Ontario Sunshine List 2021

Ontario’s 2021 sunshine list: every disclosed public-sector salary for the year, with top earners, sectors, and employers.

244,456
employees disclosed
$123,742
average salary
$111,295
median salary
$1,628,246
highest salary

In 2021, 244,456 employees at 2,135 Ontario public-sector employers were disclosed on the province’s sunshine list. The average disclosed salary was $123,742 and the median was $111,295 — the disclosure covers only employees above the $100,000 threshold in force that year, not the entire public-sector workforce.

Compared with 2020, the list grew by 38,601 names (+19%, from 205,855 to 244,456), and the average disclosed salary fell 1.7% from $125,870.

The highest-paid person on the 2021 list was Kenneth Hartwick (President and Chief Executive Officer) at Ontario Power Generation, at $1,628,246. The full top 25 is below; for interactive filtering of all 244,456 records, use the data explorer or see the Ontario dashboard for the latest year.

Highest-paid public-sector employees in Ontario, 2021

Top 25 by salary on the 2021 disclosure. Click a name for their full year-by-year profile.

#NamePositionEmployerSalary
1Kenneth HartwickPresident and Chief Executive OfficerOntario Power Generation$1,628,246
2Dominique MiniereChief Strategy OfficerOntario Power Generation$1,523,519
3Sean GranvilleChief Operations Officer and Chief Nuclear OfficerOntario Power Generation$1,064,429
4Michael MartelliChief Projects OfficerOntario Power Generation$1,010,834
5Kevin SmithPresident and Chief Executive OfficerUniversity Health Network$845,092
6Phil VersterPresident and Chief Executive Officer/Président et chef de la directionMetrolinx$838,961
7Matthew AndersonChief Executive Officer/Chef de la directionOntario Health$826,000
8Mark FullerPresident and Chief Executive Officer / Président et chef de la directionOntario Public Service Pension Board (Ontario Pension Board)$805,247
9Penny SutcliffeMedical Officer of HealthPublic Health Sudbury And Districts$800,726
10Andy SmithPresident, Chief Executive OfficerSunnybrook Health Sciences Centre$799,615
11Dietmar ReinerSenior Vice President Refurbishment TransitionOntario Power Generation$788,714
12Ronald CohnPresident and Chief Executive OfficerThe Hospital For Sick Children$780,013
13Timothy RutledgePresident and Chief Executive OfficerUnity Health Toronto$776,412
14Thomas StewartChief Executive Officer, St. Joseph’s Health SystemSt. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton$755,797
15Christopher GintherExecutive Vice President Business Strategy and Commercial ManagementOntario Power Generation$735,824
16William ReichmanPresident and Chief Executive OfficerBaycrest Centre For Geriatric Care$722,875
17David G. VingoeChair and Chief Executive Officer / Président et chef de la directionOntario Securities Commission$709,692
18Kenneth BossPsychiatrist/PsychiatreNorth Bay Regional Health Centre$687,964
19Gary NewtonPresident and Chief Executive OfficerSinai Health System$684,005
20Michelle DiEmanueleSecretary of the CabinetTrillium Health Partners$682,500
21Mark KnutsonChief Enterprise Engineering and Chief Nuclear EngineerOntario Power Generation$658,384
22Gadi MaymanChief Executive OfficerOntario Financing Authority$653,831
23Catherine ZahnPresident and Chief Executive Officer / Présidente-directrice généraleCentre For Addiction And Mental Health$650,455
24Steve GregorisSenior Vice President DarlingtonOntario Power Generation$639,224
25Robert MacisaacPresident and Chief Executive OfficerHamilton Health Sciences$636,063

2021 salary by sector

SectorEmployeesAvg SalaryTop Salary
School Boards80,447$106,747$353,434
Municipalities & Services53,834$124,447$535,190
Hospitals & Boards of Public Health30,580$122,942$845,092
Universities23,096$157,027$623,067
Government of Ontario – Ministries20,312$129,947$555,607
Crown Agencies9,811$131,464$838,961
Other Public Sector Employers8,796$133,289$565,490
Ontario Power Generation8,520$153,284$1,628,246
Colleges7,864$119,722$432,959
Government of Ontario – Judiciary630$239,839$375,007
Government of Ontario – Legislative Assembly and Offices424$138,389$385,023
Seconded (Education)*100$113,418$247,862
Seconded (Solicitor General)*28$128,385$174,150
Seconded (Children, Community and Social Services)*6$109,327$115,986
Seconded (Health)*5$156,071$251,079
Seconded (Attorney General)*2$109,790$119,257
Seconded (Cabinet Office)*1$682,500$682,500

Largest employers on the 2021 list

The 15 employers with the most disclosed employees in 2021.

EmployerSectorEmployeesAvg Salary
Toronto District School BoardSchool Boards10,549$106,745
Ontario Power GenerationOntario Power Generation8,401$152,941
City Of TorontoMunicipalities & Services7,345$124,448
Peel District School BoardSchool Boards6,323$106,019
Ontario Provincial PoliceGovernment of Ontario – Ministries5,370$130,461
City Of Toronto - Police ServiceMunicipalities & Services5,025$130,769
University Of TorontoUniversities4,984$161,855
York Region District School BoardSchool Boards4,720$106,399
Toronto Catholic District School BoardSchool Boards3,779$106,118
Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School BoardSchool Boards3,391$106,074
City Of OttawaMunicipalities & Services3,285$119,437
City Of Toronto - Toronto Transit CommissionMunicipalities & Services3,277$116,704
Ottawa-Carleton District School BoardSchool Boards3,000$109,570
Thames Valley District School BoardSchool Boards2,835$105,815
Solicitor GeneralGovernment of Ontario – Ministries2,788$123,498

Other years

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Ontario Sunshine List 2020·Ontario Sunshine List 2022

The Sunshine List, explained: 30 years of disclosure

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 244,456 in 2021 — roughly 54× 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.