Bay Street associate salary scale 2026

First-year associates at top Bay Street firms earn a base salary of about $135,000, and seventh-years earn about $275,000, according to The Globe and Mail's 2025 report on the first significant Bay Street raise since 2021. Below is what we know about the scale, with a source for every number.

Headline numbers

The Globe and Mail named Osler, Torys, Goodmans, Stikeman Elliott, and McCarthy Tétrault among the firms that raised associate base pay in 2025, and noted that some firms use a salary band rather than a fixed grid. We have not seen reports of a further Bay Street raise in 2026.

How the Bay Street scale works

Large Toronto firms tend to pay junior associates in near-lockstep by year of call. Changes usually happen when one large firm announces a raise and others match within weeks or months (Ultra Vires). Before 2025, the most recent changes were in 2021, when first-year pay reached $130,000, and in 2019, when student pay moved to $1,900 a week.

Median salary by year of call

NALP's first Canadian Associate Salary Survey collected data from 66 law offices across five provinces, as of January 1, 2025 (NALP). These are medians across all participating firms, so they sit below top Bay Street pay.

Bonuses

Bonuses come on top of base salary and vary widely. In NALP's survey, median performance bonuses paid in 2024 ranged from $7,925 for 2024 calls to $30,000 for 2017 calls (NALP). Ultra Vires reported in 2023 that many large Toronto firms pay discretionary associate bonuses of roughly 10 to 30 percent of salary (Ultra Vires).

Student pay

Most large Toronto firms pay summer and articling students the same weekly rate. NALP's Toronto median was $1,900 a week as of January 2025, and some firms pay more, such as Bennett Jones at $2,200 a week. Nationally, the median was $1,550 a week. See our articling and summer student salary guide.

What the scale does not show

• Hours and billable targets. Two firms with the same base salary can expect very different hours. Ask students and junior associates about typical weeks in your target group.
• Bonus structure. Some firms tie bonuses to billable hours, others to a broader review. A lower base with a reliable bonus can out-earn a higher base.
• Benefits and extras. Health and dental coverage, pension or RRSP matching, parental leave top-ups, and professional fee coverage all add real value.
• Growth past the junior years. Lockstep pay usually ends around the seventh year. After that, pay depends more on performance, practice area, and whether you move toward partnership or in-house.

Hireback: the number that matters most for students

For articling students, the salary scale matters only if the firm hires you back as an associate. Hireback was reported to be weaker than usual at several large Toronto firms in spring 2025, with students on the Canadian Law Forum compiling firm-by-firm counts well below the near-complete hireback some firms had seen in earlier years (Canadian Law Forum). Those figures are unofficial and unverified. When you compare firms, ask current associates how many students from recent classes were hired back.

How Toronto compares

NALP's first-year medians ranged from $97,000 in Ottawa to $130,000 in Toronto, with a national median of $115,000. For pay outside the large Toronto firms, see lawyer salaries across Canada.