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Poll shows 4 in 5 Canadians oppose MP pay raise

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From the Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Author: Franco Terrazzano 

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation released Leger polling today showing 80 per cent of Canadians oppose the member of Parliament pay raise on April 1.

“The poll results are crystal clear: Canadians don’t think MPs deserve another pay raise,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “It looks like the only Canadians who strongly support an MP pay raise are probably the politicians themselves.”

The Leger poll asked Canadians if they support or oppose the upcoming MP pay raise. Results of the poll show (totals may be slightly off due to rounding):

  • 62 per cent strongly oppose
  • 18 per cent somewhat oppose
  • 12 per cent somewhat support
  • 2 per cent strongly support
  • 7 per cent don’t know

MPs give themselves pay raises each year on April 1, based on the average annual increase in union contracts with corporations with 500 or more employees.

While final pay numbers have not been released, contract data published by the government of Canada shows the average annual increase in the private sector was 4.2 per cent in 2023. Using this data, the CTF estimates this year’s pay raise will amount to an extra $8,100 for backbench MPs, $11,900 for ministers and $16,200 for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

After this year’s pay raise, backbench MPs will receive a $202,700 annual salary, according to CTF estimates. A minister will collect $299,300, while Trudeau will take home $405,400.

The federal government stopped automatic MP pay hikes from 2010 to 2013 in response to the 2008-09 recession.

“We haven’t heard a single MP from any party forcefully try to stop the pay raise,” Terrazzano said. “On the very same day politicians take more money out of Canadians’ wallets with tax hikes, they’ll be stuffing more money into their own and that’s wrong.

“All MPs should speak out against the tax hikes and politician pay raise.”

Position

Pre-pandemic

salary

Current

salary

Salary

Apr. 1 2024

Total increase since

beginning of 2020

MP

$178,900

$194,600

$202,700

$23,800

Minister

$264,400

$287,400

$299,300

$34,900

Prime Minister

$357,800

$389,200

$405,400

$47,600

Business

The CBC is a government-funded giant no one watches

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This article supplied by Troy Media.

Troy Media By Kris Sims

The CBC is draining taxpayer money while Canadians tune out. It’s time to stop funding a media giant that’s become a political pawn

The CBC is a taxpayer-funded failure, and it’s time to pull the plug. Yet during the election campaign, Prime Minister Mark Carney pledged to pump another $150 million into the broadcaster, even as the CBC was covering his campaign. That’s a blatant conflict of interest, and it underlines why government-funded journalism must end.

The CBC even reported on that announcement, running a headline calling itself “underfunded.” Think about that. Imagine being a CBC employee asking Carney questions at a campaign news conference, while knowing that if he wins, your employer gets a bigger cheque. Meanwhile, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has pledged to defund the CBC. The broadcaster is literally covering a story that determines its future funding—and pretending there’s no conflict.

This kind of entanglement isn’t journalism. It’s political theatre. When reporters’ paycheques depend on who wins the election, public trust is shattered.

And the rot goes even deeper. In the Throne Speech, the Carney government vowed to “protect the institutions that bring these cultures and this identity to the world, like CBC/RadioCanada.” Before the election, a federal report recommended nearly doubling the CBC’s annual funding. Former heritage minister Pascale St-Onge said Canada should match the G7 average of $62 per person per year—a move that would balloon the CBC’s budget to $2.5 billion annually. That would nearly double the CBC’s current public funding, which already exceeds $1.2 billion per year.

To put that in perspective, $2.5 billion could cover the annual grocery bill for more than 150,000 Canadian families. But Ottawa wants to shovel more cash at an organization most Canadians don’t even watch.

St-Onge also proposed expanding the CBC’s mandate to “fight disinformation,” suggesting it should play a formal role in “helping the Canadian population understand fact-based information.” The federal government says this is about countering false or misleading information online—so-called “disinformation.” But the Carney platform took it further, pledging to “fully equip” the CBC to combat disinformation so Canadians “have a news source
they know they can trust.”

That raises troubling questions. Will the CBC become an official state fact-checker? Who decides what qualifies as “disinformation”? This isn’t about journalism anymore—it’s about control.

Meanwhile, accountability is nonexistent. Despite years of public backlash over lavish executive compensation, the CBC hasn’t cleaned up its act. Former CEO Catherine Tait earned nearly half a million dollars annually. Her successor, Marie Philippe Bouchard, will rake in up to $562,700. Bonuses were scrapped after criticism—but base salaries were quietly hiked instead. Canadians struggling with inflation and rising costs are footing the bill for bloated executive pay at a broadcaster few of them even watch.

The CBC’s flagship English-language prime-time news show draws just 1.8 per cent of available viewers. That means more than 98 per cent of TV-viewing Canadians are tuning out. The public isn’t buying what the CBC is selling—but they’re being forced to pay for it anyway.

Government-funded journalism is a conflict of interest by design. The CBC is expensive, unpopular, and unaccountable. It doesn’t need more money. It needs to stand on its own—or not at all.

Kris Sims is the Alberta Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Troy Media empowers Canadian community news outlets by providing independent, insightful analysis and commentary. Our mission is to support local media in helping Canadians stay informed and engaged by delivering reliable content that strengthens community connections and deepens understanding across the country.

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Business

Carney praises Trump’s world ‘leadership’ at G7 meeting in Canada

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From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

Canada’s prime minister said it was a ‘great honor’ to host the U.S. president and praised him for saying Canada wants to work with the U.S. ‘hand-in-hand.’

During the second day of the G7 leaders meeting in the Kananaskis area in Alberta, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney praised U.S. President Donald Trump’s world “leadership” despite saying many negative things about him during his election campaign.

While speaking to reporters Monday, Trump hinted that a new trade deal between Canada and the United States was potentially only “weeks” away. This came after a private meeting with Carney before the official G7 talks commenced.

“We’ve developed a very good relationship. And we’re going to be talking about trade and many other things,” Trump told reporters.

Carney was less vocal, however. He used the opportunity to tell reporters he was happy Trump came to his country for the G7 meeting, saying it was a “great honor” to host him.

“This marks the 50th birthday of the G7, and the G7 is nothing without U.S. leadership,” Carney told reporters.

He then spoke about Trump’s “personal leadership” on world issues and praised him for saying Canada wants to work with the U.S. “hand-in-hand.”

Carney ran his election campaign by claiming the Conservative Party would bow to Trump’s demands despite the fact that the party never said such things.

During his federal election campaign, Carney repeatedly took issue with Trump and the U.S. that turned into an anti-American Canadian legacy media frenzy.

However, the reality is, after Carney won the April 28 federal election, Trump praised him, saying, “Canada chose a very talented person.”

Trump has routinely suggested that Canada become an American state in recent months, often making such statements while talking about or implementing trade tariffs on Canadian goods.

As for Carney, he has said his government plans to launch a “new economy” in Canada that will involve “deepening” ties to the world.

 

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