Board Practices in Canadian Crown Corporations—2008

In 2008 Signal49 Research surveyed 29 Canadian Crown corporations (owned by a federal, provincial/territorial, or municipal government). This report summarizes the findings.

The role of Crown directors is growing. They are receiving more financial and non-financial information.

Twenty-five per cent of Crown directors are female. Ninety-seven per cent of respondent organizations have at least one female director on their board, but only one has a female chair.

Only a few Crowns report difficulty with director recruitment (11 per cent) or retention (4 per cent).

Almost half of respondents have not adjusted director compensation in over five years. One has not adjusted compensation in over 20 years. The median potential annual compensation for regular board service for outside directors on federal and provincial Crown boards is $9,800. The median potential total annual compensation for board chairs is $15,000, including retainers and per-meeting fees for regular board service.