Let’s address the slightly guilty thought everyone has when they hear “public salaries are public”: can I look up someone I know? The answer is yes — completely legally — and here is how it works.
Why these salaries are public in the first place
The logic is accountability. When taxpayers fund a salary, the public has a right to know how their money is spent. So provinces publish annual disclosures listing employees above the threshold by name, employer, position, salary and taxable benefits. It is transparency by design — not a leak.
How to actually find a name
- Identify the right list. Salaries are disclosed by the province or public body that employs the person — provinces, municipalities, universities, hospitals, school boards and Crown corporations each report.
- Use a fast search. The raw government files are huge, so a clean search tool saves hours — start at our search page or browse by employer.
- Read the columns carefully. “Salary paid” and “taxable benefits” are separate. Overtime is usually baked into the salary figure, which is why some lower-ranked roles show surprisingly high numbers.
The etiquette (and the limits)
- It is only the disclosed figure. You see gross pay, not net, and not their full financial picture.
- Overtime distorts comparisons. A name at $130,000 might be base $95,000 plus a brutal year of overtime.
- It is a snapshot. One year on the list doesn’t define a career.
Found a salary that surprised you? See what it actually pays after tax with our take-home calculator.