Ontario Sunshine List: These were the top paid public sector workers last year

Queen’s Park is shown in Toronto, Feb. 20, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

More than 375,000 people working in Ontario’s public sector made at least $100,000 last year, representing a 25 per cent increase in the size of the province’s annual Sunshine List.

On Friday the province published the Sunshine List, revealing a record 377,666 names are on it this year. Last year 300,680 people cracked the list.

The top earner on this year’s list was once again Ontario Power Generation President (OPG) and CEO Ken Hartwick, with a salary of more than $2 million.

Two other executives at the same organization—Nicolle Butcher, Chief Operations Officer, and Steve Gregoris, Chief Nuclear Officer—rounded out the top three highest earners, making $978,380 and $919,310, respectively.

In total, OPG executives were five of the 10 highest paid workers in the public sector in 2024.

Former Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster, who resigned last December, was fourth on the list with a salary of more than $883,000.

The presidents and CEOs for Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children and the University Health Network are also in the top 10, making $870,013 and $883,097, respectively.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford made $208,974 last year while his chief of staff, Patrick Sackville, earned $328,098. Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow raked in $225,093 in 2024 and Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown made $153,126.

Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw earned $394,229, though York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween brought in $415,231, making him the highest earning police chief in the province.

Caroline Mulroney, the treasury board’s president, noted in a news release that the reason why compensation grew year-over-year can be largely attributed to across-the-board salary adjustments, recent collective bargaining outcomes and retroactive payments in 2024.

“Nearly half of the growth on the list was driven by the school board sector, with teachers contributing to 87 per cent of this increase,” Mulroney said.

Every year the province publishes sunshine list by March 31 due to the provisions of the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act of 1996, which mandates companies that receive public funding to release the names, positions, salaries and total taxable benefits of workers who make at least $100,000.

If this list was indexed for inflation when it was launched in 1996, the starting point for inclusion would now be about $180,250.

These are the top 25 highest earners in Ontario’s public sector last year, rounded to the nearest dollar:

1. Kenneth Hartwick, CEO at OPG, $2,010,896
2. Nicolle Butcher, COO at OPG, $978,380
3. Steve Gergoris, CNO at OPG, $919,310
4. Phil Verster, Former CEO at Metrolinx $883,991
5. Kevin Smith, CEO at UHN $883,097
6. Ronald Cohn, CEO at SickKids $870,013
7. Subo Sinnathamby, CPO at OPG, $848,713
8. Aida Cipolla, CFO at OPG, $835,094
9. Matthew Anderson, CEO at Ontario Health, $823,200
10. Jon Franke, Senior Vice President Nuclear at OPG, $818,174
11. Barbara Collins, CEO at Humber River Health, $816,238
12. Mark Fuller, CEO at Ontario Public Service Pension, $815,155
13. Timothy Rutledge, CEO at Unity Health Toronto, $775,118
14. David Graham, CEO at Scarborough Health Network, $757,973
15. Mark Knutson, Chief Enterprise Engineering at OPG, $753,393
16. Christopher Ginther, Executive Vice President Business Strategy at OPG, $740,815
17. Andy Smith, CEO at Sunnybrook Health Sciences, $715,059
18. Lesley Gallinger, CEO at Independent Electricity System Operator, $710,848
19. David G. Vingoe, CEO at Ontario Securities Commission, $697,970
20. Dimitri Parra, Radiologist at SickKids, $696,550
21. Joao Amaral, Radiologist at SickKids, $693,550
22. Alessandro Gasparetto, Radiologist at SickKids, $693,550
23. Alfred Hannay, CEO at Ontario Lottery and Gaming, $688,943
24. Altaf Stationwala, CEO at MacKenzie Health, $684,007
25. Gary Newton, CEO at Sinai Health System, $684,005