Labour Policy

Restoring a Competitive Labour Market in Alberta

— Jan 29, 2019

Restoring a Competitive Labour Market in Alberta: Examining Right-to-Work and Other Policy Changes finds that, in light of Alberta’s continuing economic challenges and the rise of competing jurisdictions such as Texas and North Dakota, making the province’s labour market more competitive could improve economic growth and benefit Alberta workers.

CEO to Worker Pay: Global Competition for Top Talent

— Jan 3, 2019

CEO to Worker Pay: Global Competition for Top Talent finds that top business leaders—like top athletes, musicians and actors—receive high levels of compensation because they are in high demand around the world and not easily replaced. For example, Sean Combs (a.k.a. Diddy) was paid $130 million USD in 2017, the last year of comparable data. Likewise, Soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo earned $93 million USD, and actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson made $65 million USD. By comparison, the average compensation for the top 100 CEOs in Canada was $9.6 million CDN.

Comparing Government and Private Sector Compensation in Ontario, 2018

— Oct 24, 2018

Comparing Government and Private Sector Compensation in Ontario finds that public-sector employees in Ontario—including municipal, provincial and federal government workers—received 10.6 per cent higher wages on average than comparable workers in the private sector last year, and also enjoyed more generous pensions, earlier retirement, more personal leave and greater job security.

Increasing the Minimum Wage in Alberta: A Flawed Anti-Poverty Policy

— Sep 27, 2018

Increasing the Minimum Wage in Alberta: A Flawed Anti-Poverty Policy finds that raising Alberta’s minimum wage will do little to reduce poverty because 92 per cent of minimum-wage earners in the province don’t live in low-income households. In fact, half of the province’s minimum-wage earners are under the age of 24, almost all of whom live with their parents.

The Illusion of Alberta’s Jobs Recovery: Government vs. Private Sector Employment

— Aug 30, 2018

The Illusion of Alberta’s Jobs Recovery: Government vs. Private Sector Employment finds that Alberta’s employment growth over the past four years is being driven by nearly 79,000 new government jobs, while the private sector has shed more than 46,000 jobs over the same period. In fact, from July 2014 to May 2018, the government sector’s share of total employment (excluding the self-employed) increased from 19.5 per cent to 23.2 per cent—the highest it’s been since 1994.

Measuring Labour Markets in Canada and the United States: 2018 Edition

— Aug 30, 2018

Measuring Labour Markets in Canada and the United States, 2018 finds that compared to most U.S. states, Canadian provinces fare poorly on key labour indicators including private-sector job growth and employment rates. Overall, all 10 Canadian provinces rank in the bottom half of the 60 jurisdictions with British Columbia (35th) and Saskatchewan (41st) the highest ranked Canadian provinces. North Dakota ranked first overall in the study.

Comparing Government and Private Sector Compensation in Alberta, 2018

— Aug 8, 2018

Comparing Government and Private Sector Compensation in Alberta finds that public-sector employees in Alberta—including municipal, provincial and federal government workers—received 9.6 per cent higher wages on average than comparable workers in the private sector last year, and also enjoyed more generous pensions, earlier retirement, more personal leave and greater job security.