The CEO of Canadian National Railway, E. Hunter Harrison, enjoyed a very good year in the compensation department, regulatory filings show.

Harrison was awarded total compensation worth $16 million US in 2004 (all figures in U.S. dollars). That included a base salary of $1.25 million, "other" compensation of $1.71 million, long-term incentive plan payouts of $1.59 million US, 202,500 restricted share units worth $8.1 million (paid out at 20 per cent per year) and a bonus of $3.5 million.

The bonus was the maximum allowed under Harrison's revised compensation arrangement – equal to 280 per cent of his base salary – and was awarded as the railway reported its best-ever annual profit of $1.26 billion.

Harrison has been CN's CEO since January 2003. His contract was renegotiated and extended following Harrison's "outstanding performance", according to a company filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The improved compensation package included an increase in his annual pension to $900,000 a year, up $100,000.

On a split-adjusted basis, CN's shares rose almost 50 per cent in 2004. The railway also boosted its quarterly dividend in January by 28 per cent.

CN said the compensation is "is line with that of major U.S. corporations, including railroads."

Manulife's CEO also has multi-million dollar year

A proxy circular filed by Manulife Financial Corp., another large Canadian company with a substantial U.S. business, showed that a multi-million dollar compensation package for CEOs is not unusual.

Manulife said CEO Dominic D'Alessandro earned $1 million US in salary last year, as well as $7.5 million (CDN) in restricted share units and a performance bonus of $3.7 million.

As with CN, Manulife had its executive compensation committee compare salaries with other CEOs in similar companies.