Ottawa residents and taxpayers across Ontario got a fresh look at Queen's Park spending this week, as the province's annual Sunshine List revealed that staffing costs inside Premier Doug Ford's office grew by 11% in 2025.
By the Numbers
Fifty individuals working in the Premier's Office made the Sunshine List — Ontario's public registry of government employees earning over $100,000 — with an average salary of $162,000 each. That pushes the total compensation bill for Ford's top staff to just over $8 million for the year.
That's a significant jump from 2024, and it's drawing attention at a time when the province is navigating budget pressures, affordability concerns, and ongoing debates about public sector compensation.
What Is the Sunshine List?
The Sunshine List is released every spring and discloses the names, positions, and salaries of Ontario public sector employees earning $100,000 or more. It was introduced in 1996 as a transparency measure, and today it includes hundreds of thousands of entries across hospitals, universities, municipalities, and government offices — including Ottawa's own city staff and regional institutions.
For many Ottawans, the list is an annual ritual — a chance to see how local officials, school board administrators, and hospital executives are compensated relative to front-line workers and the broader public.
The Premier's Office in Focus
While the Sunshine List covers a vast swath of Ontario's public sector, the Premier's Office numbers tend to draw particular scrutiny. Political staff are appointed rather than hired through civil service processes, and their compensation isn't subject to the same collective bargaining frameworks that govern many other public employees.
Critics have pointed out that the 11% increase in the Premier's Office comes as many Ontarians — including those in Ottawa — are feeling the squeeze of higher costs of living, rising rents, and strained public services. Supporters of the increases argue that competitive salaries are necessary to attract qualified talent to senior government roles.
Ottawa's Stake in Provincial Spending
As Ontario's capital, Ottawa has a direct relationship with Queen's Park that goes beyond the ballot box. Provincial decisions on transit funding, healthcare infrastructure, and housing affordability have outsized impacts on Ottawa residents. When the Premier's Office expands its payroll, it's ultimately Ontario taxpayers — including those in Ottawa — footing the bill.
Local politicians and advocacy groups have increasingly called for greater transparency around political staff hiring and compensation, especially as municipalities like Ottawa face their own budget crunches and service delivery pressures.
What's Next
The full 2025 Sunshine List is now publicly available on the Ontario government's website. Ottawans curious about how their own city, school boards, or local hospital networks fared can search the database directly.
The release typically sparks a few weeks of public debate before fading from the headlines — but for accountability watchdogs and opposition parties, it remains one of the most useful annual tools for scrutinizing how public dollars flow through Ontario's government.
Source: Global News Ottawa / Ontario Sunshine List 2025
