Civil servants' salaries: University leaders line their pockets

Several university presidents in Quebec earn more than Prime Ministers Francois Legault and Justin Trudeau.

“How can a rector who runs a university with 45,000 students earn more than a prime minister who runs a country of 40 million people? It's not right,” laments Genevieve Tellier, a political scientist and professor at the University of Ottawa.

In our compilation, for example, the rector of the University of Montreal, Daniel Jutras, pocketed $455,635 in 2023. That's $185,000 more than Quebec Premier Francois Legault and $49,000 more than the Canadian Prime Minister.

Furthermore, he earns less than his colleagues at English-speaking universities. At McGill, former Dean of the Faculty of Medicine David H. Eidelman earned $533,624 in 2022, or $40,000 more than then-Rector Suzanne Fortier. The university did not respond to our requests for an interview.

Two worlds

Our data show that leaders in the Quebec university network are paid less than leaders in other universities.

Audrey Laurin-Lamothe, an expert on compensation issues and associate professor at York University, notes:

“We noticed very different trends among charter universities, so McGill, University of Montreal, Concordia, etc., compared to the “UQ” network, tend to pay higher salaries”

Stéphane Pallage, the rector of the University of Quebec in Montreal, earned $253,942 last year, almost half as much as the rector of the University of Montreal.

The rector of the University of Quebec in Rimouski, François Deschenes, and the University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières, Christian Blanchet, both pocketed $232,001.

• Listen to Alexandre Dubey's discussion with journalist Annabelle Blais QUB :

According to M^me Laurin-Lamothe said bonuses and departure bonuses for charter university leaders are inspired by the private sector and therefore higher.

“There is also the notoriety, reputation and influence of the university. There are many factors that can be linked [à ces disparités]», adds François Dauphin, Director of the Institute on Governance of Private and Public Organizations (IGOPP).