Former Hydro boss paid $880K for working 1½ months in 2024 until her ouster

Ian Froese · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 02, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

The erstwhile brag of Manitoba Hydro was paid astir $900,000 successful compensation successful 2024, contempt lone moving 1½ months earlier her dismissal from the Crown corporation.

The precocious wage earned by Jay Grewal, revealed to beryllium $881,177.94 according to Hydro's yearly compensation disclosures this week, suggests the inferior bought retired the remainder of her contract, according to a University of Manitoba concern instructor who teaches a compensation course.

Grewal's pay in 2024 — much than doubling the compensation of immoderate different Hydro employee — is a 61 per cent summation from the $546,698.12 she earned successful 2023 for a afloat year as president and main enforcement officer. 

"My speculation is that she got each cent owed connected the contract," Sean MacDonald said.

For elder managers, specifically those running major vigor companies, "the market dictates that if you privation idiosyncratic of sizeable ability," the compensation indispensable bespeak that.

MacDonald said helium understands the precocious wage of departed taxpayer-funded executives tin spark nationalist outrage, but it is simply a indispensable terms to wage that accounts for their hazard successful assuming a occupation they could lose astatine the government's whim instead of matters related to conduct oregon performance. 

Public indispensable wage for apical CEOs

"The nationalist truly needs to recognize that to pull and clasp prime people, to guarantee our institutions and our large organizations funded by the payer are well-managed, you're going to person to wage a batch for it."

Hefty buyouts are portion of that equation, helium said.

"There's thing scandalous here."

Manitoba Hydro dismissed Grewal on Feb. 13, 2024, 2 weeks aft the NDP furniture minister in complaint of the corporation slammed her tendency to acquisition upwind powerfulness from backstage sources.

At the time, Hydro's committee seat utilized the word "parting ways" to picture Grewal's departure.

A erstwhile executive with Capstone Mining, B.C. Hydro and CIBC World Markets, Grewal took implicit Manitoba Hydro successful February 2019 after a nationalist hiring search.

The NDP authorities was elected successful the autumn of 2023. There were nary signs of rancour betwixt the government and Grewal until Jan. 30, 2024, erstwhile she said successful a code that Hydro whitethorn request caller sources of powerfulness by 2029 — and repeated the corporation's plans, archetypal made successful 2023 nether the erstwhile PC government, to bargain that energy from backstage wind-energy companies.

Nonetheless, Adrien Sala, the NDP government's curate liable for Hydro, criticized Grewal's statements successful the days that followed and rejected the conception Hydro would acquisition powerfulness from backstage sources.

He aboriginal disputed that this disagreement resulted successful the termination of Grewal's contract.

Since then, Allan Danroth has been tapped arsenic Hydro's caller CEO, and the state has announced plans to physique caller upwind farms — but with Indigenous partners alternatively than backstage ones.

Danroth started his presumption successful August 2024. The utility's compensation study says helium pocketed $192,454.60 for the year.

Under Manitoba's Public Sector Compensation Disclosure Act, authorities entities indispensable each twelvemonth disclose the wage of each nationalist assemblage worker making more than $85,000. The full pay includes overtime, retirement/severance pay, lump sum payments, abrogation payouts and benefits.

Hydro didn't supply a breakdown of Grewal's compensation oregon uncover the duration of her contract, but said she was "paid retired successful accordance with the presumption of the declaration she had signed with the committee astatine that time." She didn't person immoderate severance, Hydro spokesperson Peter Chura added.

Grewal didn't respond to a petition for remark Tuesday done LinkedIn.

Troy Craig, the caput of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2034, the national representing Hydro's electrical workers, said successful a substance connection helium suspects the payout presumption of Grewal's declaration would beryllium akin to erstwhile executives. 

He added he's blessed with the working narration helium presently has with Danroth and Hydro's main operating officer, Hal Turner, who served arsenic interim CEO aft Grewal's departure. 

MacDonald said the compensation for Manitoba Hydro's CEO is importantly little than what the caput of a major privately-run vigor company would earn. They'd apt make "millions and millions" of dollars annually, alongside a suite of benefits ranging from bonuses to stocks and status options.