Latest news with #Hydro-Quebec
Toronto Sun
12-06-2025
- Business
- Toronto Sun
Carney hire Michael Sabia backed bank freezes for convoy protesters
Hydro-Quebec CEO Michael Sabia speaks to The Canadian Club of Montreal, in Montreal, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. Photo by Allen McInnis / Postmedia Network Michael Sabia, named by Prime Minister Mark Carney to lead the federal public service, played a key role in having the bank accounts of Freedom Convoy protesters frozen, a report says. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account On Wednesday, Sabia was hired as clerk of the Privy Council Office in Ottawa and was also named secretary to Cabinet. He had been president and CEO of Hydro-Quebec since 2023. 'As Canada's new government builds the strongest economy in the G7, Mr. Sabia's leadership will be key to this mission,' said Carney. 'Canada's exemplary public service with Mr. Sabia at the helm will advance nation-building projects.' The hiring comes three years after Sabia, who was the deputy minister of finance in Justin Trudeau's government from 2020-23, was instrumental in employing terrorist financing laws to enforce a national freeze of bank accounts held by protesters camped out on Parliament Hill, according to Blacklock's Reporter. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The use of the Proceeds Of Crime And Terrorist Financing Act by the Trudeau government was ruled unlawful by a federal judge in 2024. 'The scope of the regulations was overbroad in so far as it captured people who simply wanted to join in the protest by standing on Parliament Hill carrying a placard,' wrote Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley. It is estimated that $7.8 million was frozen in 437 bank and credit union accounts and bitcoin wallets. Sabia was asked at the Public Order Emergency Commission in November 2022 whether protesters were terrorists or not. RECOMMENDED VIDEO 'People have every right to protest,' he testified. 'That's an important part of our democratic system. There were no easy answers here.' Freedom Convoy counsel also asked Sabia if he had any information that protesters were terrorists. 'We had no information one way or the other,' replied Sabia. 'You were given no information that these individuals in Ottawa protesting were terrorists?' Miller repeated. 'Well, I am not going to give you a yes or no answer,' replied Sabia. Read More World Celebrity World Sunshine Girls World
Canada Standard
12-06-2025
- Business
- Canada Standard
'Clean Energy CEO' Becomes Canada's Top Bureaucrat as Carney Names Sabia Privy Council Clerk
Veteran Ottawa watchers are mostly hoping for an acceleration in Canada's clean energy transition after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Wednesday afternoon that Michael Sabia, most recently the president and CEO of Hydro-Quebec, will head up the Privy Council Office (PCO). Sabia's tenure as clerk of the Privy Council and secretary to cabinet will begin July 7, The Canadian Press reports. He replaces John Hannaford, who is retiring. The Privy Council offers non-partisan policy advice to the prime minister and cabinet and is responsible for managing the broader public service. The clerk is no more and no less than the most powerful official in government. Sabia has been at Hydro-Quebec since 2023. In a statement released by the utility Wednesday, he said he was answering Carney's call to serve as the prime minister pushes for a rapid transformation of Canada's government and economy. "Prime Minister Carney asked me to take on this role at a time when the country is facing some unprecedented challenges," he said. "In that context, I am joining the federal government to tackle these challenges head-on." The Globe and Mail says Carney "sought out Mr. Sabia because he needed a PCO clerk with government and business experience who can push through his agenda that includes significant nation-building projects, a revamped military, major housing initiatives, and cost-cutting expenditures for the public service." During his time at Hydro-Quebec, Sabia "signed a massive new deal with its Newfoundland counterpart to co-develop new energy projects along the Churchill River," the Globe writes. "He also hatched a $185-billion blueprint for new energy infrastructure that aims to wean Quebec off fossil fuels." On Monday, still in his role with Hydro-Quebec, Sabia called it a "hallelujah" moment for Canada that the United States under Donald Trump is retreating from renewable energy investment. "If they pause, we go forward," he told the Globe's Intersect/25 conference. "That's our moment-and it needs to be seized now." With global renewable energy investment hitting record highs and far outstripping fossil fuels, he said the "'underlying signal' from global boardrooms is that capital is flowing into clean power," the Globe writes. That kind of talk, along with Sabia's past track record, has some clean energy analysts expressing optimism about his latest assignment. "I think it's time that [Carney] put