Million-dollar smiles for local execs.

The former CEO of Canadian Western Bank and the retiring head of Epcor Utilities top the Journal’s annual executive pay rankings for 2012.

Larry Pollock, who retired as CEO of Canadian Western Bank in March after guiding it to 99 straight quarters of profitability, earned $3.17 million in his final year on the job.

Don Lowry, who is scheduled to wrap up his 13-year tenure as CEO of city-owned Epcor when he retires in December, earned $2.97 million last year, up more than 14 per cent versus 2011.

The two business leaders are among 23 corporate execs employed by local publicly traded companies, quasi-public firms or government-related organizations who earned $1 million or more in total compensation for 2012.

An additional 16 local executives earned a total of $750,000 or more last year. Their pay packages include base salary, performance bonuses, stock options and other types of compensation.

The Journal’s annual compensation survey is based on company filings with regulators and data gleaned from annual reports.

The survey doesn’t include major privately owned firms such as PCL Construction or Katz Group, which are not required to disclose such information.

The Globe and Mail’s annual survey of CEO compensation at Canada’s 100 largest companies showed total median pay reached $5.6 million last year, up three per cent from the previous year.

In the U.S., median pay for top company CEOs jumped another eight per cent last year, to $9.7 million US, according to a survey by USA Today. In all, 16 CEOs south of the border pocketed $20 million US or more last year, and 63 others earned $10 million-plus.

In Canada, a total of 23 CEOs across the country earned $10 million or more last year, led by Canadian Pacific Railway boss Hunter Harrison, at $49.1 million.

The heads of three major banks and three large Calgarybased energy companies also made the $10 million club.

If they were included in the Globe’s rankings, Pollock and Lowry would have ranked 73rd and 76th, respectively.

Here’s a look at some of the other prominent local executives who earned $1 million or more in 2012:

Bob Gomes, CEO of engineering and infrastructure design consulting giant Stantec Inc., earned $2.85 million;

Richard Crook, former CEO of Liquor Stores N.A., Western Canada’s largest private liquor store chain, earned $2.6 million;

Brian Vaasjo, CEO of Capital Power, which was spun off by Epcor in 2009, took home total compensation of $2.54 million;

Dave Mowat, CEO of ATB Financial, the provincially owned bank, earned more than $2.49 million;

Leo de Bever, CEO of Alberta Investment Management Corp. (AIMCo), which manages about $70 billion of public sector pension and endowment funds, earned about $1.58 million;

Tom Orysiuk, CFO of AutoCanada Inc., the country’s only publicly traded auto dealership network, earned upwards of $1.52 million;

Patrick Priestner, AutoCanada’s CEO, earned a hair less than Orysiuk in 2012, at just over $1.52 million;

Sheldon Dyck, president of ATB’s wealth management arm, ATB Investor Services, earned over $1.39 million last year;

Linda McCurdy, the exceedingly low-profile CEO of K-Bro Linen, an industrial laundry and linen processing firm, earned more than $1.29 million;

Chris Fowler, who succeeded Pollock as CEO of Canadian Western Bank in March, earned about $1.18 million in his former role as COO;

Garth Warner, CEO of Servus CreditUnion, the largest member-owned financial services institution in Alberta, earned $1.16 million;

Rich Allen, Stantec’s senior vice-president and COO, earned $1.15 million;

Ian Wild, ATB’s executive vice-president, corporate financial services, took home total compensation of just over $1.11 million;

Stuart Lee, CFO of Capital Power, earned slightly more than $1.09 million last year;

Milica Stolic, the former CFO of McCoy Corp., a midsized oilfield equipment manufacturer, earned just under $1.08 million (McCoy’s CEO, Jim Rakievich, earned $937,000);

Jim Oosterbaan, former senior vice-president, operations at Capital Power, earned about $1.08 million;

Indira Samarasekera, president of the University of Alberta, also earned slightly less than $1.08 million;

Curtis Stange, ATB’s chief strategy and operations officer, earned just under $1.06 million last year;

Tracey Ball, the veteran executive vice-president and CFO of Canadian Western Bank, earned total compensation of just over $1.03 million;

Steve Rose, executive vicepresident, corporate services at AutoCanada, earned just over $1 million; and

Robert Espey, CEO of Red Deer-based Parkland Fuel, earned just over $1 million.