Ontario has released its annual salary disclosures, nicknamed the Sunshine List, revealing that more than 400,000 publicly paid employees in the province earned over $100,000 last year.
All five of the province’s top earners worked for Ontario Power Generation, while health-care executives and the public pension board also made the top 10.
Kenneth Hartwick, listed as a special advisor to Ontario Power Generation, made the most out of any public servant in 2025. He took home a salary of $1.9 million, with a further $3,500 in taxable benefits.
Nicolle Butcher, the president and CEO, made $1.6 million. Meanwhile, OPG’s chief nuclear officer and chief financial officer both made north of $1 million.
The highest-paid non-OPG employee was Kevin Smith, the president and CEO of the University Health Network. He was paid $939,603 for 2025, along with almost $100,000 in taxable benefits.
Between his roles at Metrolinx, where he is now the leader, and Infrastructure Ontario, Michael Lindsay was paid roughly $860,000.
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Premier Doug Ford collected $269,567.49 in public pay during 2025, while his cabinet ministers, who received a pay rise last year, were given $213,939.75 each.
The number of people on the list who earned more than $100,000 jumped again significantly last year. The latest list has more than 400,000 people on it, up from roughly 375,000 in 2024.
In 2022, there were 267,000 people on the list.
President of the Treasury Board Caroline Mulroney pointed out that growth has been driven by municipal jobs, school boards and health-care workers.
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“Over 50 per cent of this year’s growth was driven by municipalities, which includes local police and fire services whose work continues to protect Ontario communities,” she wrote in a statement.
“Of the total list, more than half is comprised of public service organizations like school boards, hospitals and public boards of health, which in large part is comprised of nurses and teachers.”
The Sunshine List was first introduced in 1996, with the promise of making it easier for taxpayers to see where some of their money is being spent.
The salaries and workers captured on the list range from CEOs with pay packages nearing the $1-million mark to professors, firefighters and some transit operators or mechanics.
The annual list takes into account total compensation, including overtime or severance payments.
According to the Bank of Canada’s inflation calculator, $100,000 from 1996, when the Sunshine List was launched, is worth north of $185,017.03 in 2024. About 22,530 names on the list are over that inflationary threshold.
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