When informed of the actual salary, 47% think it is “about right” while 41% believe it is “too much.”.
Vancouver, BC [March 1, 2023] – Fewer than one-in-five Canadians are cognizant of the yearly remuneration of the prime minister, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample, only 18% of Canadians correctly stated that the prime minister’s annual salary is in the $301,000 to $400,000 range.
More than two-in-five Canadians (42%) thought the prime minister made less than $301,000 a year, while one-in-four (24%) assumed his emolument was higher than $400,000.
“Only 9% of Liberal Party voters in the last federal election believe the prime minister’s salary is higher than $500,000 a year” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “The proportion is higher among those who supported the Conservative Party (17%) and the New Democratic Party (NDP) (19%) in 2021.”
When respondents were informed that the prime minister’s annual compensation is $379,000, just over two-in-five (41%) consider it “too much”, while almost half (47%) say it is “about right.”
More than half of respondents in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (52%) and Alberta (51%) believe the prime minister makes too much money each year. The perception is lower in Atlantic Canada (45%), British Columbia (41%), Ontario (39%) and Quebec (35%).
Almost two-in-five Canadians (38%) accurately calculated that the annual salary of the Leader of the Official Opposition in Canada is in the $201,000 to $300,000 range.
Just over a third of Canadians (34%) assumed that the Leader of the Official Opposition made less than $201,000 a year, while 13% thought his salary was higher than $300,000.
When respondents were informed that the Leader of the Official Opposition’s annual remuneration is $279,900, 45% deem it “too much”, while 44% believe it is “about right.”
More than half of residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (52%) and Atlantic Canada (also 52%) think the Leader of the Official Opposition is paid too much, along with 46% of British Columbians, 44% of Ontarians, and 41% of both Albertans and Quebecers.
Methodology: Results are based on an online study conducted from February 9 to February 11, 2023, among 1,000 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region. The margin of error – which measures sample variability – is +/- 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Find our data tables here and download the press release here.
For more information on this poll, please contact:
Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
778.929.0490 [e] mario.canseco@researchco.ca