a clean energy CEO into the role of Clerk," said Clean Energy Canada President Mark Zacharias. "Given the amount of C-suite talent the Prime Minister probably had access to, I think that's an important signal right there." Beyond Sabia's appointment, Zacharias said it was noteworthy that Carney's five criteria for what would constitute a "nation-building" project include "clean growth potential, such as the use of clean technologies and sustainable practices." In his public statements to date, the PM "certainly appears to have a preference and an emphasis on clean energy and building a clean economy," Zacharias told The Energy Mix. Carney and his ministers have also spent a lot of time talking about fossil fuel projects. But "when the PM looks at every economic opportunity for Canada, I think he will find which projects can be approved and built" during a single term of government. With most or any new oil and gas infrastructure 10 years away from being operational, "I think the government will be looking long and hard at those projects that can get shovels in the ground right away and even, potentially, be complete in this mandate." There's currently no proponent for the new oil pipelines the industry and their political supporters say they want to see built, and there's been no public indication the federal government would consider the subsidies the fossil and carbon capture industries will need to support that work-without which industry execs have stubbornly refused to invest their own breathtaking profits. "The Prime Minister is first and foremost a banker, and will be looking at risk-reward," Zacharias said. "It's legitimate to think the federal government won't be looking to underwrite a lot of those projects, but will instead clear the regulatory hurdles and let the proponents navigate the authorizations they need to get started." In that case, "ultimately it will be up to private capital where to park itself," but oil and gas isn't where Zacharias would expect to see the smart money go. He said a list of "long-term, low-risk, reasonable-return bets" would include east-west grid interties, clean electricity generation, and completing Canada's battery and electric vehicle supply chains-partly to protect electricity prices from the future risk of U.S. tariffs. Normand Mousseau, scientific director of the Trottier Energy Institute at Polytechnique Montreal, said Sabia's move back to Ottawa makes it "much more likely" that a decarbonization agenda will be "defended and pushed forward. Probably very rapidly, too. I have the feeling that Sabia has a sense of urgency that is well deserved. As Carney has shied away from showing any real indication of a move on the climate file, Sabia's nomination is good news." But Mark Winfield, co-chair of York University's Sustainable Energy Initiative, wasn't as confident. "Sabia is likely there to deliver on 'build, build, build'" and an 'all of the above' energy strategy, he wrote in an email, "given the government has had very little to say about low-carbon energy transitions, takes a very broad definition of 'clean' energy to include things like [carbon capture and storage] and nuclear, and has been talking about 'decarbonized' oil." Whether or not Sabia's arrival in Ottawa becomes a win for Canada's energy transition, it may be Quebec's loss. Sabia's rapid, deep transformation of a mammoth provincial utility's capital plan was "remarkable coming from somebody who had no experience with the electricity sector," Mousseau told The Mix in an email. "His departure will leave a major gap for Hydro-Quebec and its capacity to move forward at the same speed. It is rare that new CEOs take over exactly a previous plan." So Sabia's departure "will likely lead to major delay and possibly transformation of the plan. I doubt very much that the government will be able to find somebody with the same drive as Sabia." Mousseau added that Sabia spent a lot of time in Quebec listening and building trust with First Nations and "succeeded to a remarkable degree, although not everything is perfect." That observation comes at a time when Indigenous communities elsewhere are already preparing for a fight against many of the "nation-building" projects that provincial governments have put forward as priorities. Michael Sabia started his career in the public sector and spent years at PCO, CP writes, then served as Canada's deputy finance minister through the pandemic years and the early recovery period. He chaired the board of the Canada Infrastructure Bank from April 2020 to late January 2021. Sabia headed the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ), Canada's biggest pension fund, for more than a decade before that. He is a former CEO of Bell Canada Enterprises and former chief financial officer of Canadian National Railway. Sabia was named an officer of the Order of Canada in 2017. "As Canada's new government moves with focus and determination to build the strongest economy in the G7, bring down costs for Canadians, and keep communities safe, Mr. Sabia will help us deliver on this mandate and our government's disciplined focus on core priorities," Carney said in a media statement. At a conference in February, Sabia decried what he called Canada's "ambition deficit" and said the country must eliminate regulations that impede foreign investment and find new sources of capital for major projects. Citing the "radical unpredictability" of Donald Trump's tariff war and threats of annexation, he declared: "Trump wants to break our confidence. My response: No way," the Globe recounts. "We cannot wait and let others decide the rules of the game for us." Segments of this report were first published by The Canadian Press on June 11, 2025. Source: The Energy Mix
