Executives at Canada’s public broadcaster have received significant raises to compensate for its decision to cut performance-based bonuses.Prime Minister Mark Carney, during the election campaign, promised to double CBC funding. Tory leader Pierre Poilievre, who lost his seat in the April 28 election, threatened to cut funding to the CBC altogether, though he would maintain subsidies to the French-language broadcaster, Radio-Canada.The state broadcaster announced the elimination of bonuses and salary increases in a four-page memo released Wednesday, which summarized a compensation review report conducted by a human resources consulting firm..The memo argued that the public broadcaster’s executives are underpaid, though other non-unionized employees’ salaries are aligned with the market.The CBC had offered the bonuses as performance incentives to executives and over 1,000 non-unionized employees yearly.“The Board of Directors, with the advice and concurrence of the President and CEO, has decided to discontinue individual performance pay as part of the overall compensation earned by eligible employees of CBC/Radio-Canada,” said the CBC in the statement, according to the National Post.“In order to keep overall compensation at the current median level, salaries of those affected will be adjusted to reflect the elimination of individual performance pay.”The memo justifies the raises as a necessary adjustment to maintain competitive pay following the decision to end individual performance bonuses..The review notes that while non-unionized employees’ salaries align with market standards, CBC executives are underpaid compared to peers in media, private, and public sectors.“When all elements of compensation are considered, all non-unionized employee groups at CBC/Radio-Canada are currently aligned with the market,” states the review.However, the memo warns that scrapping bonuses without salary adjustments would drop compensation below market levels, risking the CBC’s ability to attract and retain talent.“While CBC/Radio-Canada’s incentive targets are generally conservative relative to market, removing incentives altogether would position CBC/Radio-Canada’s compensation below market,” it reads..CBC/Radio-Canada spokesperson Leon Mar confirmed that salaries would be “adjusted” to remain in the 50th percentile of compensation “for employees in our peer group of media, private, and public sector organizations.”“CBC/Radio-Canada will continue to set individual and corporate objectives and measure performance,” Mar told the National Post. He did not specify how the broadcaster would incentivize employees moving forward.The decision follows years of scrutiny over CBC’s bonus culture. In 2024, the broadcaster paid $18.4 million in bonuses to 1,194 employees, including $3.3 million to 45 executives, despite laying off hundreds of staff, as the Western Standard earlier reported.Conservatives slammed the payouts as “beyond insulting and frankly sickening,” accusing the CBC of “the height of smugness” amid Canada’s affordability crisis.Incoming CBC President Marie-Philippe Bouchard, who began her five-year term on January 3, 2025, has prioritized addressing these concerns.“I’m going to be working on making sure that we have a system that’s transparent and that people can trust in our administration and management of public funds, especially in the context of compensation,” she told MPs at a Commons committee meeting in November 2024.“I’m not tone deaf,” she said, according to the Post..The salary hikes arrive as political divides over the CBC deepen. Carney’s Liberal campaign pledged a $150-million boost to the CBC’s $1.4-billion annual budget, emphasizing its role in Canadian identity.“The CBC is vital to our national identity, and we will ensure it has the resources to thrive,” Carney said in Montreal on April 17, 2025.Poilievre vowed to defund English-language CBC services, calling the $1.4-billion subsidy wasteful.“The CBC provides opinions and coverage that are widely available in a competitive media marketplace,” he said in Saskatoon on April 24.“I can’t wait to keep my promise to defund the CBC.”
