Great if we can gather more intel about compensation increase in Canadian IB teams. This is what I've heard so far (might be wrong so happy to change if we get more accurate info):
RBC (Confirmed by 2 WSO Users):
Base salaries increased 10-15% firm wide
IB Analyst 1 at RBC all-in is around C$160-170k.
IB Associate 1 should be around C$270k.
CIBC (Confirmed by WSO User)
Base salaries increased to:
IB Analyst C$95k base
IB Associate $135k base
BMO (Confirmed by IB individual):
15% pay increase. Seems to be reflected on bonus only.
Canaccord (Confirmed by IB individual):
IB Analysts' salaries bumped by C$5k (implies ~C$85K base)
IB Associates' salaries bumped by C$10k (implies C$110k base)
Stifel (Confirmed by IB individual)
US increase has not trickled down to Canada yet.
Lol employees work for free there.
Depends on shop in both Canada and US for hours, for example a high deal flow / sweatier shop in Canada (BMO M&M, RBC Energy, etc) could lead to similar if not worse hours than many groups at BBs and EBs in NY. The clear difference comes down to comparing pay for effort, and in many cases (or most, excluding examples like Citi this year...) you'll still come out behind on total comp. Comp reflects cost of living (where these days, TO is sky rocketing in a manner not adequately reflected in comp), and exit opps. To ditch IB in Canada, the general PE exit options (for example) don't pay nearly as competitively as the options in NY & the US, which doesn't help Canadian IB pay. Long story short, if you want to maximize $, head to NY. If you want to maximize WLB, possible in Canada "on average" like the comment before mine, but not a guarantee. Better to choose an industry / group you're passionate about, in the place you want to be living, and dive into IB head first - see if it's the right fit (Canada or NY).