Michael Sabia is leaving the top post at Hydro-Québec next month to become clerk of the Privy Council and secretary to the Cabinet of the Government of Canada as part of Prime Minister Mark Carney's government.
Sabia, who serves as president and CEO of Hydro-Québec, one of the largest power utilities in Canada and a major player in the global hydropower industry, is set to leave roughly two years after he was hired to lead the Quebec government’s public utility and 18 months after it announced a plan to spend between $155 billion to $185 billion to increase hydroelectricity and wind electricity production over 12 years.
The scope of the expansion is so large that some Quebec real estate executives have expressed concerns that it could require so many construction workers that it would limit the overall availability of contractors and tradespeople needed to build other real estate projects in the province.
Sabia, who will end his time at the Crown corporation on July 4, said he will depart as Hydro-Québec "is on the right track."
“Eighteen months ago, we launched an ambitious plan," he said in a statement. "Thanks to talented people and devoted leaders, the organization is well underway to executing this plan, which includes a new agreement with Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro as well as the new foundations we are laying in our relationships with First Nations and the Inuit.”
Sabia, 71, previously headed the CDPQ pension fund from 2009 to 2020 and Bell Canada from 2002 to 2008.
Sabia took over at the Montreal-based Hydro-Québec after predecessor Sylvie Brochu left the post after three years to join the board of directors at CGI. Some observers speculate that she left the firm after showing reluctance to endorse the project to harness more electricity from rivers in the province.
Hydro-Québec said it is working on identifying a replacement for Sabia.
"In the coming weeks, the Board of Directors will identify a potential successor and will make a recommendation to the Government of Québec in order to nominate a leader to continue implementing Hydro-Québec's ambitious mission," the utility said in a statement.