When Ontario published its first Sunshine List in 1996, it was a short document. A six-figure public-sector salary was unusual, and the list named only a few thousand of the province's highest earners. Three decades later, the same list names hundreds of thousands of people.
Almost none of that growth is because public servants suddenly got rich. It is because the $100,000 threshold never moved.
A line frozen in time
The Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act set the bar at $100,000 in 1996 and left it there. Every year, ordinary inflation and routine raises push another wave of nurses, teachers, police officers, and mid-level managers across a line that was originally meant to capture executives.
Indexed to inflation, the 1996 threshold would sit near $185,000 today (Statistics Canada CPI). At that level the list would be dramatically smaller — and would once again mostly contain senior leadership.
Why the list keeps growing
- Inflation quietly lifts salaries above a fixed line every year.
- Sector growth — health care and education have expanded their headcounts.
- Negotiated raises compound over time, especially in unionized roles.
What it means for reading the list
Being "on the Sunshine List" no longer signals an unusually high salary. A registered nurse with overtime, a senior teacher, or an experienced police constable can all appear. The most useful way to read the data is in context — compared to peers in the same job title or employer, not against the 1996 idea of a $100,000 earner.