Ontario Sunshine List is out: see the top 100 public workers earning above $100K in 2024 here

Ontario has recently unveiled its 2024 Sunshine List, which features public sector employees with salaries exceeding $100,000. Topping the list once again is Kenneth Hartwick, the president and CEO of Ontario Power Generation, with a salary slightly exceeding $2 million. This marks an increase from his earnings of $1.93 million the previous year. In fact, employees of the electricity Crown corporation dominated the top positions on the list, with six individuals in the top 10, all earning at least $800,000.

Former Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster secured the fourth spot on the list with earnings of about $884,000 before resigning in December. Additionally, three health-care CEOs made it into the top 10, including Kevin Smith of University Health Network ($883,097), Ronald Cohn of Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children ($870,013), and Matthew Anderson of Ontario Health ($833,653).

The 2024 list comprises over 377,000 names, up from 300,570 in the previous year, with total salaries exceeding $50 billion. Ontario Power Generation alone accounted for 10,007 names on the list, totaling approximately $1.68 billion in salaries.

Several college presidents also featured prominently on the list, with Conestoga president John Tibbits earning $636,106.70, Humber president Ann Marie Vaughan earning $497,880.32, and Seneca president David Agnew earning $459,778.83.

Caroline Mulroney, the president of the Treasury Board, highlighted that nearly half of the list’s growth stemmed from the school board sector, primarily due to salary adjustments, retroactive payments, and recent collective bargaining outcomes.

Interestingly, 47 individuals from the Office of the Premier made it onto the list, with six earning more than Premier Doug Ford himself ($208,974). This includes his chief of staff, Patrick Sackville, who earned $328,098. Ford and Ontario MPPs have seen their salaries frozen since 2008, but Ford hinted at potential changes in the future.

The Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act, implemented in 1996, mandates that organizations receiving public funding report individuals earning over $100,000. While there have been discussions about adjusting the threshold for inflation, no changes have been made as of yet.