Another year in paradise - CEO pay in 2020

The opinions and recommendations in this report, and any errors, are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funders of this report. [...] The CEWS was meant to go to businesses that saw large declines in revenue during the worst of the pandemic, but some companies with the highest-paid 100 CEOs in Canada continued to pay their CEOs extraordinary amounts while receiving the CEWS. [...] These bonuses have three broad components: direct cash bonuses, payment in the form of company stock and payment in the form of options to buy stock in the future at prices set today. [...] Their pay in 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, is the second highest in history (see Figure 3). [...] The CEWS was meant to go to businesses that saw large declines in revenue during the worst of the pandemic, but some companies with the highest-paid 100 CEOs in Canada continued to paying bonuses to their CEOs while receiving the CEWS.