Canadian provinces pay their politicians twice what American states do, study finds

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Canadian provincial politicians are vastly overpaid compared to their U.S. counterparts, but their electors have little to show for it, according to a new report released by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF).

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The Subnational Politician Pay Report looks at average salaries for provincial and state politicians across Canada and the United States.

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It found that Canada’s provincial politicians are paid significantly more than their American counterparts; almost twice as much in fact. The average wage for a provincial politician last year was $115,378, while state legislators made just $58,241 on average. (All figures are in Canadian dollars.) Only 18 per cent of American representatives make over $100,000, while 70 per cent of Canada’s provincial politicians do so.

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The list of salaries is topped by New York, California, and Pennsylvania, all among the top five U.S. states in terms of population. California’s roughly 40 million inhabitants is almost on par with all of Canada.

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Next in the list were the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, combined home to about 60 per cent of Canadians. They were followed by Illinois, Alberta, Alaska and British Columbia.

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Next up in tenth place was Massachusetts, followed by Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island were not far behind, in 17th, 18th and 22nd place, respectively.

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“Politicians often argue they should give themselves bigger salaries to attract talented people to run for political office,” the report notes. “If it’s true, jurisdictions with high-paid politicians should perform better. In reality, there is little correlation between jurisdictions that pay politicians handsomely and better outcomes for taxpayers.”

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For instance, Texas, with a state representative salary of just $10,331, came sixth last on the list.

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“Despite this, Texas is wealthier on a per-person basis than any Canadian province, with a GDP per capita of $88,517,” the report found. North Dakota was also low on the list of salaries, paying just $10,193, while also outperforming every Canadian province in GDP per capita.

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“Of the 19 American states with a higher GDP per capita than all Canadian provinces, 13 of those states pay their representatives less than any Canadian province,” the report said. “New Mexico, the only subnational jurisdiction across Canada and the United States that doesn’t pay its representatives, is wealthier than eight of 10 Canadian provinces.”

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While politicians’ salaries seemed to have little correlation with their constituents’ wealth, there was a link between higher pay and higher taxes. A list of the combined top marginal tax rates was topped by eight Canadian provinces, all with rates of more than 50 per cent. California came next, with Alberta and Saskatchewan not far behind in 11th and 14th place, respectively.

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“States with low salaries for politicians take disproportionately less money from taxpayers,” the report found. “Among the 10 American states with a top marginal tax rate lower than 40 per cent, only one state (Alaska) pays their politicians more than $50,000 a year. The average politician salary among these states is $30,892.”

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The CTF had particularly harsh words for Albertaand B.C., given their combination of low population, high MLA salaries and low GDP per capita.

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“Alberta MLAs are getting paid more than most politicians, but taxpayers aren’t getting top-notch results,” said Kris Sims, CTF’s Alberta Director. “Giving bigger paycheques to politicians doesn’t lead to better outcomes for taxpayers.”

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She added: ““In Colorado, which is almost the same size as Alberta, state politicians are paid about $66,000 and people in that state are richer than they are here.” Indeed, Colorado salaries placed it at roughly the middle of the pack, but its GDP per capita put it in 10th place. Alberta was the top Canadian province in that list, at 20th.

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Alberta MLAs got paid $123,838, in 2025, the third highest among Canada’s provincial politicians and the seventh highest salary of subnational politicians across Canada and the United States.

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Meanwhile, B.C. placed ninth for MLA salaries, 15th last in GDP per capita, and fourth highest in top marginal tax rate. Yet the credit rating agency S&P Global this year downgraded the province to “A” from “A+” and noted: “B.C.’s budgetary performance will be the weakest of peers, both domestic and international.”

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“MLAs in Victoria are some of the highest paid while charging some of the highest taxes in North America,” said Carson Binda, CTF’s B.C. Director. “We’re paying premium prices for bargain-bin results from the government benches.”

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He noted that B.C. MLAs also gave themselves a pay raise this year, bringing their base salaries to $122,000.

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“The last thing MLAs should be doing is lining their pockets with more taxpayer cash,” Binda said. “British Columbians are facing big costs from the province and deserve politicians focused on lowering their bills, not padding their own paycheques.”

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