Calgary Council: Johnston Demands Broader Salary Transparency

CALGARY, AB — Ward 14 Councillor Landon Johnston is pushing for broader public salary disclosure, arguing Alberta needs to "catch up" with hundreds of Canadian cities already publishing so-called Sunshine Lists—even though the province has operated its own transparency regime for more than a decade.

In a statement posted Saturday, Johnston framed expanded disclosure as "a much-needed tool to scrutinize public salaries and hold the government accountable for your tax dollars." The pitch: Calgary should follow the lead of municipalities across Canada that publish the names and compensation of six-figure earners on the public payroll.

Here's the friction: Alberta already has one. The Public Sector Compensation Transparency Act, in force since December 2015, mandates twice-yearly disclosure from public sector bodies—including Alberta Health Services, post-secondaries, independent legislative offices, and provincially funded agencies. If you earned more than $159,833 in 2024 from a public sector employer in Alberta, your name, title, and total compensation are public record. The threshold for 2025 pay, set to be disclosed by June 30, 2026, is $159,676.

The Gap Johnston Sees

Johnston didn't specify what he believes Alberta is missing—whether he wants the threshold lowered, the list expanded to capture more municipal workers, or Calgary to publish its own localized version independent of the provincial framework. His office has not clarified which "hundreds of cities" he's citing as models, or how their lists differ materially from what Alberta already publishes.

The existing law captures base salary, overtime, bonuses, taxable benefits, and employer pension and insurance contributions. Severance packages are disclosed separately. Bodies ranging from Covenant Health to the Alberta Energy Regulator—which, notably, secured an exemption—fall under the Act's scope.

The Money and the Mechanism

Public sector bodies submit salary data to the province twice a year: by June 30 for the prior calendar year's pay, and by December 31 for severance paid between January and June. The next full disclosure—covering 2025 compensation—drops in five months. That list will include newly established entities like Assisted Living Alberta, which came online in 2025 and will report for the first time in June 2026.

In April 2025, the province issued Ministerial Order 16/2025, capping executive pay at designated public agencies during a transition to new compensation rules under the Public Sector Employers Act. That order underscores ongoing government efforts to tighten oversight of top-tier public salaries—an indication that the machinery Johnston is calling for is already in motion, if not always moving fast enough for critics.

What Happens Next

Johnston's statement hints at a broader council conversation about transparency, but no formal motion or timeline has been floated. Whether City Hall pursues a Calgary-specific Sunshine List or presses the province to expand the existing Act remains an open question. The next provincial disclosure deadline is June 30, 2026. Until then, the debate is live—but the list already exists.