The Ontario government released the Sunshine List for 2023 on Thursday. The top local wage earner in the region last year was Grand River Hospital CEO Ron Gagnon who took home $585,694.56.
Gagnon ranked 50th highest on the list as the province is mandated to annually release those who earn more than $100,000 annually in Ontario.
Robert Myers, who serves as director at the Perimeter Institute was not far off Gagnon, as he was paid $573,500.63 in 2023.
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Over 300,000 people are on the Sunshine List, a number which has nearly doubled since 2018 when there were 151,000 people on the list.
The list includes thousands of local employees at universities, hospitals, police forces and municipal governments.
The heads of the region’s three post-secondary institutions all took home healthy paycheques, with Conestoga College president John Tibbets leading the way at $494,716.07 while University of Waterloo president Vivek Goel was not far behind at $494,223.30. Laurier’s president earned $361,470.92 in 2023.
Gagnon far outpaced the heads of the other area hospitals as St. Mary’s General Hospital president Mark Fam took home $351,718.80 while Cambridge Memorial Hospital president Patrick Gaskin earned $331,340.04.
Other notable names on the list include Waterloo police chief Mark Crowell who was paid $306,384.67 and Waterloo Region CAO Bruce Lauckner who was paid $331,236.50.
Waterloo Region Chair Karen Redman far outpaced the city mayors as 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 paycheques came out to $110,375.95.
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