Canadian Political Rich List: Wikis

Note: Many of our articles have direct quotes from sources you can cite, within the Wikipedia article! This article doesn't yet, but we're working on it! See more info or our list of citable articles.

Canadian Political Rich List

This article, with an embedded list, attempts to catalogue the richest of elected and appointed Canadian politicians from the past and the present. There are few if any public records on the wealth of Canadian political figures before the 21st century, and even in books that catalogued the wealth of the richest of Canadians, such as The Canadian Establishment by Peter C. Newman, the emphasis has been on the business community.
The cross over of successful businessmen into the highest offices of Canadian politics, multi-millionaires such as corporate lawyer John Turner, mining magnate Brian Mulroney, or those with inherited oil wealth, such as Pierre Eliott Trudeau or shipping wealth Paul Martin makes this list essential for global political researchers studying the nature of Canadian democracy.

Criteria for Placement on the List

For the purposes of this initial list, only Canadian politicians with wealth exceeding $10 million dollars are included. Canadians who have served politically abroad and who have great wealth (such as Lord Beaverbrook or John Kenneth Galbraith) are not included.
Nor are those in the political background who have financed or fund-raised great sums of money for Canadian political parties.

Evaluating Canadian politicians for this rich list

Generally journalists establish political rich lists through looking at public documents of trusts and blind trusts; corporate ownership; securities and bonds that are registered, and their date of issuance, as well as share options that are given by corporations at a discount on the usual trading rate; home ownership, and mortgages; and the holdings of the family, at home and abroad. Journalists as well would look at inherited wealth, self-made wealth, or appointments made to comissions, or public corporations; as well as severance pay, pensions, and signing bonuses. Rich Canadian politicians often move from regional to provincial to federal positions, carrying pensions from each stage: a practice known as double dipping in Canadian vernacular.

In some cases Canadian politicians are known to have salaries within a certain range based on their lifestyle, or, as an example, use of private jets, educating their children abroad instead of at Canadian colleges or universities; high profile corporate directorships, or best-selling books, or ongoing profitable business ventures that do not require being put in blind trusts. As well as declared interests of themselves, their wives and children, or their extended families.

Much Canadian political life is linked to Canadian political dynasties, particularly in Quebec who have held power in some cases for almost two centuries. In Alberta, the immensely rich Sir James Alexander Lougheed had his grandson, Peter Lougheed years later take over the office of the premier, and build Alberta's oil industry even further, and serve on the board of merchant banker, the Carlyle Group, joining Frank McKenna. Many citations come from the List of Canadian Political Families where wealth and power have been handed down for generations.

As there are no term limits, some politicians have held power for more than three decades in a single office, and had the ablity consequently only from their salary to build wealth: Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion, as an example, has held office for over 28 years, being first elected in 1978 and was cited in an Ontario government salary disclosure report as making $116,872.29 a year in 2004, excluding expenses. She is as well of pensionable age, being born in 1921. (See citation below).

One feature used in the United States to determine political wealth is private foundations, and gifts to foundations by politicians or former or future politicians employed within charitable institutions or foundations. In Canada, few politicians have foundations, or are known to contribute large sums of money to charitable foundations although virtually every politician has worked for foundations and have even been paid for public-speaking engagements with expenses covered. Foundation heads, and fund-raisers for foundations and charities are protected from having their salaries dislosed, although some do. The 50 largest charities and foundations in Canada are known to have their executives compensated at equivalent levels: which include six-figure salaries, deferred benefits, plus bonuses, and other allowances according to a report in the national Globe and Mail. Unlike the USA, where non-profit charities are required to disclose compensation, in Canada federal regulators consider this private information.

The Canadian Taxpayers's Federation has recently done research on pensions paid retiring federal MPs, and such evidence as two federal cabinet ministers retiring in 2006 with pensions in excess of $135,000. a year, also provide evidence for placement of former Liberal MP for Glengarry-Prescott-Russell Don Boudria and former Ottawa West-Nepean MP Marlene Catterall on future lists.

Citations of Wealth

The following are primary citations of evidence of wealth from established media sources. Wikipedia space limits multiple citations, so primary citations are given first.

Canadian business rich list. See: #51, #56, #72, #91, for political links; the list was compiled in January 2006, and does not include former PM Paul Martin as his assets during his term in office were in a blind trust, but will be in the 2007 list as he has returned to the private sector.

Mentions inherited wealth of: Jack Layton (NDP); and millionaire fathers of: Jack Layton, Paul Martin, Pierre Trudeau, John Turner; and cites Rockefeller/MacKenzie King relationship.

CBC article by Larry Zolf cites Martin's fortune exceeding $637 million

CBC article by Zolf points out huge wealth of PM R.B. Bennett and his corporation; as well as other former PMs including Arthur Meighen.