The Ontario Sunshine List just dropped in 2026 and here's who took home the most

The 2025 Ontario Sunshine List has officially been released. 

The annual list, first introduced in 1996 by former Premier Mike Harris, discloses the salaries of any public service employee in Ontario who earns over $100,000 per year. 

The Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act, 1996, applies to organizations such as Crown agencies, the provincial government, hospitals, school boards, universities, and colleges, to name a few. 

Over 400,000 individuals are included in this year's Sunshine List, including the former president and CEO of Ontario Power Generation (OPG), Kenneth Hartwick, who, with a salary of just over $1.9 million, was once again the highest-paid civil servant in Ontario in 2025. 

OPG employees were well-represented on the list this year, which included current president and CEO, Nicolle Butcher, who brought in a salary just under $1.6 million last year, as well as Chief Nuclear Officer, Steve Gregoris, who was in third place with a salary of $1,092,855. 

Other familiar names on the list included Premier Doug Ford, who took home a salary of $269,567 in 2025 (up from $208,974 in 2024), Mayor Olivia Chow ($240,349), Opposition Leader Marit Stiles ($233,334), Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca ($218,544), Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw ($445,366), Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay ($327,439) and Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown ($154,248).

In total, 50 individuals from Ford's office made the list this year, which is up from 47 in 2024. 

Other names to appear on the list include Toronto City Manager Paul Johnson ($523,925), TMU President and Vice-Chancellor Mohamed Lachemi ($471,070), and University of Toronto President Melanie Woodin ($440,866). 

TTC CEO Mandeep Lali also earned $288,461.25 in 2025, despite only being appointed halfway through the year. 

Here are the top 10 highest-paid employees in Ontario for 2025:

1. Kenneth Hartwick, Special Advisor at Ontario Power Generation: $1,907,409
2. Nicolle Butcher, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ontario Power Generation: $1,596,218
3. Steve Gregoris, Chief Nuclear Officer of Ontario Power Generation: $1,092,855
4. Aida Cipolla, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer of Ontario Power Generation, $1,013,496
5. Subo Sinnathamby, Chief Projects Officer at Ontario Power Generation: $981,476
6. Kevin Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer of University Health Network: $939,603
7. Ronald Cohn, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Hospital For Sick Children: $880,013
8. Mark Knutson, Chief Enterprise Engineering and Chief Nuclear Engineer at Ontario Power Generation: $856,947
9. Jon Franke, Senior Vice President Nuclear at Ontario Power Generation: $826,655
10. Mark Fuller, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ontario Public Service Pension Board (Ontario Pension Board): $826,236