Business
Bank of Canada showers executives with $3.5 million in bonuses in 2022

From the Canadian Taxpayers Federation
Author: Franco Terrazzano
The Bank of Canada lavished millions of dollars in bonuses on its executives last year amid seven interest rate hikes and the worst inflation crisis in four decades, according to access-to-information records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
All but two of the central bank’s 82 executives (97.5 per cent) received an “at-risk pay” bonus. Twenty-five received a “performance pay” bonus.
The average bonus among Bank of Canada executives last year was $43,700, for a total cost of more than $3.5 million.
“Executives at the Bank of Canada shouldn’t be showering themselves with big bonuses when Canadians can’t afford gas, groceries or mortgages,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “Most organizations don’t give 98 per cent of their executives bonuses when they have their worst year in four decades.”
Executive bonuses at the Bank of Canada total nearly $21 million since 2015. Since then, the size of the executive class at the Bank of Canada spiked by 18 per cent.
Table: Executive bonuses at Bank of Canada, 2015-2022
Year |
Number of executives |
Bonuses |
2015 |
69 |
$683,794 |
2016 |
70 |
$550,064 |
2017 |
71 |
$2,572,915 |
2018 |
73 |
$2,923,613 |
2019 |
78 |
$3,261,123 |
2020 |
79 |
$3,594,681 |
2021 |
79 |
$3,785,902 |
2022 |
82 |
$3,588,324 |
Total |
|
$20,960,416 |
The records provided by the Bank of Canada indicate its executives did not receive “at-risk” bonus pay in 2015 or 2016.
It was a bumpy year for the Bank of Canada in 2022.
The Bank of Canada’s mandate is to keep “an inflation target of two per cent inside a control range of one to three per cent.”
But inflation was 6.8 per cent in 2022, representing “a 40-year high, the largest increase since 1982,” according to Statistics Canada. The Bank of Canada also failed to meet its inflation target in 2021.
After Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem told Canadians in 2020 that interest rates would remain low for a “long time,” the central bank turned around and hiked interest rates seven times in 2022.
In 2022, Macklem admitted “we got some things wrong” and the deputy governor acknowledged “we haven’t managed to keep inflation at our target,” adding that Canada’s central bankers “should be held accountable.”
“Handing out big bonus cheques is an odd way to hold your organization accountable,” Terrazzano said. “Canadians have every right to be furious when they find out executives at their central bank were taking bonuses as inflation and interest rates soared.”
Speaking at an event organized by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business in July 2022, Macklem told companies not to adjust wages for inflation, sparking outrage among labour leaders.
All told, bonuses at the Bank of Canada total about $55 million since 2020, according to separate access-to-information records obtained by the CTF.
Break The Needle
Canada-US border mayors react to new border security initiative

US President Donald Trump has linked his threat to impose 25-per-cent tariffs on Canadian goods to Canada’s failure to address drug trafficking and illegal migration at the Canada-US border.
Ontario has responded with a border security initiative, Operation Deterrence, which is drawing tepid support from Ontario mayors of border communities.
“Absence of leadership from Ottawa has created this [scenario] where the provinces are all going in to be Captain, or Miss Captain, Canada,” said Mike Bradley, the mayor of Sarnia, Ont., a city of 75,000 that sits on the Ontario-Michigan border.
“[But] anything that helps on the policing side to deal with the black plague of fentanyl is welcome,” Bradley said.
Operation Deterrence
On Dec. 6, Ontario redeployed 200 Ontario Provincial Police officers to unpoliced border areas near the 14 official Ontario-US border crossings, which are staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency.
Officers are using aircraft, drones, boats, off-road vehicles and foot patrols to “deter, detect and disrupt” the illegal trafficking of drugs, guns and people, a Jan. 7 provincial press release says.
Premier Ford’s office and Ontario Solicitor General Michael Kerzner declined to provide further details about the operation in response to requests for comment.
