Universities | Is $133,000 for a teacher overpaid?

Are our university professors well paid?

Absolutely, yes, of course. Better than a convenience store clerk, for example. But do Quebec universities offer competitive compensation compared to other major Canadian universities, or even the world?

The question is important. University professors train the major decision-makers of tomorrow, in addition to doing research and serving the community. These three tasks normally make up 40%, 40% and 20% of their working time, respectively.

Research, in particular, is essential. It allows our company to remain at the cutting edge of knowledge and technological advances. Quality candidates – holders of a doctorate and speaking French – do not run the streets. The competition is global.

Now, our universities offer lower salaries than elsewhere in Canada, according to the Statistics Canada statement published on Tuesday.

On average, full-time university professors received a salary of $133,543 in Quebec in 2020-2021, which is about 9% less than the Canadian average ($146,653) or 11% less than in the rest of Canada ($150,643).

This average includes both full and associate or assistant professors, as well as the (relatively few) deans of Statistics Canada’s 68 comparable universities. Lecturers are not included¹.

The Quebec-Canada gap must be put into perspective. In 2021, the average hourly compensation of all fixed-wage employees in Quebec was 3.8% lower than the Canadian average and 5.6% lower than in Ontario.

And as we know, life is less expensive in Quebec, just think of house prices. According to Statistics Canada, the cost of living in Montreal is about 7% lower than the average for large cities in Canada and 13% lower than in Toronto.

The fact remains that, all things considered, the 9% gap in the salaries of university professors with the rest of Canada appears greater than that of all workers (3.8%) or even that the gap cost of living (7%).

We can also compare things differently. Which of Canada’s world-class U15 universities – which usually have medical schools – offer the best salaries?

In this regard, Quebec does poorly. The Canadian university that offers the best salaries is McMaster University, in Hamilton, Ontario, at $177,250. This is followed very closely by Queen’s University and the University of Toronto, also in Ontario.

In Quebec, the first of the batch, McGill, arrives at 10^and rank of this U15 group, with an average salary of $151,900. The University of Montreal ranks 12^and ($145,825) and Laval University, 14^and ($137,075.)

Seen another way, professors at the Université de Montréal earn 18% less than those at the top three Ontario universities and 14% less than those at the University of British Columbia.

You can also compare the salaries of the best tenured teachers. These are professors, first associates, who have distinguished themselves through their research and contribute to the international influence of the university.

The top 10% of full professors at the University of British Columbia earn $277,000, a salary similar to the top 10% at the University of Toronto. At McGill? $223,000. Montreal? $182,000. Laval? $154,000.

The gap between the best professors at the University of Montreal and those in Toronto or Vancouver therefore climbs to 34%. The difference is major.

The comparison only affects salaries. To get the full picture, we should also look at other working conditions, such as pension plans and leaves, including sabbaticals.

Above all, we should know if our teachers work up to their salary. Do they teach as much as their peers at other universities (usually 4 courses per year or less, depending on their related workloads)? Are they doing as much outstanding research as elsewhere, published in major peer-reviewed journals, whether in administration, math, education, sociology, law or engineering?

Be that as it may, this overview shows that our establishments seem to be lagging behind, especially for star candidates. And that in the long term, this gap could be harmful in certain key sectors. We bet that the universities, which are asking the Quebec government to significantly increase their funding, are making this point.

1. For the Quebec average, we took the 16 universities surveyed by Statistics Canada, excluding TELUQ. Our board only publishes the most important ones.