The Ontario sunshine list dropped and the top earner made over $2M in public funds last year
If you've ever been curious who's getting the biggest public paycheques in Ontario, wonder no longer. The latest Ontario sunshine list is here, and it reveals some eye-popping salaries across the province — including the highest-earning public employees funded by your tax dollars.
The Ontario sunshine list is a public database of all public-sector employees in Ontario who makes at least $100,000 in salary in a given year. That includes workers at hospitals, universities, school boards, Crown corporations and more — basically any organization that gets significant provincial funding.
The 2024 list, released on Friday, features some familiar names earning massive salaries. And when it comes to the top earners, one organization dominates.
According to the latest public salary disclosure, half of the province's top 10 highest-paid public employees in 2024 worked for Ontario Power Generation (OPG) — a Crown corporation wholly owned by the provincial government that produces around half of the electricity in Ontario.
In fact, Kenneth Hartwick, OPG's president and CEO, brought home an eye-watering $2 million in public funds — over twice the salary of anyone else on the list. With over 10,000 employees making $100K or more last year — making up more than $1.7 billion of the total sunshine list — it's clear that OPG is a major player in the province.
Notable Toronto public figures high on the list who didn't quite make the top 10 include TTC CEO Richard Leary, who earned just under $695K including benefits, and Toronto City Manager Paul Johnson, who made just over $495K. Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw pulled in over $405K all-in.
Meanwhile, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow made around $226K in her first full year on the job, while Premier Doug Ford's reported total compensation was just over $209K.
So who made the most money? Here are the 10 highest-paid public sector employees in Ontario in 2024, based on salary plus taxable benefits:
- Kenneth Hartwick (President and CEO, Ontario Power Generation) — $2,018,436
- Nicolle Butcher (Chief Operations Officer, Ontario Power Generation) — $979,739
- Kevin Smith (President and CEO, University Health Network) — $977,024
- Steve Gregoris (Chief Nuclear Officer, Ontario Power Generation) — $922,902
- Phil Verster (President and CEO, Metrolinx) — $897,817
- Ronald Cohn (President and CEO, The Hospital For Sick Children) — $887,710
- Subo Sinnathamby (Chief Projects Officer, Ontario Power Generation) — $852,350
- Barbara Collins (President and CEO, Humber River Health) — $838,436
- Aida Cipolla (CFO and Corporate Services Officer, Ontario Power Generation) — $837,533
- Matthew Anderson (CEO, Ontario Health) — $833,653
According to the province, big increases in the school board sector helped drive nearly half of the overall growth in the 2024 list, with teachers accounting for 87% of that sector's jump.
The list is based on salaries reported by individual employers and does not amalgamate multiple entries for the same person — which means that if someone makes money from multiple publicly funded sources, only the ones over $100K will be reported, and they won't all be added together.
The full sunshine list is available on the Ontario government website and includes over 300,000 entries this year — all searchable, sortable and downloadable for your scrolling pleasure.
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