A former CTV and CBC reporter hired by Wab Kinew’s NDP government to lead Manitoba’s trade office in Washington, D.C., is earning a $387,000 annual salary, the premier’s office disclosed Wednesday.
Former White House correspondent Richard Madan will earn more this year leading the D.C trade office than either Kinew will earn as Manitoba premier ($195,936 for the 12 months ending March 30) or Scott Gillingham will earn as Winnipeg’s mayor ($223,338 as of 2024).
Madan was hired in June to strengthen Manitoba’s ties with U.S. elected officials, trade officials and industry leaders, as well as to ensure the province’s interests are protected in trade agreements, Kinew’s office said in a statement at the time.
Kinew spokesperson Ryan Stelter said Wednesday in a statement that Madan “was able to hit the ground running” in his new role, thanks to “an established network of politicians, journalists, academics and other thought leaders in the U.S. capitol.”
Since June, Madan has met with Manitobans, helped the agricultural sector prepare for new U.S. country-of-origin labelling, dealt with new trade issues such as a U.S. investigation into Canadian mushrooms, and encouraged Manitobans to take part in consultations about the forthcoming renegotiation of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement, Stelter said.
Madan has also started to organize a Capitol Hill “advocacy day” for Manitoba, “where U.S. lawmakers can learn of the province’s supply chains for food and minerals” and contributions to Arctic defence, Stelter said.
This list of tasks did not impress Opposition Leader Obby Khan, who has used question period in recent weeks to deride Madan as a “CBC buddy” of Kinew who runs a “work from home” trade 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 is preposterous. Like outrageous, absurd,” Khan said Wednesday in an interview. “Three hundred and eighty seven thousand for a career journalist who’s untested in this industry? That is almost the same amount of money that the prime minister of Canada is making.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney will earn $406,000 this year.
Khan said Madan “has not secured a single trade deal for Manitoba” and is earning “eight times what an average salary in Manitoba is for someone at a time a lot of people can’t pay their bills and buy food and groceries.”
The premier’s office noted Madan’s salary is in line with what some other provinces are paying for trade representatives and lobbyists, such as Ontario’s David Paterson, a former executive with General Motors, Manulife and BlackBerry, 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 noted.
Khan said Manitoba would be better off hiring an experienced trade representative or lobbying firm, like Ontario did.
Madan could not be reached for comment late Wednesday.
According to his biography on LinkedIn, 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 D.C. correspondent for two years.
“I’ve covered Washington for almost a decade, so I know the players,” Madan said in June.
“I’ve got a fairly decent Rolodex, and my role is to just be a facilitator [and] help get those meetings that could potentially lead to something lucrative down the road.”
The disclosure of Madan’s salary followed a three-month effort by CBC News to learn his compensation.
CBC News filed a freedom-of-information request on July 7, asking for Madan’s salary as well as a breakdown of the annual budget for the Washington office, including the travel budget.
The request was due on Aug. 21 under Manitoba’s freedom of information laws. As of Oct. 15, the record had not been released.
