Ontario Sunshine List Dashboard

The Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act made the Ontario Sunshine List possible for the first time in 1996. The annual disclosure was created by the provincial government to make the public sector more open and accountable. It requires organizations that receive taxpayer funding to publish the names, positions, and salaries of all workers earning more than $100,000 a year. At the time, the threshold was chosen to reflect a fairly high income range and to show how state institutions compensated their employees.

In 1997, the first Sunshine List was released with fewer than 4,000 people on it. As wages in the public sector have increased over the years, so too has the number of employees included. Today, the list has grown to cover more than 200,000 employees across a wide range of jobs — including teachers, nurses, police officers, and executives at hospitals, colleges, and government agencies.

One of the most controversial aspects of the Sunshine List is that the $100,000 limit has never been adjusted for inflation. A six-figure salary represented far more purchasing power in 1996 than it does today. Critics argue that the list is no longer about “exceptionally high salaries” but instead reflects normal wage growth, particularly in unionized sectors where regular annual increases are common.

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When the Sunshine List was introduced in 1996, earning $100,000 placed an employee well into the top income brackets. Adjusted for inflation, that same amount would be worth roughly $170,000–$180,000 today. In other words, a salary that once signaled “executive-level pay” has become far more common across middle management and specialized professional roles.

For example, a nurse, police sergeant, or high school principal may now appear on the list simply because of cost-of-living adjustments and union-negotiated wage increases over three decades. This has shifted the Sunshine List from a tool highlighting a small group of top earners to one that captures a much broader slice of the public workforce.

Despite these debates, the Sunshine List remains a valuable tool for researchers, journalists, and the public. It highlights how much the government spends on wages, tracks compensation trends over time, and enables comparisons across fields such as healthcare, education, law enforcement, and management. The data is also used in collective bargaining discussions and policy debates about public sector pay.

After nearly 30 years, the Ontario Sunshine List continues to capture public attention each spring when the latest edition is released. Whether viewed as an example of transparency or as an outdated measure in need of reform, the list has undeniably shaped how Ontarians understand public sector compensation and accountability in government spending.

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