Canadian professors are world’s highest paid

Never mind the Ivy League; new research shows that professors in the ivory towers of Canada are on average the best paid in the world, writes Louise Brown for The Star. In a new study of public university salaries in 28 countries – from the knowledge hubs of Asia to the powerhouses of Great Britain and the US – it is Canadian professors who outstrip all others in their pay’s purchasing power.

While some blame soaring salaries for driving up the cost of higher learning – Ontario economic guru Don Drummond has called for smaller post-secondary raises – others argue they give us an edge in courting the best and brightest.

“In an increasingly international labour market, it’s good to offer strong compensation,” noted education Professor Glen Jones of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, who is part of the Canadian team of researchers on the study.

The research, released last week, was led by the Boston College Center for International Higher Education and the National Research University Higher School of Economics in Moscow. The study adjusted the dollar-value of full-time salaries to the cost of living in each country to allow a true comparison of the value of the pay. In adjusted dollars, Canada’s average full-time professor earns $7,196 per month, compared to $6,054 in the United States and $5,943 in the United Kingdom.
Full report on the Star site