As a contractor in Canada, it's because it's a way to get paid more. I've been contracting for so long I might be out of touch with current IT salaries. But when I switched in the mid 2000s 100,000 CAD was a hard cap.

Also Canadian companies don't offer equity. The option programs that I have encountered have always been they type that you lose at the end of your employment. I've also seen companies fire everyone on the eve of a takeover to cancel any options.