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Ontario released its 2025 Sunshine List Friday, the annual list that documents public sector employees with salaries of over $100,000, with former Ontario Power Generation President and CEO Kenneth Hartwick topping it yet again with a salary of just over $1.9 million.
Employees of the electricity Crown corporation held the top five spots on the list and seven of the top ten, with all but one coming in at a salary over $1 million. Current President and CEO Nicolle Butcher came in second with a salary of almost $1.6 million.
Hartwick also took top spot last year with a salary of just over $2 million.
University Health Network President and CEO Kevin Smith came in sixth on the list, making $939,603 last year. SickKids President and CEO Ronald Cohn was seventh, earning $880,013.
Premier Doug Ford, meanwhile, made $269,567 last year. There are 50 people from the Premier’s office on the list this year, up from 47 the year prior.
Ford’s former chief of staff, Patrick Sackville, is higher on the list than his former boss, with a salary of $340,717.
You can see the top 100 earners at the bottom of this story.
The number of public sector employees making over $100,000 has grown, coming in at 404,922 this year compared to 377,881 last year.
The salary amount to get on the list has not changed since 1996. When adjusted for inflation, that amount of money would be equal to about $185,000 in 2025 dollars.
Treasury Board President Caroline Mulroney said in a statement accompanying the Sunshine List’s release that things like retroactive payments and collective bargaining outcomes were “unique factors” that contributed to salary increases.
“Over 50 per cent of this year’s growth was driven by municipalities, which includes local police and fire services whose work continues to protect Ontario communities,” she said.
“Of the total list, more than half is comprised of public service organizations like school boards, hospitals and public boards of health, which in large part is comprised of nurses and teachers.”
