Manitoba Hydro has lost its second CEO in two years, after the Crown corporation announced the departure of Allan Danroth Friday morning.
His departure comes two years after he left his job as the vice-president of wood pulp producer Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries to become Manitoba Hydro’s CEO in August 2024.
The Crown corporation dismissed Danroth’s predecessor, Jay Grewal, in February 2024, two weeks after she endured criticism from Adrien Sala, the NDP cabinet minister responsible for Hydro.
Danroth’s departure also comes as Hydro is in the midst of six weeks of public hearings over its 10-year plan to save and produce more electricity.
Sala declined requests for an interview to address the timing of Danroth’s departure and the turnover at the upper echelons of the Crown corporation. In a statement, Sala thanked Danroth and said the process of selecting his replacement will be spearheaded by Hydro’s board.
At an unrelated news conference Friday at the legislative building, CBC News asked Business and Trade Minister Jamie Moses whether he thinks the turnover at Hydro is concerning.
“We’ve got a fantastic premier, No. 1 in the country. Best finance minister as well, I think … and so they’re doing a terrific job,” Moses said, deferring questions to Hydro officials.
Speaking to reporters Friday, Manitoba Hydro board chair Jamie Wilson said Danroth left his position for personal reasons. He declined to say whether Danroth resigned or left of his own accord. (Trevor Brine/CBC)
Hydro board chair Jamie Wilson said during a Friday afternoon news conference that he has been in touch with Sala about Danroth leaving.
He was also asked whether government influenced the departure.
“No, Allan is leaving for personal reasons,” Wilson said.
“Allan led us through some critical changes to our operations, including major improvements to our safety culture, the work to replace our aging [workplace management] software and other initiatives,” he said. “We wish he and his family well.”
Danroth declined to comment on his departure.
When CBC asked Wilson whether Danroth resigned or left the position of his own accord, the board chair declined to answer.
He would not rule out a severance payment to Danroth — something that typically happens only when executives are dismissed without cause.
“The CEO does have an employment agreement. We will follow the terms of that agreement,” Wilson said.
In a move suggestive of a severance payment, Grewal was paid about $880,000 for roughly 45 days of work as Hydro’s CEO in 2025.
Wilson said Hal Turner, the corporation’s chief operating officer, will act as interim CEO until a new leader is selected. Turner also served as interim CEO in 2024, after Grewal’s departure.
Asked whether he intends to seek the role on a permanent basis, interim Hydro CEO Hal Turner said he’s focused on ‘bringing a little bit of stability’ to the corporation. (Trevor Brine/CBC)
CBC News asked Turner, who also spoke at Friday’s news conference, whether he is considering seeking the CEO role beyond the interim.
“I haven’t given a lot of thought to what the future holds. I’m kind of focused on bringing a little bit of stability in the interim … and time will tell what the future brings,” he said.
Wilson said the search for Danroth’s replacement will be local, national and international in scope.
Challenges for Hydro
The board chair also said Hydro’s plan to save and produce more energy puts the corporation on the right path.
Hydro faces many challenges, including an infrastructure deficit estimated in the $30-billion range, $25 billion in debt and a need to spend uncosted additional billions to increase its generating capacity — all backed by only $33 billion in assets.
The NDP government also directed Hydro not to seek a rate hike in 2024. The resulting revenue shortfall contributed to a Public Utilities Board decision to order up a series of four per cent rate hikes that began this year.
In a statement, Hydro Minister Sala said the NDP government remains “focused on keeping energy affordable” and ensuring Hydro “is positioned to support our province’s future.”
Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan suggested the change in CEOs is a sign of a “fundamental issue” at Hydro.
Official Opposition leader Obby Khan, seen here speaking question period on May 28, characterized Danroth’s departure as part of a ‘recurring pattern’ and ‘fundamental issue’ with Manitoba Hydro. (Bryce Hoye/CBC)
“Manitoba Hydro is a gem for all Manitobans — everyone knows that across the world,” the Opposition leader told host Faith Fundal in a Friday interview with CBC Radio’s Up To Speed.
“But Manitobans … should be really worried about what’s happening there and it speaks to leadership and transparency.”
Lauren Stone, the PC critic for Manitoba Hydro, wouldn’t speculate as to why Danroth is out as CEO, but questioned what the fact Hydro will soon have its third CEO in three years says about the NDP government.
“How can this NDP not keep stability within the Crown corporation at a time when they’re investing billions and billions of dollars?” she said.
During a Public Utilities Board hearing last month, Danroth suggested Hydro regularly receives offers “in the hundreds of millions of dollars” for a piece of software it created in-house called PSCAD, or Power Systems Computer Aided Design.
Lauren Stone, the Progressive Conservative critic for Hydro, accused the provincial government of failing to ‘keep stability within the Crown corporation at a time when they’re investing billions and billions of dollars.’ (Bryce Hoye/CBC)
In a letter Stone addressed to Sala and the next Hydro CEO on Friday, she also questioned how much money in licensing fees the Crown corporation is receiving for PSCAD, whether it’s received any formal offers to purchase it and if so, for how much.
“Had the CEO not commented on that [at the hearing], there would’ve been no transparency as to what the software is, how much the offer is for, what Hydro is actually using it for, and what opportunities could exist at a time when Hydro desperately needs money,” Stone said.
WATCH | Crown corporation must again search for a CEO:
Manitoba Hydro loses another CEO
Allan Danroth has left Manitoba Hydro after two years as CEO, the Crown corporation announced Friday. His predecessor, Jay Grewal, was dismissed in February 2024.