Pay bumps and a pension given to MPPs

Pay bumps and a pension plan legislation passed on Thursday

In 2009 Dalton McGuinty slapped the pay freeze on MPPs during the global financial crisis and subsequent Liberal and Tory governments kept it in place with support from the New Democrats.

The MPP pension plan was eliminated in 1995 by former PC Premier Mike Harris in a populist move designed to herald restraint at Queen’s Park.

Home to the well paid provincial politicians.

Home for the equally well paid federal politicians.

Under the legislation immediately passed Thursday with unanimous backing from the Tories, NDP, Liberals and Greens, the base salary for an MPP rises to $157,350 from $116,550 — a $40,800 raise retroactive to the February election.

MPPs will be eligible for a defined-benefit pension after six years of service starting next January. That means, like federal MPs, they will have to be re-elected in 2029 to qualify.

The new retirement benefits do not credit existing years served and are part of the public service pension plan in which bureaucrats are enrolled.

For example, a qualifying retiree would receive an annual initial pension of $33,425 at age 65 if they served six years in office.

Had MPP wages kept pace with inflation since 2008, their annual compensation would have been more than $10,000 higher at $167,790, according to the Bank of Canada.

The base rate is 75 per cent of the $209,800 paid to MPs, who receive annual raises every April. It will go up each year at the same pace as MP salaries do.

MPPs will still earn less than Toronto city councillors, who recently voted themselves 24 per cent hikes and make $170,558.

In neighbouring Mississauga, councillors earn $159,684.

Premier Doug Ford

Ford’s salary will jump to $282,129 from $208,975, a $73,154 increase.

NDP Leader Marit Stiles’s pay climbs to $244,207 from $180,886, a $63,341 raise.

Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie doesn’t have a seat in the legislature and is paid by her party.

But if Crombie does become an MPP, her pay would be $213,524, up from the $158,158 given to leaders of recognized parties.

Mike Schreiner’s Greens do not have official party status so he will be paid the MPPs’ base rate.

Cabinet ministers’ salaries will go to $223,909, a $58,058 boost from their current $165,851.

The government says the changes will cost the treasury an additional $6 million.

Prime Minister Mark Carney

In comparison, Prime Minister Mark Carney makes $419,600 while Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow takes home $225,304 annually.

Since winning power in 2018, Ford’s Tories previously insisted they would only end the freeze once the books were in the black.

But Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, who shepherded the legislation, announced in the budget two weeks ago that Ontario’s deficit has ballooned to $14.6 billion for 2025-26 and there won’t be surplus until 2027-28.

“It’ll be at 75 per cent of the federal compensation. It’s still less than a Toronto city councillor will be paid or a Mississauga city councillor,” the treasurer noted.

Under the Tories, spending has gone up more than 50 per cent over former premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals in 2018 — significantly higher than the rate of inflation — and the provincial debt has skyrocketed by 51 per cent.