Ontario’s 1997 sunshine list: every disclosed public-sector salary for the year, with top earners, sectors, and employers.
In 1997, 5,378 employees at 467 Ontario public-sector employers were disclosed on the province’s sunshine list. The average disclosed salary was $121,940 and the median was $113,833 — the disclosure covers only employees above the $100,000 threshold in force that year, not the entire public-sector workforce.
Compared with 1996, the list grew by 877 names (+19%, from 4,501 to 5,378), and the average disclosed salary rose 0.4% from $121,495.
The highest-paid person on the 1997 list was O Kupcis (PRESIDENT & CEO) at Ontario Hydro, at $717,800. The full top 25 is below; for interactive filtering of all 5,378 records, use the data explorer or see the Ontario dashboard for the latest year.
Top 25 by salary on the 1997 disclosure. Click a name for their full year-by-year profile.
| # | Name | Position | Employer | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | O Kupcis | PRESIDENT & CEO | Ontario Hydro | $717,800 |
| 2 | J Fox | EVP, MANAGING DIRECTOR, GENCO | Ontario Hydro | $410,130 |
| 3 | Michael Strofolino | President & CEO | Hosp. for Sick Children -Toronto | $409,800 |
| 4 | E Clitheroe | EXEC VP, CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER, CFO | Ontario Hydro | $407,524 |
| 5 | R Field | GENERAL MANAGER, NUCLEAR BUSINESS UNIT | Ontario Hydro | $380,000 |
| 6 | Alan Hudson | President & Chief Executive Officer | Toronto Hospital | $376,667 |
| 7 | W Farlinger | CHAIRMAN AND CEO | Ontario Hydro | $350,131 |
| 8 | John H. Wedge | Surgeon-in-Chief | Hosp. for Sick Children -Toronto | $350,004 |
| 9 | Carter Snead | Physician | Hosp. for Sick Children -Toronto | $348,823 |
| 10 | R. Scott Rowand | President & CEO | Hamilton Health Sciences Corp. | $330,476 |
| 11 | Charles G Sanford | DIRECTOR, FIELD & ENGINEERING SERVICES | Ontario Hydro | $329,331 |
| 12 | Stephen Herbert | President & CEO | Baycrest Centre For Geriatric Care | $327,001 |
| 13 | Thomas Closson | President & CEO | Sunnybrook Health Sci. Ctr.-Toronto | $319,503 |
| 14 | Michael O'Keefe | President & Chief Exec. Officer | Workplace Safety & Insurance Brd. | $315,962 |
| 15 | Robert H. Haslam | Physician | Hosp. for Sick Children -Toronto | $309,600 |
| 16 | Sandra Jelenich | President & CEO | Wellesley Central Hospital | $300,009 |
| 17 | Tony Dagnone | President & CEO | London Health Sciences Ctr. | $300,000 |
| 18 | Charles Hollenberg | President & CEO | Cancer Care Ontario | $295,219 |
| 19 | C Gyles | SR VP, CORPORATE HUMAN RESOURCES | Ontario Hydro | $287,685 |
| 20 | Wiliam Sibbald | Sr. Advisor, Critical Care | London Health Sciences Ctr. | $285,756 |
| 21 | Michael Baker | V.P. Med. Directorate & Physician-in-Chief | Toronto Hospital | $285,670 |
| 22 | Arnold Aberman | Prof. of Medicine, Dean- Faculty of Medicine | Toronto | $285,122 |
| 23 | L Leonoff | SENIOR VICE-PRES, GENERAL COUNSEL & SEC | Ontario Hydro | $281,822 |
| 24 | Jacques Labelle | President | Ottawa General Hospital | $281,804 |
| 25 | K H Talbot | SITE VICE-PRESIDENT, PICKERING | Ontario Hydro | $271,985 |
| Sector | Employees | Avg Salary | Top Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Universities | 1,439 | $116,295 | $285,122 |
| Government of Ontario – Ministries | 1,113 | $123,969 | $256,817 |
| Crown Agencies | 1,086 | $118,332 | $717,800 |
| Hospitals & Boards of Public Health | 765 | $143,842 | $409,800 |
| School Boards | 403 | $112,470 | $174,745 |
| Municipalities & Services | 323 | $113,876 | $189,062 |
| Other Public Sector Employers | 210 | $120,223 | $210,000 |
| Colleges | 39 | $117,045 | $148,547 |
The 15 employers with the most disclosed employees in 1997.
| Employer | Sector | Employees | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario Hydro | Crown Agencies | 779 | $116,704 |
| Toronto | Universities | 630 | $116,811 |
| Attorney General | Government of Ontario – Ministries | 621 | $118,654 |
| Health | Government of Ontario – Ministries | 211 | $144,512 |
| Hosp. for Sick Children -Toronto | Hospitals & Boards of Public Health | 140 | $144,814 |
| Western Ont. | Universities | 138 | $121,380 |
| Cancer Care Ontario | Crown Agencies | 123 | $118,572 |
| Ottawa | Universities | 107 | $112,375 |
| Waterloo | Universities | 90 | $109,123 |
| York | Universities | 81 | $118,354 |
| McMaster | Universities | 77 | $123,510 |
| Queen's | Universities | 74 | $118,949 |
| Hamilton Health Sciences Corp. | Hospitals & Boards of Public Health | 61 | $149,009 |
| Workplace Safety & Insurance Brd. | Crown Agencies | 60 | $121,547 |
| City Of Toronto | Municipalities & Services | 52 | $115,934 |
Ontario’s Sunshine List is the original Canadian salary disclosure: the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act, 1996, passed under the Harris government, requires every organization that receives provincial funding — ministries, municipalities, hospitals, school boards, universities, and Crown corporations — to publish the name, position, salary, and taxable benefits of every employee paid $100,000 or more. This site carries the complete disclosure record from 1996 through 2025, including the inaugural 1996 list of just 4,501 names.
The $100,000 threshold has never been adjusted for inflation. In today’s dollars it would sit near $185,000 — which is why the list has grown from 4,501 people in 1996 to 5,378 in 1997 — roughly 1× more. What began as a register of senior executives now includes nurses, teachers, police constables, and transit operators. Track that expansion year by year in 30 years of Sunshine List growth or see who tops the current list on the Ontario Sunshine List 2025 page.
Ontario’s disclosure is also one of seven this site covers — compare public-sector pay with British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Newfoundland & Labrador, New Brunswick, and Saskatchewan, each with its own threshold and disclosure rules. For how the Ontario list works — who is included, when it comes out, and what counts as salary — see the Sunshine List FAQ.