But a spokesperson for the Ontario RCMP said there is little evidence that fentanyl trafficking is a significant issue at the Canada-US border.
“There is limited to no evidence or data from law enforcement agencies in the U.S. or Canada to support the claim that Canadian-produced fentanyl is an increasing threat to the U.S.,” the spokesperson told Canadian Affairs in an emailed statement.
The spokesperson highlighted that fentanyl trafficking frequently occurs by mail, rather than at physical border crossings.
“Reports state fentanyl produced in Canada is being exported in micro shipments, most often through the mail. Micro traffickers are most often found on the dark web,” the spokesperson said.
As Canadian Affairs reported last week, seizures of fentanyl at the Canada-US border remain relatively low. But Canadian authorities have seized significant volumes of precursor chemicals used in the production of fentanyl, and key sources say Canada is a major player in the global fentanyl trade.
Data also show illegal migration is a concern along the Canada-US border.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported nearly 200,000 cases of individuals in Canada trying to illegally enter the US in the 2024 fiscal year.
Canada Border Services Agency data indicate just under 5,000 individuals were detained trying to enter Canada from the US in 2023-24.
Borderlands
Jim Diodati, the mayor of Niagara Falls, says he is supportive of Ontario launching Operation Deterrence in response to Trump’s tariff threats.
“I’m glad at least we’re reacting,” he said. “The concerns, of course, are that things are slipping through the cracks … both for drugs, guns and human smuggling as well.”
But Diodati stressed that border concerns go both ways. He hopes Operation Deterrence will also address firearms trafficking from the US into Canada.
“Ninety percent of illegal guns that come into Canada come from the US side, across our borders,” he said.
Diodati blames Ottawa for underfunding the Canada Border Services Agency, the federal agency responsible for border security and immigration enforcement. “CBSA needs more resources,” he said.
“The US sees our border as porous, not as secure as theirs, and now, with the incoming president, they’re looking to punish us over it.”
Bev Hand is the mayor of Point Edward, a 2,500-person village located a short drive north of Sarnia, on the southern tip of Lake Huron. The community connects to Port Huron, Mich., by the Blue Water Bridge, a key Canada-US border crossing.
Hand expressed cautious support for Operation Deterrence’s aims of addressing drug trafficking.
She noted that, since 2019, there have been 16 major drug busts at the Point Edward border, including two significant cocaine seizures by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. In December 2023, US authorities found nearly 500 kg of cocaine in a truck entering the US. In August 2024, US authorities discovered over 120 kg of cocaine hidden in the wall of a truck bound for Canada.
“Fifteen of the seizures were in transport trucks,” she said. “This represents millions of dollars in illegal drugs, and we don’t know what wasn’t captured.”
Hand noted, however, that funds allocated to border security might be better spent on addressing the root causes of drug trafficking, such as addiction.
In December, Ottawa announced it would spend an additional $1.3 billion over six years on enhancing its border security. Ontario has not disclosed how much Operation Deterrence will cost.
Like Diodati, Hand also emphasized the role Operation Deterrence could play in helping to curb firearms trafficking from the US.
She referenced a May 2022 case where a resident discovered a bag with 11 handguns in a tree near Port Lambton, Ont., a city approximately 15 kilometres south of Point Edward.
“The package had fallen from a drone that is assumed to have come from the US side,” she said.
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‘Fentanyl Czar’
Bradley, Sarnia’s mayor, said border security initiatives must be balanced against the need to facilitate trade, particularly at critical crossings like the CN Rail tunnel — which runs beneath the St. Clair River and connects Canada to Michigan — and Blue Water Bridge.
“We want security, but you also want trade, and that’s the balance right now that we’re struggling with,” Bradley said.
A 13-year review by professors at Carleton University found that tighter Canada-US border security following the 9/11 attacks increased inspection times and delays at the border. This has “negatively impacted” bilateral trade and cost the Canadian economy billions in foregone economic opportunities and productivity.
