Ontario’s 2004 sunshine list: every disclosed public-sector salary for the year, with top earners, sectors, and employers.
In 2004, 23,253 employees at 785 Ontario public-sector employers were disclosed on the province’s sunshine list. The average disclosed salary was $129,255 and the median was $115,563 — the disclosure covers only employees above the $100,000 threshold in force that year, not the entire public-sector workforce.
Compared with 2003, the list grew by 2,885 names (+14%, from 20,368 to 23,253), and the average disclosed salary rose 0.7% from $128,339.
The highest-paid person on the 2004 list was Tom Parkinson (President/CEO) at Hydro One, at $1,069,442. The full top 25 is below; for interactive filtering of all 23,253 records, use the data explorer or see the Ontario dashboard for the latest year.
Top 25 by salary on the 2004 disclosure. Click a name for their full year-by-year profile.
| Sector | Employees | Avg Salary | Top Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Universities | 5,819 | $123,415 | $441,705 |
| Ontario Power Generation | 5,795 | $127,552 | $1,069,442 |
| Municipalities & Services | 2,646 | $117,763 | $283,044 |
| Government of Ontario – Ministries | 2,421 | $127,778 | $625,001 |
| Hospitals & Boards of Public Health | 2,356 | $156,071 | $612,500 |
| School Boards | 1,598 | $112,976 | $251,268 |
| Crown Agencies | 1,226 | $137,774 | $731,297 |
| Other Public Sector Employers | 630 | $131,603 | $419,574 |
| Colleges | 400 | $121,203 | $267,354 |
| Government of Ontario – Judiciary | 279 | $244,583 | $290,437 |
| Government of Ontario – Legislative Assembly and Offices | 83 | $126,754 | $207,625 |
The 15 employers with the most disclosed employees in 2004.
| Employer | Sector | Employees | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario Power Generation | Ontario Power Generation | 4,481 | $129,607 |
| University Of Toronto | Universities | 1,507 | $133,949 |
| Hydro One | Ontario Power Generation | 1,302 | $120,583 |
| Attorney General | Government of Ontario – Ministries | 1,053 | $137,621 |
| York University | Universities | 577 | $121,411 |
| City Of Toronto | Municipalities & Services | 503 | $119,072 |
| Toronto DSB | School Boards | 481 | $108,637 |
| University Of Waterloo | Universities | 453 | $120,333 |
| Comm. Safety & Corr. Services | Government of Ontario – Ministries | 443 | $113,639 |
| McMaster University | Universities | 437 | $123,994 |
| University Of Western Ontario | Universities | 427 | $119,417 |
| Queen's University | Universities | 392 | $123,481 |
| University Of Ottawa | Universities | 341 | $118,412 |
| University Of Guelph | Universities | 305 | $115,380 |
| University Health Network | Hospitals & Boards of Public Health | 291 | $166,345 |
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 23,253 in 2004 — roughly 5× 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.