Nova Scotia’s 2023 compensation disclosure: every disclosed public-sector compensation for the year, with top earners, sectors, and employers.
In 2023, 6,339 employees at 61 Nova Scotia public-sector employers were disclosed on the province’s compensation disclosure (FY 2022-23, the fiscal year ending in 2023). The average disclosed compensation was $125,790 and the median was $115,283 — the disclosure covers only employees above the $100,000 threshold in force that year, not the entire public-sector workforce.
Compared with 2022, the list grew by 538 names (+9.3%, from 5,801 to 6,339), and the average disclosed compensation fell 1% from $127,095.
The highest-paid person on the 2023 list was Deep Saini at Dalhousie University, at $576,590. The full top 25 is below; for interactive filtering of all 6,339 records, use the data explorer or see the Nova Scotia dashboard for the latest year.
Nova Scotia's $100,000 disclosure threshold has been unchanged since the Act passed in 2010 and is not indexed to inflation, so the number of people disclosed grows as wages rise past a fixed line — year-over-year growth is not by itself evidence of rising pay or headcount. Two further caveats: the province paid out frozen public-sector service awards as lump sums in 2018 and 2019, which pushed a one-time cohort over the threshold in those years; and until 2019 school boards reported under the Education Act rather than this Act, so their earlier figures come from a differently-titled (but equivalent) remuneration schedule.
Top 25 by compensation on the 2023 disclosure. Click a name for their full year-by-year profile.
| Sector | Employees | Avg Compensation | Top Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Universities & Colleges | 2,644 | $139,142 | $576,590 |
| Health | 2,416 | $116,973 | $394,390 |
| Education | 1,048 | $110,388 | $177,793 |
| Government Agencies | 104 | $142,574 | $202,816 |
| Crown Corporations | 84 | $131,152 | $256,614 |
| Community Services | 27 | $124,369 | $167,584 |
| Housing | 10 | $129,802 | $188,400 |
| Culture & Recreation | 6 | $116,016 | $132,080 |
The 15 employers with the most disclosed employees in 2023.
| Employer | Sector | Employees | Avg Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nova Scotia Health Authority | Health | 2,097 | $116,348 |
| Dalhousie University | Universities & Colleges | 1,215 | $147,182 |
| Halifax Regional Centre for Education | Education | 385 | $111,285 |
| Nova Scotia Community College | Universities & Colleges | 295 | $115,813 |
| Saint Mary's University | Universities & Colleges | 273 | $147,500 |
| Izaak Walton Killam Health Centre | Health | 259 | $120,957 |
| St Francis Xavier University | Universities & Colleges | 226 | $133,089 |
| Acadia University | Universities & Colleges | 193 | $135,142 |
| Cape Breton Victoria Regional Centre for Education | Education | 193 | $107,563 |
| Cape Breton University | Universities & Colleges | 192 | $129,272 |
| Chignecto Central Regional Centre for Education | Education | 166 | $110,114 |
| Mount Saint Vincent University | Universities & Colleges | 134 | $138,211 |
| Annapolis Valley Regional Centre for Education | Education | 109 | $111,114 |
| Nova Scotia Legal Aid Commission | Government Agencies | 87 | $141,847 |
| South Shore Regional Centre for Education | Education | 68 | $109,651 |
← Nova Scotia Sunshine List 2022·Nova Scotia Sunshine List 2024 →