By Jasmine Makar

The Ontario Government has dropped the 2025 Public Sector Salary Disclosure list, showing an increase in Toronto Metropolitan University’s (TMU) top earners’ salaries from the previous fiscal year. 

The list is released annually by the government and includes all public sector employees earning over $100,000. Referred to as the “Sunshine List,” it was introduced in 1996 to monitor public sector pay, according to the CBC.

There are currently 2,039 TMU staff members on the 2025 Sunshine List compared to 1,935 in 2024—marking a 5.37 per cent increase. 

172 staff members at TMU raked in more than $245,000 this year, with the highest paid employee being president Mohamed Lachemi earning $471,070. 

Lachemi’s current salary is nearly double that of Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, who earns $240,349 and Premier Doug Ford, who earns $269,567.

Lachemi has maintained his spot at the top of the list since 2016, when he became president of the university, following Sheldon Levy. 

Even prior to his presidency, Lachemi was among TMU’s top 10 earners since 2012, when he served as the dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science and later as provost. 

This year Pamela Sugiman made her debut among the 10 highest-paid faculty members at TMU. Sugiman is a sociology professor who was previously the dean of the Faculty of Arts. 

Sugiman was abruptly removed from her position in 2024, followed by her $2-million lawsuit against TMU, which was filed in September, 2025 as previously reported by The Eyeopener. 

Since 2024, Sugiman remains at TMU as a professor and her salary has increased by $41,879. 

The University of Toronto (U of T) has a contrasting salary structure. Its president, Melanie Woodin is ranked as the 71st-highest-paid faculty member and all top 10 earners are professors from different disciplines. 

Alan Aspuru-Guzik, a U of T chemistry and computer science professor earned a whopping $649,993, making him U of T’s highest paid employee in 2025. 

U of T records 7,392 employees on the 2025 list, up 520 from 2024. 

Next year’s list may be subject to change given that Lachemi’s term is coming to an end in 2026 and Premier Doug Ford has allocated $6.4 billion to post-secondary institutions over the next four years along with planned tuition increases, according to The Government of Ontario.

Here are TMU’s top 10 earners:

Mohamed Lachemi- President $471,070

Roberta Iannacito-Provenzano – Provost and VP Academic $427,000

Krishan Mehta – VP University Advancement and Alumni Relations $416,525

Teresa Chan – Dean School of Medicine $416,014

Atefeh Mashata – Associate Professor $376,535

Steven Liss – VP, Research and Innovation $357,680

Donna Young – Dean, Faculty of Law $354,449

Pamela Sugiman – Professor $347,490

Saeed Zolfaghari – VP Administration and Operations $345,000

Tanya De Mello – VP Equity and Community Inclusion $329,000