Recently, to add to the conversations around pay transparency, we asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about their jobs, salaries, and where in Canada (specifically) they work. Here's what was shared with us:
1. "I work as an Urban Planner in Ontario. Essentially, I address all of the policies surrounding land development, future city growth, and draft plans to design subdivisions, commercial/industrial plazas etc. I currently get paid C$30/hr in Ontario at a small private sector planning firm."
— Anonymous
2. "I am a Tech Support Analyst in Merritt, British Columbia. It's a remote job and I gross about C$80,000/yr.
— Anonymous
3. "I work as an Office Manager for a small pharmaceutical company in Winnipeg. I work from home and currently make C$100,000 before taxes."
— Anonymous
4. "I'm a self-employed Speech-Language Pathologist in the Edmonton, Alberta area. I make C$120,000-C$140,000 per year; but as a sole proprietor, I have to pay for my own health benefits, disability insurance, retirement plan, sick days, vacation days, etc. I was previously employed by a school board, and I calculate that the non-salary benefits were worth nearly C$30,000/year — e.g., health benefits, pension, sick/vacation days, professional development budget, etc."
— Anonymous
5. "I am a Receptionist in Toronto, and I make C$31,000/yr working full-time."
— Anonymous
6. "I work in Collections for a Financial Institution in Saskatchewan. The position involves working with people who are struggling to pay their loans and work toward resolutions. A resolution could be lower payments for a period of time, repossession of their vehicle/boat/camper etc., or foreclosure on their home. The salary range for my position is C$60,000-C$70,000."
— Anonymous
7. "I live in Burnaby, British Columbia and I have two jobs — being an Educational Assistant and Specialized Foster Parent. Working as an Educational Assistant for a local school board is not a livable job where I live. On that one salary, I'm making C$42,000/year. As a Specialized Foster Parent, I bring around C$60,000 home; but it's a hard 24-hour a-day job. A lot of us here have to have two jobs just to stay afloat in this city."
— Anonymous
8. "I’m a Registered Nurse with twenty years of experience making C$45/hr. My husband works in Maintenance at a poultry plant and makes C$25/hr. We live simply in Rural Ontario and yet feel like we live paycheck to paycheck."
— Anonymous
9. "I am a Licensed Class-One Funeral Director in Waterloo Region, Ontario. I arrange and direct funerals, transport bodies, and embalm the deceased. I make C$23/hr and it took me ten years of working in the profession to get up to that amount. After taxes and benefits, my take-home pay is C$650 a week. It’s hard to meet my basic expenses and it’s a punch to the gut every time someone accuses funeral directors of being greedy or only doing it for the money. I’m always like, 'what money?'"
— Anonymous
10. "I’m a Business Analyst and I live and work in Toronto, Ontario. I get paid C$80,000/yr."
— Anonymous
11. "I am a Business and Integration Architecture Analyst. I work, specifically, in Technology Consulting — helping companies transform and update their technical landscapes. This is an entry-level position paying C$80,000 a year."
— Anonymous
12. "I work as a Pharmacy Assistant in Alberta full-time and make C$20/hr with no benefits. We are the ones who fill your prescriptions, bill and troubleshoot your insurance, manage the inventory and handle customer service. Since the pandemic, we’ve also been working on the frontlines, giving Covid tests, booking all the vaccine appointments, dealing with backorders and shortages, and having, at one point, to give limits on our patient's medications for supply reasons. We also dealt with the hand sanitiser and alcohol shortages. Doctors closed their doors to the public during Covid, but we remained open, taking on their patients because we had to."
"I can count on one hand the number of times patients thanked us for continuing working vs. the number of times we’ve been cussed out, yelled at, berated and belittled. Be nice to your pharmacy staff."
— Anonymous
13. "I work as an Executive Assistant Policy Advisor for a Senior Executive in Regina, Saskatchewan. I make C$43/hr, which translates to C$85,000/yr."
— Anonymous
14. "I work for the Ontario Government as a Senior Policy and Program Analyst. I currently make C$85,000/yr and have been doing this for almost seven years."
— Anonymous
15. "I am an ER nurse in the GTA in Ontario. I make roughly C$40/hr and have to go from calling the time of death on someone’s family member in one room to fixing broken bones in another. All the while being yelled at about wait times. It’s exhausting and definitely not worth the money."
— Anonymous
16. "I'm a Self-Employed Bookkeeper/Tax Preparer located on the East Coast of Canada. I've been doing this for the last six years part-time and working from home. I gross C$75,000-C$80,000/yr with pretty minimal expenses."
17. "I'm a Retail Buyer in Calgary, Alberta — essentially I design and purchase clothing for my company. I make C$59,000/yr with full benefits and my company matches my RRSP contributions up to 8% of my salary each year. I also receive a yearly bonus between 25% to 100% of my salary; this year it was 50% of my salary, so almost C$30,000."
— Anonymous
18. "I'm a Sales Representative in Toronto, Ontario. My job is to sell books at a Big 5 book publisher and I've been in this industry for six years. My salary is C$50,000/yr.
— Anonymous
19. "I'm currently an EIT that just submitted to become an Engineer with a salary range of C$85,000- C$110,000 in Rural Saskatchewan."
— Anonymous
20. "I am an Administrative Assistant/Drug and Alcohol Test Technician for a Safety Training Facility in Saskatoon, SK. My work includes all ranges of office duties, as well as performing drug and alcohol tests for workers to get onto work sites. I coordinate training sessions, take payments, look after individual clients, and am in charge of record keeping. I am paid C$43,680/yr. I consider this to be a very good wage for the job, but in our busy season, I am extremely busy. I also work for some pretty great bosses who appreciate all I do."
— Anonymous
21. "I am an Account Executive in the tech sector based in Toronto, although all of my work is remote. I have been in this industry for about seven years after switching career paths in my mid-twenties. My base salary is C$150,000/yr and I make probably another C$150,000 -C$200,000 in commissions each year. A lot of my friends think that I must have a highly focused degree/knowledge base, but honestly, I can barely even use most technology. My role is to be the friendly face who introduces the ~real~ tech experts, and then garners signatures when deals close."
"I fell into this career entirely accidentally after being a low-paid Bank Worker out of university, and I can't complain. Toronto is expensive!"
— Anonymous
22. "I’m the Digital Marketing Lead for a Real Estate Development company in Ontario. I do all of their digital advertising and website content. I make C$68,000/yr before taxes; and it’s not even enough to qualify for a mortgage on a somewhat decent home, especially now."
— Anonymous
23. "I work as a Customer Service Representative in Brant, Ontario. I make C$37/hour which definitely will not be a sustainable income if rent keeps going up. The urban sprawl from the GTA has taken over here, where a C$950/month one-bedroom apartment six years ago would now go for C$1600/month."
— Anonymous
24. "I work as a Paramedic in Canada and I make about C$90,000/yr. Considering how much our physical and mental health is affected by this job, the pay is not enough; and money doesn't go nearly as far as it used to."
25. "I'm an Elementary School Teacher in Ontario. I’ve been waiting years for a permanent position and have to cobble together sub-jobs — I make about C$40,000/yr. To make ends meet I work in construction (my former career), where I sometimes get paid C$150/hr, but the work is dangerous and very bad for your health. When people hear I’m a teacher they act jealous like I’ve got it made and make C$100,000/yr. In the '90s teachers made bank and didn’t have to work that hard, but we have way more responsibilities now. A lot of teachers I graduated with have swallowed the student debt and changed careers."
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.