Diodati, of Niagara Falls, said he would prefer to see Canada and the US take a bilateral approach to border security that focuses on bolstering security around the continent.
“We want to take a perimeter approach around North America, rather than the borders between us,” he said.
While diplomatic relations between Canada and the US are tense, further collaboration on border security may be on the horizon.
On Feb. 3, Trump paused the imposition of tariffs on Canada after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised Canada would send nearly 10,000 frontline personnel to protect the border.
“Canada is making new commitments to appoint a Fentanyl Czar, we will list cartels as terrorists, ensure 24/7 eyes on the border, launch a Canada-U.S. Joint Strike Force to combat organized crime, fentanyl and money laundering,” Trudeau wrote in a post on social media platform X.
“I have also signed a new intelligence directive on organized crime and fentanyl and we will be backing it with $200 million.
“Proposed tariffs will be paused for at least 30 days while we work together.”
This article was produced through the Breaking Needles Fellowship Program, which provided a grant to Canadian Affairs, a digital media outlet, to fund journalism exploring addiction and crime in Canada. Articles produced through the Fellowship are co-published by Break The Needle and Canadian Affairs.
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Business
Vance, Elon criticize judge for blocking DOGE from Treasury Department

“J.D Vance” by Gage Skidmore, licensed by CC BY-SA 2.0.
MxM News
Quick Hit:
Vice President JD Vance and Elon Musk criticized a federal judge’s decision to block DOGE officials from accessing the Treasury Department’s payment system, calling it an overreach of judicial power. The ruling temporarily halts political appointees’ access to financial data, intensifying tensions between the White House and the judiciary.
Key Details:
- U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer issued an order barring DOGE officials without security clearances from accessing Treasury payment systems through at least next Friday.
- Vance called the ruling “illegal,” arguing that judges cannot interfere with executive power, while Musk called for Engelmayer’s impeachment.
- The lawsuit, filed by 19 Democratic state attorneys general, is one of many legal challenges to the Trump administration’s government overhaul efforts.
Diving Deeper:
Vice President JD Vance and billionaire Elon Musk are pushing back against a federal judge’s decision to block the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing the Treasury Department’s payment system, calling the ruling a violation of executive authority.
The temporary injunction, issued by U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer, an Obama appointee, restricts DOGE officials—including political appointees and special government employees—from accessing the Treasury’s payment infrastructure unless they have proper background checks and security clearances. The judge cited concerns that the administration had overstepped legal boundaries in granting access to sensitive financial data.
Vance, in a social media post Sunday, accused the judge of unlawfully interfering in executive matters. “Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” he said. Musk followed with more pointed remarks, calling for Engelmayer’s impeachment and arguing that the ruling was politically motivated.
The lawsuit, brought by 19 Democratic state attorneys general, is part of a broader legal effort to block President Trump’s aggressive attempts to cut federal spending and restructure government operations. So far, multiple courts have placed temporary holds on various White House initiatives, including a buyout program for federal employees and a workforce reduction at USAID.
Critics of Vance and Musk’s response argue that the administration should follow legal protocols rather than attacking the judiciary. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg dismissed their criticisms, saying, “In America, decisions about what is legal and illegal are made by courts of law. Not by the Vice President.” Former Rep. Liz Cheney also weighed in, stating that the administration’s recourse is through the appeals process, not by undermining the courts.
Musk has defended DOGE’s role at the Treasury Department, stating that the changes his team proposed were necessary to improve financial oversight and ensure accurate reporting of government spending. He claimed that Treasury and DOGE “jointly agreed” on new reporting requirements and emphasized that longtime career government employees were implementing them.
The legal battle is still in its early stages, with a hearing scheduled for Friday to determine whether the judge’s temporary order should be extended. Meanwhile, Trump signaled that DOGE would soon shift focus to the Education Department and military spending, setting the stage for further clashes with the judiciary.
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