Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities and post-secondary sectors.
The bright list names public sector employees who have a salary of more than $100,000 by 2023.
The top earner on this year’s list was Ontario Power Generation (OPG) president and CEO Ken Hartwick, with a salary of more than $1.9 million.
In total, the five highest earners in Ontario’s public sector in 2023 were executives employed by OPG. More than 9,300 other employees are also on the bright list.
Some of the other top earners on the list include:
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Ronald Cohn, President and CEO of Hospital for Sick Children ($851,414)
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Kevin Smith, President and CEO of University Health Network ($844,992)
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Phil Verster, CEO of Metrolinx ($838,097)
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Ontario Pension Board President and CEO Mark Fuller ($826,539)
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Ontario Health CEO Matthew Anderson ($821,000)
This year, a total of 300,570 employees were on the list, up from 266,948 in 2022.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s salary remains unchanged from 2022, standing at $208,974. This is less than some of his employees, including his chief of staff, whose salary is just over $324,000.
Other Cabinet ministers’ salaries are lower: Government House leader Paul Calandra and Deputy Prime Minister Sylvia Jones earn $165,851.
At the municipal level, the listed Toronto city manager earns $417,216 while Peel’s police chief earns $423,050.
TTC CEO Rick Leary earned $562,325 in 2023, representing a nearly 19 percent increase over his 2022 salary.
Meanwhile, Toronto Police Chief Myron Denkiw earned $289,029 and Toronto Fire Chief Mathew Pegg earned $289,509.
Salaries of other public figures:
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Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore ($464,148)
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Ontario Chief Coroner Dr. Dirk Huyer ($455,091)
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Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Thomas Carrique ($373,472)
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Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles ($174,950)
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Former Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie ($129,438)
Is 100K too low a threshold for the Sunshine List?
The number of people on the sun list has almost doubled since 2018.
The list was first launched in 1996 as part of legislation aimed at encouraging transparency in Ontario spending.
The threshold has not changed since then, despite inflation and a generally higher cost of living.
Taking inflation into account, $100,000 in 1996 would be equivalent to about $180,000 in 2024.
However, Government House leader Paul Calandra said there is no plan to change this threshold while speaking to reporters in Queen’s Park on Thursday.
“I think it is an important document that serves people by highlighting the salaries of public employees.”
The province’s official opposition agreed, saying $100,000 is still a lot of money in an affordability crisis.
The Ontario government must publish the sunshine list by March 31 of each year under legislation.