Legal Counsel Salary in Ontario (2025)
3,808 disclosed records, 1996–2025 · mostly Crown Agencies (31%)
Records grouped under “Legal Counsel” after title normalisation — the bare title, without a level or specialty. For level-specific figures see Senior Legal Counsel.
At a Glance
2025
Disclosed
292
2025 Sunshine List
Median Salary
$142,655
+16.7% vs provincial median
Typical Range
$123,545–$162,442
25th–75th percentile
Top Salary
$326,508
Who was the highest-paid employee under the title "Legal Counsel" in Ontario in 2025?
The highest-paid record grouped under the title "Legal Counsel" on the 2025 Sunshine List was Matthew Biderman at Attorney General, with a salary of $326,508; the median among the 292 listed under this title was $142,655.
Take-Home Pay
(After Tax) · 2025 estimate
A Legal Counsel paid the 2025 median of $142,655 would take home roughly $99,712 after income tax, CPP and EI — about $8,309 a month, an all-in deduction rate of about 30.1%. The 2025 list carries 292 people grouped under the title Legal Counsel. The middle half of Legal Counsel salaries ran from $123,545 to $162,442. Pension contributions — likely PSPP or OPTrust in the Crown Agencies sector — would typically trim another 7–10% off that figure.
- Estimated net pay
- ~$99,712
- Effective income-tax rate (excl. CPP/EI)
- ~26.2%
- CPP + EI contributions
- ~$5,507
- All-in deduction rate (incl. CPP/EI)
- ~30.1%
- Per month, after tax
- ~$8,309
Where does $142,655 rank on the Sunshine List? →
Estimate only: 2025 federal and Ontario rates, basic personal amounts, Canada employment amount and CPP/EI credits; single, employment income only, salary treated as full-year income. Ignores pension contributions (OMERS, HOOPP, OTPP, OPTrust and similar plans lower actual take-home), union dues, RRSPs and benefits.
Median by Year
2005–2025
Where They Work
2025 · employers with 5+
| Employer | Median | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario Securities Commission | $133,045 | Pay here → |
| Ontario Infrastructure and Lands Corporation (Infrastructure Ontario) | $145,779 | Pay here → |
| City of Mississauga | $169,809 | Pay here → |
| Children's Aid Society of Toronto | $149,240 | Pay here → |
| Hospital for Sick Children | $141,379 | Pay here → |
| Information and Privacy Commissioner | $277,756 | Pay here → |
| City of Ottawa | $148,855 | Pay here → |
| City of Vaughan | $182,756 | Pay here → |
| University of Toronto | $180,738 | Pay here → |
| Attorney General | $251,456 | Pay here → |
| Regional Municipality of Peel | $162,619 | Pay here → |
| Centre for Addiction and Mental Health | $141,587 | Pay here → |
| Legal Aid Ontario | $137,478 | Pay here → |
| Children's Aid Society of London and Middlesex | $126,784 | Pay here → |
| Children's Aid Society of the Niagara Region | $121,437 | Pay here → |
Highest Paid
2025
| # | Name | Salary | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew BidermanLegal Counsel | $326,508 | $326,834 |
| 2 | Lisa SteinLegal Counsel | $326,501 | $326,827 |
| 3 | Mindy NobleLegal Counsel | $306,715 | $306,715 |
| 4 | William ChallisLegal Counsel / Avocat | $302,434 | $302,799 |
| 5 | Sheila Ritson-BennettLegal Counsel | $294,470 | $294,470 |
| 6 | Andrew AhonenLegal Counsel | $284,917 | $284,917 |
| 7 | Brendan GrayLegal Counsel / Avocat | $282,740 | $283,075 |
| 8 | Dara LambieLegal Counsel / Avocate | $282,740 | $283,075 |
| 9 | Jenna RucasLegal Counsel | $282,681 | $282,980 |
| 10 | Linda ChenLegal Counsel / Avocate | $277,756 | $278,091 |
By Year
Related Positions
About these figures
Source: Ontario’s Public Sector Salary Disclosure (the “Sunshine List”), which names every public-sector employee paid $100,000 or more in a calendar year. Figures are disclosed salaries, not market compensation: anyone in this position earning under $100,000 does not appear, so medians here sit above the true median for the job.
Medians and percentiles use salary paid (benefits excluded), computed over records whose filed job title was normalized into this position. Titles are as each employer filed them; spellings, word order and bilingual forms are merged. Employers and years with fewer than five people show counts only. Titles before 2005 were abbreviated at source; the chart starts at 2005.
Data through 2025, the most recent Sunshine List disclosed.