British Columbia’s 2020 compensation disclosure: every disclosed public-sector compensation for the year, with top earners, sectors, and employers.
In 2020, 11,214 employees at 118 British Columbia public-sector employers were disclosed on the province’s compensation disclosure (FY 2019-20, the fiscal year ending in 2020). The average disclosed compensation was $101,674 and the median was $89,775 — the disclosure covers only employees above the $75,000 threshold in force that year, not the entire public-sector workforce.
Compared with 2019, the list grew by 926 names (+9%, from 10,288 to 11,214), and the average disclosed compensation rose 0.9% from $100,742.
The highest-paid person on the 2020 list was Thomas Bechard (Pres & CEO Powerex) at BC Hydro, at $937,845. The full top 25 is below; for interactive filtering of all 11,214 records, use the data explorer or see the British Columbia dashboard for the latest year.
FY 2025 is the only year for which the Statement of Financial Information filings have been ingested, so its headcount is not comparable with earlier years: health authorities, school districts, crown corporations, universities and colleges all go from a handful of disclosed executives to their full over-$75,000 staff. Core government, the one sector covered the same way in both years, grew about 11%. FY 2017 is a smaller break of the same kind (the executive disclosures begin). FY 2010 is missing from the source data.
Top 25 by compensation on the 2020 disclosure. Click a name for their full year-by-year profile.
| # | Name | Position | Employer | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thomas Bechard | Pres & CEO Powerex | BC Hydro | $937,845 |
| 2 | Santa J Ono | President & Vice-Chancellor | University of British Columbia | $605,225 |
| 3 | Chris O'Riley | President & CEO | BC Hydro | $566,084 |
| 4 | Shelley Legin | Chief Financial Officer and VP Administration | Vancouver Island University | $521,556 |
| 5 | Brenda Leong | Chair and CEO | BC Securities Commission | $515,203 |
| 6 | Nicolas Jimenez | President & CEO | Insurance Corporation of BC | $474,680 |
| 7 | Andrew Szeri | V/P Academic & Provost | University of British Columbia | $452,374 |
| 8 | Andrew Petter | President | Simon Fraser University | $443,850 |
| 9 | James Cassels | President and Vice Chancellor | University of Victoria | $443,207 |
| 10 | David Wong | EVP, Finance, Tech, Supply Chain & CFO | BC Hydro | $437,755 |
| 11 | BC Cancer Agency Malcolm Moore | Vice President, PHSA and President, BCCA/BCCRC | Provincial Health Services Authority | $427,550 |
| 12 | Janet Fraser | EVP, People, Customer, Corp Affairs | BC Hydro | $421,205 |
| 13 | Barbara Irene Daigle | Interim Vice-President, Finance, People and Business Operations | University of Northern BC | $420,032 |
| 14 | Susan Brown | PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER | Interior Health Authority | $417,684 |
| 15 | Mary Ackenhusen | President and Chief Executive Officer | Vancouver Coastal Health Authority | $414,388 |
| 16 | Ken Burt | President | Coast Mountain College | $411,699 |
| 17 | Carl Roy | President & Chief Executive Officer | Provincial Health Services Authority | $410,328 |
| 18 | Kathryn E MacNeil | President & CEO | Vancouver Island Health Authority | $399,980 |
| 19 | Victoria (Eun Hyung) Lee | President & Chief Executive Officer | Fraser Health Authority | $397,807 |
| 20 | Diana Miles | President and CEO | WorkSafe BC | $390,994 |
| 21 | Maureen Daschuk | SVP, Integrated Planning | BC Hydro | $390,464 |
| 22 | Ken Cretney | President and CEO (Interim) | BC Pavilion Corporation | $388,723 |
| 23 | Sandra J Allison | Chief Medical Health Officer | Northern Health Authority | $388,632 |
| 24 | Nevio Rossi | Assistant Superintendent | School District No. 57 (Prince George) | $387,617 |
| 25 | Jim Lightbody | President | BC Lottery Corporation | $386,027 |
| Sector | Employees | Avg Compensation | Top Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core Government | 10,633 | $97,660 | $308,186 |
| School Districts | 241 | $153,729 | $387,617 |
| Crown Corporations | 149 | $184,794 | $937,845 |
| Colleges & Institutes | 103 | $152,533 | $521,556 |
| Health Authorities | 40 | $272,670 | $427,550 |
| Universities | 36 | $231,739 | $605,225 |
| Public Service | 12 | $184,191 | $341,516 |
The 15 employers with the most disclosed employees in 2020.
| Employer | Sector | Employees | Avg Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Province of British Columbia | Core Government | 10,633 | $97,660 |
| BC Hydro | Crown Corporations | 17 | $222,525 |
| BC Transit | Crown Corporations | 11 | $139,977 |
| BC Housing Management Commission | Crown Corporations | 8 | $185,322 |
| Insurance Corporation of BC | Crown Corporations | 8 | $273,948 |
| Transportation Investment Corporation | Crown Corporations | 8 | $95,444 |
| University of Northern BC | Universities | 8 | $204,016 |
| Vancouver Community College | Colleges & Institutes | 8 | $145,405 |
| Douglas College | Colleges & Institutes | 7 | $144,286 |
| Kwantlen Polytechnic University | Colleges & Institutes | 7 | $153,861 |
| Liquor Distribution Branch | Public Service | 7 | $124,233 |
| Provincial Health Services Authority | Health Authorities | 7 | $271,852 |
| School District 82 Coast Mountain | School Districts | 7 | $129,377 |
| School District 93 CSF | School Districts | 7 | $137,799 |
| School District No. 68 (Nanaimo-Ladysmith) | School Districts | 7 | $134,636 |
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