Global News
11-06-2025
- Business
- Global News
Carney names Hydro-Quebec's Michael Sabia as new top bureaucrat
Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced Michael Sabia, a longtime business leader and senior bureaucrat, as the country's new top bureaucrat starting next month. Sabia has been named Clerk of the Privy Council Office, the department that is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister's Office and which plays a central role in turning government priorities into actionable policies for bureaucrats to implement. In a statement, the role is also described one that will 'advise the Prime Minister and elected government officials in managing the country, from an objective, non-partisan, public policy perspective.' 1:28 Danielle Smith urges feds to commit to Alberta energy superpower promise Sabia is currently the president of Hydro-Quebec. He will replace John Hannaford as Clerk of the Privy Council, with Hannaford now retiring, according to the press release. Story continues below advertisement Carney referred to Hannaford's role in helping the new government to transition as being 'invaluable.' Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Carney said Sabia's leadership will play a 'key role' in helping Canada to become 'the strongest economy in the G7,' and added that 'Canada's exemplary public service – with Mr. Sabia at the helm – will advance nation-building projects, catalyze enormous private investment to drive growth, and deliver the change Canadians want and deserve.' Prior to his role at Hydro-Quebec, Sabia served as Canada's deputy minister of finance, director of the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, and held senior leadership, CEO and president roles respectively at Bell Canada Enterprises and at Canadian National Railway.
Boston Globe
22-05-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Hydro-Quebec shut off the spigots for New England power in March and hasn't turned them back on. Why?
The lack of Canadian hydropower isn't a reliability issue for us — not yet, anyway. But the surprisingly long dry spell out of Hydro-Quebec should serve as a warning to New England policy makers that the days of cheap, plentiful, low-carbon power from the north hitting the spot market are no longer guaranteed. A big power line under construction for Massachusetts, dubbed Related : Advertisement The utility, which is owned by the Quebec government, made the move amid tensions between the Trump administration and Canadian leaders over tariffs. So the shutoff's timing raised more than a few eyebrows — at least on this side of the border. Tensions have since eased with Mark Carney's election to prime minister, and it's looking increasingly likely Hydro-Quebec's electricity wouldn't get hit with a Trump tariff anyway. No surprise, then, that Hydro-Quebec says this unusual shutoff is about market dynamics, not politics. The company says it simply can't sell power profitably into New England right now, given the relatively low prices on the wholesale market. Quebec Advertisement Hydro-Quebec did send a bit of electricity here this spring, but essentially only to meet contractual obligations, not to compete in the wholesale market as it usually does. On most days, no power at all flowed here over the main line; an ISO New England spokesman says that line typically provides 1,000 to 1,600 megawatts of electricity to the region, enough power for more than one million homes; it was sending plenty of juice into the region as recently as February when prices were much higher. How important is it? The grid overseer Serge Abergel, Hydro-Quebec's US chief operating officer, says he expects Hydro-Quebec will return to the New England market after the temps heat up and the air conditioners start humming. Sure as the season, demand for electricity will drive up wholesale electric prices and make it more profitable to sell here. Advertisement Hydro-Quebec's US chief operating officer says he expects Hydro-Quebec will return to the New England market after the temps heat up and the air conditioners start humming. