Ontario’s 2017 sunshine list: every disclosed public-sector salary for the year, with top earners, sectors, and employers.
In 2017, 131,909 employees at 1,853 Ontario public-sector employers were disclosed on the province’s sunshine list. The average disclosed salary was $127,622 and the median was $115,881 — the disclosure covers only employees above the $100,000 threshold in force that year, not the entire public-sector workforce.
Compared with 2016, the list grew by 7,464 names (+6%, from 124,445 to 131,909), and the average disclosed salary rose 0.3% from $127,252.
The highest-paid person on the 2017 list was Jeffrey Lyash (President and Chief Executive Officer) at Ontario Power Generation, at $1,554,457. The full top 25 is below; for interactive filtering of all 131,909 records, use the data explorer or see the Ontario dashboard for the latest year.
Top 25 by salary on the 2017 disclosure. Click a name for their full year-by-year profile.
| Sector | Employees | Avg Salary | Top Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Municipalities & Services | 40,798 | $119,592 | $359,314 |
| Universities | 18,616 | $151,336 | $936,089 |
| School Boards | 18,254 | $112,272 | $301,875 |
| Hospitals & Boards of Public Health | 15,567 | $126,681 | $722,875 |
| Government of Ontario – Ministries | 15,235 | $124,862 | $472,397 |
| Ontario Power Generation | 7,878 | $143,603 | $1,554,457 |
| Other Public Sector Employers | 6,261 | $132,078 | $749,863 |
| Crown Agencies | 5,840 | $132,738 | $745,212 |
| Colleges | 2,350 | $123,248 | $432,959 |
| Government of Ontario – Judiciary | 621 | $204,665 | $381,691 |
| Government of Ontario – Legislative Assembly and Offices | 329 | $134,089 | $313,114 |
| Seconded (Education)* | 101 | $127,863 | $201,488 |
| Seconded (Community Safety and Correctional Services)* | 46 | $119,677 | $176,975 |
| Seconded (Children and Youth Services)* | 6 | $108,905 | $129,433 |
| Seconded (Advanced Education and Skills Development)* | 4 | $183,184 | $201,600 |
| Seconded (Attorney General)* | 1 | $109,159 | $109,159 |
| Seconded (Health and Long-Term Care)* | 1 | $101,663 | $101,663 |
| Seconded (Ministry of Labour)* | 1 | $114,438 | $114,438 |
The 15 employers with the most disclosed employees in 2017.
| Employer | Sector | Employees | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario Power Generation | Ontario Power Generation | 7,878 | $143,603 |
| Community Safety and Correctional Services / Sécurité communautaire et Services correctionnels | Government of Ontario – Ministries | 6,210 | $119,572 |
| City Of Toronto | Municipalities & Services | 5,872 | $120,027 |
| City Of Toronto - Police Service | Municipalities & Services | 4,828 | $121,603 |
| University Of Toronto | Universities | 3,738 | $159,903 |
| City Of Toronto - Toronto Transit Commission | Municipalities & Services | 2,632 | $116,658 |
| Toronto District School Board | School Boards | 2,579 | $112,119 |
| City Of Ottawa | Municipalities & Services | 2,115 | $117,721 |
| Attorney General / Procureur Général | Government of Ontario – Ministries | 1,917 | $171,956 |
| York University | Seconded (Advanced Education and Skills Development)* | 1,681 | $153,792 |
| Regional Municipality Of Peel Police Services | Municipalities & Services | 1,645 | $119,620 |
| City Of Hamilton | Municipalities & Services | 1,569 | $117,907 |
| University Of Ottawa | Universities | 1,496 | $148,829 |
| University Of Waterloo | Universities | 1,450 | $151,388 |
| University Of Western Ontario | Seconded (Advanced Education and Skills Development)* | 1,358 | $149,626 |
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 131,909 in 2017 — roughly 29× 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.