Retroactive payments and municipal workforce drive majority of increases
TORONTO — The Treasury Board Secretariat has released its annual public sector salary disclosure, revealing continued growth in the number of employees earning $100,000 or more across Ontario’s broader public sector in 2025.
In a statement issued Friday, Caroline Mulroney, President of the Treasury Board, outlined key factors behind the year-over-year increase, including retroactive payments and negotiated wage adjustments.
“Today, the Ontario government released the salaries of Ontario Public Service and broader public sector employees who were paid $100,000 or more in 2025.
Retroactive payments, collective bargaining outcomes and an additional pay period for multiple organizations were all unique factors contributing to salary increases in 2025. 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. 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.”
Municipal sector and frontline roles dominate growth
The latest disclosure — commonly referred to as Ontario’s “sunshine list” — underscores the growing role of municipal employees in driving compensation increases. According to the province, more than half of the expansion in the list stems from municipalities, including police and fire services.
This reflects both wage settlements and staffing demands in essential services, particularly as municipalities respond to population growth and public safety requirements.
At the same time, a significant portion of those appearing on the list continues to come from frontline public service sectors such as health care and education. Employees in hospitals, school boards and public health units — many of whom are nurses and teachers — make up more than half of the overall disclosure.
Legislative framework ensures transparency
The annual disclosure is mandated under the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act, 1996, which requires organizations receiving provincial funding to publish compensation details for employees earning at least $100,000 in the previous calendar year.
“The Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act, 1996 requires organizations that receive public funding from the Province of Ontario to make public, by March 31 each year, the names, positions, salaries and total taxable benefits of employees paid $100,000 or more in the previous calendar year.
The Act applies to the provincial government, Crown agencies and corporations, Ontario Power Generation and subsidiaries, publicly funded organizations such as hospitals, municipalities, school boards, universities and colleges, and not-for-profit organizations that receive $1 million or more, or receive between $120,000 and $1 million if the provincial government funding they receive is 10 per cent or more of their gross revenues.”
The legislation, first introduced in the mid-1990s, remains a cornerstone of Ontario’s public accountability framework, offering taxpayers insight into how public funds are allocated across a wide range of institutions.
Data made accessible in digital format
The province emphasized that this year’s dataset has been made available in a more accessible and user-friendly format. The information can be downloaded as a machine-readable file, allowing for easier analysis by media, researchers and the public.
“The 2025 data is available in a downloadable, machine-readable, sortable, searchable table format on Ontario.ca/salarydisclosure, making it transparent and accessible to the people of Ontario.”
The digital format reflects a broader push toward open data initiatives across government, aimed at improving transparency and enabling more detailed scrutiny of public sector compensation trends.
Continued scrutiny amid rising compensation levels
The annual release often draws attention to the growing number of public sector employees surpassing the $100,000 threshold, a benchmark that has remained unchanged since the legislation was enacted in 1996.
With inflation and wage growth over nearly three decades, the threshold now captures a broader segment of the workforce, particularly in specialized and high-demand roles such as healthcare, education and emergency services.
As Ontario continues to navigate fiscal pressures and workforce demands, the salary disclosure remains a key tool for public accountability — and a focal point in ongoing discussions about compensation, recruitment and retention across the province’s public sector.