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff This spring is different, Abergel said, for two reasons: Hydro-Quebec's reservoirs were lower than average following two years of warmth and limited rainfall, and are being replenished. Meanwhile, the company needs to ensure it can keep the lights on in its home province while also meeting the demands spelled out in two big contracts that kick in over the next year — one for the New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) line through western Maine, and another for a parallel line going up in New York. The full effect of the spring thaw won't be seen for another few weeks, but Abergel says Hydro-Quebec officials are hoping for a return to more normal conditions this summer. To Dan Dolan, president of the New England Power Generators Association, the Hydro-Quebec shutoff confirms his original concern that the new transmission line that Avangrid is building for Massachusetts through Maine might not lead to a net increase in hydropower imports into the region, as originally intended. Governor Maura Healey has repeatedly stressed the importance of the NECEC line to the regional grid's reliability and efforts to curb carbon emissions. But Dolan says that goal can only hold true if the power line adds to the historical Hydro-Quebec flows, instead of replacing them. Otherwise, Dolan warns that Avangrid could be Advertisement The energy company and the trade group The increased access between the Canadian and New England markets should help flatten price spikes, he said. Plus, the line helps with fuel diversity, an important contribution given New England's reliance on natural gas. The Healey administration remains steadfast about NECEC's value amid this hydropower dry spell. A spokeswoman said it will reduce electricity prices, provide reliability in the winter, and improve public health here. Still, hydropower consultant Robert McCullough says the extended shutoff could be a sign of troubling trends in Quebec. He's beginning to wonder if the droughts and resulting low reservoir levels will continue — contrary to the company's stated hopes that more normal conditions are on the way. Hydro-Quebec, he says, underinvested for years in its own power infrastructure, and is now racing to keep up. Richard Levitan, an energy consultant in Boston, says it's sensible that Hydro-Quebec is conserving its resources in light of the fact it has been drier than normal this past winter, and springtime demand in New England is low. It's understandable why the company doesn't open the floodgates into a 'down market.' The spigot has been predictably tightened, in his view, not closed. But if one of our big power plants or major transmission lines isn't available this summer at a time when electricity demand in New England is high, Levitan says he would be concerned about reliability if exports from Quebec don't pick up. Advertisement Tapping into Quebec's hydropower was once seen on Beacon Hill as a smart way for Massachusetts to help fight global warming. Ironic, then, that prolonged stretches of warmer weather could cause the sources of that power to start drying up. Jon Chesto can be reached at
Hamilton Spectator
20-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
‘Huge milestone' achieved as Hydro-Quebec CEO signs multiple deals in Nunavik
Nunavik's clean energy development is getting a boost as Hydro-Quebec's CEO came to Kuujjuaq this week to sign multiple agreements with regional bodies. Hydro-Quebec CEO Michael Sabia signed a collaboration agreement with Makivvik on Tuesday at its office. The aim is to strengthen their relationship and foster economic development in Nunavik. This agreement includes the creation of a monitoring committee, where an action plan will be drafted with Inuit realities in mind. The plan is to increase investment opportunities in energy projects, the decarbonization of northern villages and economic and social benefits for Inuit. Sabia also met with Tarquti Energy and its shareholders, Makivvik and its community partners, the co-operatives of Puvirnituq and Quaqtaq, and Tuvaaluk Landholding Corp. of Quaqtaq to conclude crucial power purchase agreements for Quaqtaq and Puvirnituq's wind turbine projects. Joe Lance, general manager of Tarquti, said these contracts have been in negotiations for nearly two years. 'It sets the table to advance to the next steps,' he said in a French phone interview. The purchase agreements serve as a selling contract, where Tarquti and its partners will sell the energy production from its future wind turbine projects to Hydro-Quebec. Hydro-Quebec will then implement that energy into its electricity supply to the communities. 'It is a huge milestone,' said Lance. The next step is for those contracts to be sent to the Quebec Energy Board for approval. After that, Tarquti needs to acquire environmental permits. Lance said construction of the wind turbines in Quaqtaq is scheduled to begin in 2026, while the ones in Puvirnituq are planned to begin in 2027. The turbines will provide more than 60 per cent of the communities' electricity needs. Over 25 years, the initiatives are estimated to save 96 million litres of diesel fuel, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 253,000 tonnes of CO2.
