Ontario’s 2009 sunshine list: every disclosed public-sector salary for the year, with top earners, sectors, and employers.
In 2009, 64,218 employees at 1,231 Ontario public-sector employers were disclosed on the province’s sunshine list. The average disclosed salary was $128,542 and the median was $115,274 — the disclosure covers only employees above the $100,000 threshold in force that year, not the entire public-sector workforce.
Compared with 2008, the list grew by 10,401 names (+19%, from 53,817 to 64,218), and the average disclosed salary fell 0.2% from $128,841.
The highest-paid person on the 2009 list was James F. Hankinson (President & Chief Executive Officer) at Ontario Power Generation, at $2,150,116. The full top 25 is below; for interactive filtering of all 64,218 records, use the data explorer or see the Ontario dashboard for the latest year.
Top 25 by salary on the 2009 disclosure. Click a name for their full year-by-year profile.
| # | Name | Position | Employer | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James F. Hankinson | President & Chief Executive Officer | Ontario Power Generation | $2,150,116 |
| 2 | Thomas Mitchell | President & Chief Executive Officer | Ontario Power Generation | $1,011,334 |
| 3 | Laura Formusa | President & Chief Executive Officer | Hydro One | $975,176 |
| 4 | Matthew Teitelbaum | Michael and Sonja Koerner Director and Chief Executive Officer | Art Gallery Of Ontario | $945,498 |
| 5 | William R. Robinson | Senior Vice President, Nuclear Refurbishment | Ontario Power Generation | $875,648 |
| 6 | Albert F. Sweetnam | Executive Vice President, Darlington New Nuclear Project | Ontario Power Generation | $808,305 |
| 7 | Pierre R. Charlebois | Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer | Ontario Power Generation | $784,717 |
| 8 | Robert S. Bell | President/Chief Executive Officer | University Health Network | $753,992 |
| 9 | Amit Chakma | Vice-Pres. Academic & Provost | University Of Waterloo | $737,640 |
| 10 | Clifford Nordal | President/CEO, London Health Sciences Centre/St. Joseph's Health Care, London | St. Joseph's Health Care, London | $732,240 |
| 11 | Barry McLellan | President/Chief Executive Officer | Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre | $716,010 |
| 12 | John D. Murphy | Executive Vice President, Hydro | Ontario Power Generation | $709,175 |
| 13 | Mary J. Haddad | President/Chief Executive Officer | The Hospital For Sick Children | $702,000 |
| 14 | William Reichman | President/Chief Executive Officer | Baycrest Centre For Geriatric Care | $701,844 |
| 15 | Joseph Mapa | President & Chief Executive Officer | Mount Sinai Hospital | $700,534 |
| 16 | Robert Roberts | President/Chief Executive Officer | University Of Ottawa Heart Institute | $689,827 |
| 17 | W. David Wilson | Chair | Ontario Securities Commission | $668,316 |
| 18 | John B. Kitts | President | The Ottawa Hospital | $663,567 |
| 19 | Graham Sher | Chief Executive Officer | Canadian Blood Services | $651,674 |
| 20 | Kevin P. Smith | President & Chief Executive Officer | St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton | $633,906 |
| 21 | Murray Martin | President/Chief Executive Officer | Hamilton Health Sciences | $625,416 |
| 22 | Donn W. Hanbidge | Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer | Ontario Power Generation | $619,029 |
| 23 | William Moriarty | President and Chief Executive Officer, University of Toronto Asset Management Corporation | University Of Toronto | $605,728 |
| 24 | Mark Rochon | President/Chief Executive Officer | Toronto Rehabilitation Institute | $604,368 |
| 25 | Paul M. Murphy | President & Chief Executive Officer | Independent Electricity System Operator | $591,716 |
The 15 employers with the most disclosed employees in 2009.
| Employer | Sector | Employees | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario Power Generation | Ontario Power Generation | 7,898 | $136,307 |
| Hydro One | Ontario Power Generation | 2,558 | $126,023 |
| Community Safety & Correctional Services | Government of Ontario – Ministries | 2,377 | $114,641 |
| University Of Toronto | Universities | 2,370 | $145,529 |
| City Of Toronto | Municipalities & Services | 2,072 | $121,272 |
| Attorney General | Government of Ontario – Ministries | 1,578 | $157,867 |
| City Of Toronto - Police Service | Municipalities & Services | 1,330 | $112,118 |
| York University | Universities | 1,239 | $134,051 |
| Toronto District School Board | School Boards | 994 | $115,101 |
| University Of Western Ontario | Universities | 894 | $134,995 |
| McMaster University | Universities | 883 | $137,426 |
| University Of Ottawa | Universities | 861 | $130,179 |
| University Of Waterloo | Universities | 845 | $137,474 |
| Queen's University | Universities | 839 | $134,916 |
| City Of Toronto - Toronto Transit Commission | Municipalities & Services | 724 | $113,712 |
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 64,218 in 2009 — roughly 14× 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.