QUEBEC CITY -- Michael Sabia is expected to be the next president and CEO of Hydro-Quebec, several media outlets reported Tuesday.
Sabia, who has been Canada's deputy minister of finance since 2020, previously headed the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ) for a decade.
His appointment is expected to be made official at the council of ministers on Wednesday, according to the newspaper Les Affaires.
Sabia would succeed Sophie Brochu, who left the Crown corporation on April 11, before the end of her mandate.
At the time, Brochu said that Hydro-Quebec needed someone with a different profile for the next stage.
To illustrate her point, she compared Hydro-Quebec's strategic plan to building a house. Like an architect, she felt that her strength was in drawing the outlines of the strategic plan in collaboration with civil society stakeholders. The next step would require a person with strengths in operational execution, she said.
"Don't get me wrong, building the house is more difficult than designing it," she said at a press conference in February.
According to La Presse sources, Sabia is Francois Legault’s choice.
Sabia, 69, has had a career in the federal and Quebec public service as well as in the business world.
In addition to serving as CEO of CDPQ from 2009 to 2020, he was CEO of Bell Canada Enterprises and Chief Financial Officer of Canadian National Railway Company (CN).
In the federal public service, he worked primarily in the department of finance and the Privy Council Office.
AN IMPORTANT ISSUE
For Quebec solidaire (QS) energy critic Haroun Bouazzi, expectations are high.
“Hydro-Quebec is not a company like any other: we must not let our national jewel become the Dollarama of energy. Although he has no experience in energy or ecology, it is hoped that Mr. Sabia will focus his efforts on making the energy transition a success.”
He added that, having never heard Brochu in committee, he hopes Sabia will agree to come and present his vision.
The Official Opposition stressed that this is a key issue for the Quebec economy.
“I wish Mr. Sabia a good mandate. We will have the opportunity to reiterate our request for a true national discussion on the future of energy. Hydro-Quebec must assume leadership,” Liberal leader Marc Tanguay wrote on Twitter.
-This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 23, 2023.
