Head of new Major Projects Office to make north of $577K

The head of the federal government's new Major Projects Office will earn a salary between $577,000 and $679,000 a year, according to an order in council issued last week.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has tapped Dawn Farrell, former CEO and chair of the board of directors of the Trans Mountain Corporation, to run the Calgary-based office.

The Liberals have pledged to speed up approvals for major infrastructure projects deemed to be in the national interest and the new office is meant to oversee that process.

The Prime Minister's Office said last week that it would be headquartered in Calgary but will have offices "in other major Canadian cities."

Farrell's salary is roughly in line with the maximum for Crown corporation CEOs, according to the government's website.

By comparison, the salary for the head of Canada Post is between $506,000 and $596,000. The CBC president's salary is between $468,000 and $551,000.

Farrell has almost four decades of experience in the energy industry, having served as an executive vice-president for B.C. Hydro and CEO of TransAlta, one of Canada's largest wind power producers, before becoming the CEO of Trans Mountain, the Crown Corporation that runs the oil pipeline leading to Canada's West Coast, in 2022.

Farrell earned $7.8 million in total compensation from TransAlta in 2021, according to the company's shareholders' report.