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Canadian taxpayers group deplores governor general's $40,000 pay hike

The group asks why pay hikes are necessary when Mary Simon already benefits from an above-average lifestyle paid for by Canadian taxpayers.

Governor General of Canada Mary Simon attends a joint press conference with Finnish President at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki Feb. 7, 2023.
Governor General of Canada Mary Simon attends a joint press conference with Finnish President at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki Feb. 7, 2023. Photo by MARKKU ULANDER /Lehtikuva/AFP via Getty Images

The salary of Canada’s governor general increased by $39,300 since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF).

In 2019, the annual salary of the governor general stood at $302,800, however that remuneration gradually increased by 13 per cent to reach $342,100 last year, according to information provided to the CTF by the Privy Council Office. The office maintains the increases were determined in accordance with the dispositions of the Governor General’s Act.

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In a statement issued Tuesday, Nicolas Gagnon, Quebec director of the CTF, asked why the pay hikes were necessary for Governor General Mary Simon when she already benefits from an above-average lifestyle paid for by Canadian taxpayers. He argued that it’s time to scale back on such benefits that have no connection to the reality of taxpayers.

The CTF notes that apart from an annual salary of $342,100, the governor general of Canada also has access to a taxpayer-funded annual expense account of more than $200,000 for life as well as a pension that is paid no matter how long the incumbent was in office.

The Bloc Québécois was quick to criticize the pay hike for job which, in its opinion, “essentially consists of attending social functions.” Bloc Privy Council critic Rhéal Fortin said in a statement that a symbolic job should be paid a symbolic salary.

“We have to put an end to this waste of public money and reduce to a minimum the salary for this archaic function,” he said.

The CTF reminded the public that Simon’s week-long trip to Dubai to attend Expo 2020 cost more than $1 million, with an in-flight meal bill of just under $100,000.

Simon is on an official visit to Finland that ends Friday. Governors general make such visits at the request of the prime minister of Canada.

On its website, the CTF is asking the public to sign a petition calling for the salary of the governor general to be reduced.

  1. Governor General Mary Simon gives her address after she took the oath to become the 30th Governor General of Canada in Ottawa on Monday, July 26, 2021.

    Governor General got a $40,000 pay raise during pandemic

  2. Governor General Mary Simon delivers the throne speech in the Senate of Canada in Ottawa on Nov. 23, 2021.

    Quebec group goes to court over Gov. Gen. Mary Simon's lack of French

  3. Governor General Mary Simon meets Quebec Premier François Legault Wednesday, May 4, 2022 in Quebec City.

    Legault says meeting with Governor General Mary Simon was 'a courtesy'