A former CTV and CBC reporter hired by Wab Kinew’s NDP government to run Manitoba’s trade office in Washington, D.C., earns an annual salary of $387,000, the premier’s office revealed Wednesday.
Former White House Correspondent Richard Madan Will Earn More This Year as Head of DC Business Bureau than Kinew will earn as Manitoba premier ($195,936 for the 12 months ending March 30) or Scott Gillingham as Winnipeg mayor ($223,338 starting in 2024).
Madan was hired in June to strengthen Manitoba’s ties with U.S. elected officials, trade officials and industry leaders, as well as ensure the province’s interests are protected in trade deals, Kinew’s office said in a statement at the time.
Kinew spokesman Ryan Stelter said in a statement Wednesday that Madan “was able to hit the ground running” in his new role, thanks to “an established network of politicians, journalists, academics and other opinion leaders in the U.S. capital.”
Since June, Madan has met with Manitobans, helped the agricultural sector prepare for new U.S. country-of-origin labeling, addressed new trade issues such as a U.S. investigation into Canadian mushrooms, and encouraged Manitobans to participate in consultations on the upcoming renegotiation of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade deal, Stelter said.
Madan has also begun hosting an “advocacy day” at the Capitol for Manitoba, “where U.S. lawmakers can learn about the province’s food and mineral supply chains” and contributions to Arctic defense, Stelter said.
This list of tasks did not impress Opposition Leader Obby Khan, who used question period in recent weeks to mock Madan as Kinew’s “CBC buddy” who runs a “work from home” business office in Washington.
Khan, the Progressive Conservative leader, said he was “absolutely floored” to learn of Madan’s $387,000 salary, which is part of an overall Washington trade office budget of $800,000 a year.
“It’s absurd. Outrageous, absurd,” Khan said in an interview Wednesday. “Three hundred and eighty-seven thousand for a career journalist who hasn’t been tested in this industry? That’s almost the same amount of money the Prime Minister of Canada makes.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney will earn $406,000 this year.
Khan said Madan “has not secured a single trade deal for Manitoba” and earns “eight times the average wage in Manitoba for someone at a time when many people cannot pay their bills and buy food and groceries.”
The premier’s office noted that Madan’s salary is in line with what other provinces are paying for business representatives and lobbyists, such as Ontario’s David Paterson, a former General Motors, Manulife and BlackBerry executive, who will earn $364,000 this year.
Ontario is also spending $600,000 on Washington lobbying firm Capitol Counsel, LLC this year, the premier’s office said.
Khan said Manitoba would be better off hiring an experienced trade representative or lobbying firm, as Ontario did.
Madan could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening.
According to his LinkedIn bio, he spent four years at CBC Manitoba, six years at CityTV in Toronto and then 14 years at CTV in Ottawa and Washington before returning to CBC as a DC correspondent for two years.
“I’ve covered Washington for almost a decade, so I know the players,” Madan said in June.
“I have a pretty decent Rolodex and my role is simply to be a facilitator [and] help get those meetings that could potentially lead to something lucrative in the future.”
The disclosure of Madan’s salary came after a three-month effort by CBC News to learn about his compensation.
CBC News filed a freedom of information request on July 7, requesting Madan’s salary as well as a breakdown of the Washington office’s annual budget, including the travel budget.
The request was due Aug. 21 under Manitoba’s freedom of information laws. As of October 15, the album had not been released.
