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In addition to the 52 oil and gas companies listed, energy equipment and services businesses made up another 18 of the top 100 firms. The 18 other sectors represented in the list each accounted for one to three per cent.

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The oil and gas sector saw an 8.9 per cent increase in market cap year-over-year, and a 32.1 per cent increase in total shareholder return. Energy equipment and services saw a 20.3 per cent market cap increase, with an 11.9 per cent TSR.

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The two sectors’ 2025 performance was reflected at the top of GGA’s annual compensation tabulations.

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Seven of Alberta’s 10 highest-paid executives were oil and gas industry leaders, including top earner Toby McKenna, CEO of Rockpoint Gas Storage, who earned nearly $44 million, mostly from expected long-term incentive payouts.

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Enbridge president and CEO Gregory Ebel ranked third at $24.39 million, followed by Canadian Natural Resources Limited executive chair N. Murray Edwards and Imperial Oil president and CEO J.R. Whelan placing fourth and fifth respectively.

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A CPKC train runs through the level crossing at 11th Street S.W. into downtown Calgary on July 30, 2026. CPKC was one of the few non-energy companies whose corporate leader laded in the top 10 earners among publicly traded Alberta companies in 2025. Brent Calver/Postmedia

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Of the top 10, only Canadian Pacific Kansas City president and CEO Keith Creel, and Stantec president and CEO Gord Johnston, were outside the sector.

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Ninety-two per cent of all named executives within the oil and gas sector received bonuses last year, up six per cent from 2024.

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“Over the past five to 10 years, as you’ve seen the energy market go through its ups and downs, you see that volatility play through in these pay outcomes,” said Landers, adding the past couple of years being fairly strong has been reflected in executive compensation.

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“It seems like, culturally, executives understand that boom-and-bust cycle, and so you see a little bit more of a willingness to sacrifice in down times,” he said.

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“You’ll see rollbacks of salaries of key executives, you might see the board take a little bit less in their cash retainers, and you might see no bonuses being paid for a year or two to preserve that cash.”

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Across all industries, 86 per cent of CEOs and 92 per cent of all named executive officers received annual incentive bonuses, the latter down slightly from the previous year.

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For most companies, the structure of executives’ pay tends to remain fairly consistent year to year, as do the metrics used to determine bonus structures.

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“What typically gets recalibrated every year is what the performance expectations are,” Landers said. “What gets you a target bonus? What gets you a maximum capped bonus? What gets you the minimum bonus?”

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Over the longer term, Dalik said she’s noticed a notable drop in the use of stock options in Alberta’s compensation structures, with shareholders voicing concerns about stock dilution.

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“It was perceived as a way of giving free money at the expense of the shareholder, so that really fell in popularity,” Dalik said.

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Instead, most companies now favour a mix of restricted stock units (RSUs), and performance stock units (PSUs), or a combination of share-based and option-based awards.

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“That’s been a big shift, and certainly a shift to the betterments of governance,” Dalik said.

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An excavator works on the Gachin Bridge, which was damaged by a U.S. airstrike, along the road between Bandar Abbas and Bandar Khamir, southern Iran on August 11, 2026. Despite lingering turmoil in the Middle East linked to attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, it didn’t upend the fortunes of those leading Alberta’s top publicly traded companies. Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images

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Long term incentive plan (LTIP) awards are generally linked to a specific time period, performance metrics or a combination of both, and can take the form of cash awards, stock options, performance shares or restricted shares.

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Of the 100 companies reviewed, 42 per cent opted to offer LTIP in the form of shares, while 31 offered a combination of shares and options.