Here are the top public sector earners in Waterloo Region and Guelph

Grand River Hospital in Kitchener is seen on June 8, 2022. (Alison Sandstrom/CTV Kitchener)

The highest paid public sector employees in Waterloo Region and Guelph work in healthcare administration and post-secondary education, according to Ontario’s 2023 sunshine list.

Released Thursday, the annual list names public sector workers with salaries surpassing $100,000.

The top earner on this year's list was Ontario Power Generation President (OPG) and CEO Ken Hartwick, with a salary of more than $1.9 million.

In total, all five of the highest earners in Ontario’s public sector in 2023 were executives employed by OPG.

Here’s a look at the highest-paid public sector employees in Waterloo Region and Guelph:

Is $100,000 too low a threshold for the sunshine list?

This year, a total of 300,570 employees made the Ontario sunshine list, up from 266,948 in 2022 and nearly double the number of names on the 2018 list.

The list was first launched in 1996 as part of legislation meant to encourage transparency in Ontario spending.

The threshold has not changed since then, despite inflation and a generally higher cost of living.

If inflation is taken into account, $100,000 from 1996 would equate about $180,000 in 2024.

Government House Leader Paul Calandra, however, said there is no plan to change this threshold while speaking with reporters at Queen’s Park on Thursday.

“I think that it’s an important document that serves the people well in highlighting the salaries of public employees.”

The province’s official opposition agreed, saying that $100,000 is still a lot of money in an affordability crisis.

The Ontario government must release the sunshine list by March 31 every year under the legislation.

With files from CTV Toronto