Who are the top paid pubic sector workers in Ontario?

Since 1996, the Ontario Government has published the annual public sector salary disclosure, commonly known as the sunshine list, naming public sector workers who earned an annual salary of $100,000 or more before income taxes and not including benefits. The primary goal of the list is to allow taxpayers to see how their tax dollars are being spent and to hold public entities accountable for their spending. Included on the list are employees of the Ontario Government, crown agencies, municipalities, hospitals, boards of public health, school boards, universities and colleges, Ontario Power Generation, and other public sector employers who receive substantial funding from the provincial government, such as the Toronto Region Conservation Authority.

A record high of 377,666 individuals were included in the 2024 disclosure, up 25% from 300,680 people the year before. It's the largest yearly rise in the number of people on the list. One reason for the increase is the retroactive payments issued by the government following the repeal of Ontario's Bill 124, which had limited public sector salary increases to 1% for a certain period. This law was challenged and declared unconstitutional in 2024, leading to retroactive payments for those affected. These payments pushed the earnings of some individuals above the $100,000 threshold, qualifying them to be included on the list who otherwise would not have been included.

Three of the top five worked for Ontario Power Generation

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) executives claimed six spots on the top 10, including first through third. The highest-paid public sector worker in 2024 was Kenneth Hartwick, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ontario Power Generation, with a salary of $2,010,895. Hartwick’s salary was twice that of fellow OPG executive Nicolle Butcher, who serves as the organization’s Chief Operating Officer and ranked second on the list with a salary of $978,380. Steve Gregoris, Chief Nuclear Officer at OPG, was third, earning $919,310. Former Metrolinx CEO Phil Vester was fourth on the list with a salary of $883,990, and the current president and CEO of the University Health Network, Kevin Smith, was fifth with a salary of $883,097.

The 2024 Sunshine List includes employees from more than 2,200 organizations. The Toronto District School Board had the most employees on the list with 14,032, followed by the City of Toronto with 10,256. Ontario Power Generation was third with 10,007. Fourth on the list was the Peel District School Board with 9,004 employees and the York Region District School Board with 7,314. It’s important to note that teachers were part of the group that received retroactive payments following the repeal of Bill 124.

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