The average pay packet of Canada's 100 highest-paid CEOs hit more than $7.3 million in 2008, a new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has found.

The average compensation of the 100 richest CEOs was 174 times more than that of the typical worker in 2008. (Canadian Press)

The $7,352,895 figure is 174 times more than the average wage of the typical Canadian worker.

"To put that in perspective, Canadians will work full-time throughout the year to earn the national average of $42,305," the report's author, Hugh Mackenzie, said.

"The top 100 CEOs pocket that amount by 1:01 p.m. on Jan. 4 — the first working day of the year."

The average compensation for the top CEOs has outpaced inflation by 70 per cent between 1998 and 2008, the report found. During the same period, Canadian earning the average income lost six per cent to inflation.

Thomas Glocer of Thomson Reuters Corp. was the top earner with a total salary of $36.6 million, followed by the late Ted Rogers at $21.5 million.

Chief executives at Canada's big six banks also featured on the list.

TD Bank CEO Edmund Clark made $11.1 million in 2008, while National Bank's Louis Vachon pocketed $10.5 million and Gordon Nixon of Royal Bank took home $9.6 million.

Richard Waugh of the Bank of Nova Scotia had total earnings of $9.2 million, William Downe of the Bank of Montreal made $6.4 million and CIBC's Gerry McCaughey had a salary of $6.3 million.

In the hard-hit auto sector, Magna International chairman Frank Stronach came in at No. 16 on the list with earnings of $10.8 million in 2008.

Wage disparity

Mackenzie said in an interview he was surprised at how high the compensation was given what happened to the economy in 2008, adding that several corporations have either two or three executives who share the chief executive title, and all could make the list.

"If you rolled up some of those double and triple counts you'd have some pretty stratospheric numbers for what executives are paid," he said.

The 100th highest-paid CEO in Canada was Rupert Duchesne of Groupe Aeroplan Inc., with earnings of $3.2 million.

With files from The Canadian Press