What is that salary
worth today?
Adjust any Canadian salary for inflation with Statistics Canada CPI. A six-figure salary from years ago buys far less now — see the real difference, and whether a raise actually got ahead.
Estimate only, based on Statistics Canada CPI — for general comparison, not financial advice.
The $100k that shrank
Ontario's threshold hasn't moved since 1996.
Ontario's Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act set its threshold at $100,000 in 1996 — and it has never been raised. In real terms, $100,000 in 1996 is worth about $186,277.00 today. So the "Sunshine List" now captures a far wider slice of the public service than it did at launch — a nurse, a senior police officer, or a high-school principal can cross a line that once meant a senior executive.
Explore the Ontario listReading pay in real terms
A nominal salary is the dollar figure on the disclosure. A real salary adjusts that figure for inflation so you can compare across years. If pay rose 15% over a decade while prices rose 30%, take-home actually fell in real terms — the raise didn't keep up.
This tool uses the Consumer Price Index (all-items, Canada) published by Statistics Canada. To see whether a real person's pay beat inflation, open any profile and compare their year-over-year history; to project after-tax pay, use the take-home calculator.
Common questions
How do you adjust a salary for inflation?
Multiply the salary by the ratio of the Consumer Price Index in the target year to the CPI in the original year. This converts a past salary into today’s dollars so amounts from different years are comparable.
What is $100,000 in 1996 worth today?
About $186,277.00 in 2025 dollars. Because Ontario’s Sunshine List threshold has stayed at $100,000 since 1996, it now captures many more workers in real terms.
Did a raise beat inflation?
Compare the inflation-adjusted value of the old salary to the new salary. If the new figure is higher than the old salary grown by CPI, the raise beat inflation; if lower, real buying power fell.
Where does the inflation data come from?
Statistics Canada’s Consumer Price Index (all-items, Canada, annual average). The most recent year is provisional until StatCan finalizes it.