Ontario Hospital CEO Salaries: Who Runs Ontario's Hospitals (2025)

Based on the 2025 Sunshine List · 157 hospital CEOs and presidents

Ontario's major teaching hospitals are billion-dollar organizations with thousands of staff, and the executives who run them are among the highest-paid public-sector employees in the province. In 2025, the top hospital CEO is Kevin Smith at University Health Network, earning $939,603. Across the 157 disclosed hospital presidents and CEOs, the average is $353,304 — 2.8× the average hospital-sector salary of $126,617.

The largest single employer in the hospital sector is University Health Network, with 4,579 disclosed employees. Compensation at this scale typically includes a base salary plus pension and benefits worth another 15–25% on top — none of which appears in the Sunshine List numbers below, since the disclosure only captures taxable T4 income.

Top 25 Hospital CEOs and Presidents (2025)

CEO Pay at Major Hospitals

Hospital CEO compensation broadly tracks the size and complexity of the institution, but not perfectly — specialized academic centres like SickKids and UHN command premiums for the research and teaching affiliations that come with the role. Community hospitals tend to pay less than teaching hospitals of similar size.

What the Numbers Don't Show

Hospital executive contracts almost always include a defined-benefit pension contribution (HOOPP), health and dental benefits, and sometimes a performance bonus tied to operational metrics. None of those show up in the salary column above — only taxable income reported on a T4 does. Total compensation packages for the top tier are typically 15–25% higher than the disclosed base salary once these add-ons are counted. Conversely, public-sector executive contracts in Ontario are subject to the Broader Public Sector Executive Compensation Act, 2014, which caps salary growth and ties increases to a published framework — meaning year-over-year jumps are usually small and tightly regulated.