Analysis

Warning View the most recent version.

Archived Content

Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.

In 2010/2011, there were 44,934 full-time teaching staff at Canadian degree granting institutions. Of these, 14,946 (33.3%) were full professors, 15,473 (34.4%) were associate professors, 10,161 (22.6%) were assistant professors, and 4,354 (9.7%) were unranked. These proportions remained almost unchanged from the 2009/2010.

In the last 40 years, full-time teaching staff has increased by 82.7%. In comparison, during the same time period (1970/1971 to 2009/2010) the number of students enrolled in Canadian universities has increased 158.3%.

Compared to 2009/2010, the number of full-time university teaching staff in Canada increased by 1.2%. This increase is partly due to the inclusion of two universities who were new to the survey in 2010-2011. The following analysis excludes these institutions. 1 

There were 116 Canadian degree granting institutions 2  reporting their full-time teaching staff in both 2009/2010 and 2010/2011. Among these institutions the number of staff increased by 0.8%, with 48.3% of them reporting gains, 27.6% reporting declines and 24.1% reporting no change. Increases occurred in all but two provinces, with the largest in Prince Edward Island (8.3%), British Columbia (2.0%) and Manitoba (2.0%). Decreases were reported in Alberta (-1.7%) and Saskatchewan (-.30%).

Table 1 of this report presents information for institutions that have greater than 100 staff.The information includes the following for each institution: the number of full-time teaching staff, the number of staff excluded from salary calculations, average and median salary; and salaries at the 10th and 90th percentiles.Although data are collected for institutions that have less than 100 staff and are included in the analysis they are excluded from Table 1 for reasons of confidentiality.

The increase in full-time teaching staff was not distributed evenly across either rank or sex. Between 2009/2010 and 2010/2011, the number of full professors increased by 1.5%, associate professors increased by 3.3% and "rank below assistant" increased by 2.5%. However, the number of assistant professors decreased by 4.2% as well as the "other" category by 1.4%. The increase in full-time faculty was concentrated among women, with their numbers increasing by 1.9%, whereas the number of men remained almost unchanged.

Women account for over a third of full-time faculty. Their number has risen dramatically over the past 40 years. In 1970/1971 women comprised just over 10% of faculty; by 2010, their proportion had reached 36.6% (Chart 2). The share of women grew in all ranks. In 2010/2011, women accounted for 23.4% of full professors, 38.2% of associate professors and 46.4% of assistant professors. This is in contrast to 40 years earlier, when women comprised just 3.4% of full professors, 8.1% of associate professors and 13.8% of assistant professors.

Within the ranked categories, the overwhelming majority of full-time teaching staff held a PhD in 2010/2011: 88.9% of full professors, 85.8% of associate professors, and 76.2% of assistant professors. These proportions are unchanged from 2009/2010. In the unranked categories, only 34.2% of staff held at PhD., 46.5% held a Master's degree and 9.3% had a Bachelor's degree.

Over the last 40 years, full-time teaching staff at Canadian universities have been getting older. In 2010/2011 the median age was 50 years, compared to 37 in 1970/1971. This aging trend is seen across ranks as well (Chart 3).

The average salary of full-time teaching staff was $115,513 in 2010/2011, as compared to $112,419 in 2009/2010, an increase of 2.8%. In 2010/2011, a full professor earned an average of $143,366; associate professors earned $112,175; assistant professors earned $91,035; and the average salary of those in the category "rank below assistant" was $87,461.

From a provincial perspective, the average salary ranged from $101,580 in New Brunswick to $123,907 in Alberta in 2010-2011.

Average salaries differed by sex. In 2010/2011, males earned on average $120,378, while females earned on average $ 106,970, or 88.9% of the average male salary. The difference between men and women is largely influenced by the larger number of males at the higher academic ranks.

The male/female salary gap narrows when within-rank comparisons between males and females are made. Among full professors in 2010/2011, full-time males earned $145,045 on average, while females earned 95.0% of that ($137,846). The average salary of female associate professors was 97.0% that of males (at $110,106 and $113,448 respectively). The average salary of female assistant professors was 97.7% that of males (at $89,886 and $92,014 respectively). In the "rank below assistant" professors, the average female salary was 96.7% that of males (at $86,065 and $89,057, respectively).

However, the overall wage gap between men and women has narrowed over time as women have come to occupy higher ranks in higher proportions. Whereas women faculty earned 78.3% of what males earned in 1970/1971, that figure has increased to 88.9% in 2010/2011.

Report a problem on this page

Is something not working? Is there information outdated? Can't find what you're looking for?

Please contact us and let us know how we can help you.

Privacy notice

Date modified: