confirmed for this year, contract data published by Ottawa shows the average annual increase in the private sector was 4.2 percent in 2023. The CTF used this data to estimate the 2024 pay raises for Parliament. If correct, backbench MPs will make an extra $8,100 this year while ministers will make an additional $11,900. The prime minister’s salary will go up by $16,200.

The Epoch Times contacted the Office of the Prime Minister for comment but did not hear back by press time.

The salaries of Canadian MPs are on par or lower than those of allied countries.

Members of parliament in the United Kingdom earn £86,584, which amounts to roughly $148,310 in Canadian currency. That’s nearly $50,000 less than backbenchers make in Canada.

The annual salary received by members of the United States Congress, the equivalent of an MP in Canada, is US$174,000, which translates to CA$234,570.27. That’s about $30,000 more than backbench MPs, but some $60,000 less than Canadian cabinet ministers.

In Australia, backbench MPs make $225,742, while senior government cabinet members can expect roughly $370,000. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, meanwhile, makes $564,360 a year. All three positions make significantly more than their counterparts in Canada.