The Ontario government published the Sunshine List for 2023 on Thursday. The highest local earner in the region last year was Ron Gagnon, CEO of Grand River Hospital, who earned $585,694.56.
Gagnon ranked 50th highest on the list as the province is required to yearly disclose those who make more than $100,000 annually in Ontario.
Robert Myers, who works as director at the Perimeter Institute, received $573,500.63 in 2023, which was not far from Gagnon's earnings.
Over 300,000 individuals are on the Sunshine List, almost double the number since 2018, when 151,000 people were listed.
The list consists of thousands of local workers at universities, hospitals, police forces, and municipal governments.
The leaders of the region’s three post-secondary institutions all received substantial salaries, with John Tibbets, the president of Conestoga College, earning $494,716.07. Vivek Goel, the president of the University of Waterloo, earned $494,223.30, and Laurier’s president earned $361,470.92 in 2023.
Gagnon outearned the leaders of the other area hospitals; St. Mary’s General Hospital president Mark Fam earned $351,718.80, while Cambridge Memorial Hospital president Patrick Gaskin earned $331,340.04.
Other noteworthy names on the list include Waterloo police chief Mark Crowell, who earned $306,384.67, and Waterloo Region CAO Bruce Lauckner, who earned $331,236.50.
Waterloo Region Chair Karen Redman outearned the city mayors; she was paid $190,410.12 in 2023. Waterloo Mayor Dorothy McCabe collected $112,474.66, while Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic earned $110,619.04, and Cambridge Mayor Dorothy Liggett’s earnings were $110,375.95.
