Ontario’s 2005 sunshine list: every disclosed public-sector salary for the year, with top earners, sectors, and employers.
In 2005, 27,461 employees at 834 Ontario public-sector employers were disclosed on the province’s sunshine list. The average disclosed salary was $127,926 and the median was $115,653 — the disclosure covers only employees above the $100,000 threshold in force that year, not the entire public-sector workforce.
Compared with 2004, the list grew by 4,208 names (+18%, from 23,253 to 27,461), and the average disclosed salary fell 1% from $129,255.
The highest-paid person on the 2005 list was Tom Parkinson (President/CEO) at Hydro One, at $1,563,222. The full top 25 is below; for interactive filtering of all 27,461 records, use the data explorer or see the Ontario dashboard for the latest year.
Top 25 by salary on the 2005 disclosure. Click a name for their full year-by-year profile.
| Sector | Employees | Avg Salary | Top Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Universities | 6,753 | $125,368 | $581,868 |
| Ontario Power Generation | 6,004 | $127,232 | $1,563,222 |
| Municipalities & Services | 3,438 | $117,148 | $282,894 |
| Government of Ontario – Ministries | 2,827 | $126,944 | $348,204 |
| Hospitals & Boards of Public Health | 2,763 | $153,005 | $599,026 |
| School Boards | 2,530 | $111,160 | $296,029 |
| Crown Agencies | 1,466 | $140,189 | $728,767 |
| Other Public Sector Employers | 611 | $128,453 | $637,520 |
| Government of Ontario – Judiciary | 512 | $164,165 | $234,924 |
| Colleges | 469 | $122,922 | $296,124 |
| Government of Ontario – Legislative Assembly and Offices | 88 | $126,829 | $205,224 |
The 15 employers with the most disclosed employees in 2005.
| Employer | Sector | Employees | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario Power Generation | Ontario Power Generation | 4,945 | $127,606 |
| University Of Toronto | Universities | 1,609 | $135,509 |
| Attorney General | Government of Ontario – Ministries | 1,103 | $138,709 |
| Hydro One | Ontario Power Generation | 1,044 | $125,632 |
| City Of Toronto | Municipalities & Services | 732 | $117,947 |
| York University | Universities | 691 | $123,260 |
| Comm. Safety& Corr. Services | Government of Ontario – Ministries | 604 | $114,335 |
| McMaster University | Universities | 536 | $126,287 |
| University Of Waterloo | Universities | 519 | $124,076 |
| Ontario Court Of Justice | Government of Ontario – Judiciary | 512 | $164,165 |
| Toronto DSB | School Boards | 504 | $108,526 |
| Queen's University | Universities | 502 | $124,326 |
| University Of Western Ontario | Universities | 490 | $121,355 |
| University Of Ottawa | Universities | 369 | $119,714 |
| University Of Guelph | Universities | 344 | $116,688 |
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 27,461 in 2005 — roughly 6× 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.