The Manitoba Government announced on Monday, December 4, 2023, that they have replaced the Manitoba Hydro board of directors.
Adrien Sala, the minister responsible for Manitoba Hydro said “Manitoba Hydro is the crown jewel of the province and I am confident this new board will deliver for Manitobans and for Hydro employees. Hydro must always be kept public and never privatized.”
The new board will be chaired by Ben Graham the president and CEO of Manitoba Blue Cross.
“The board will aim to provide oversight, vision and sound fiscal stewardship to harness the untapped potential of Manitoba Hydro to keep rates low for families, support the province’s economic development potential, advance Indigenous reconciliation and move Manitoba into a clean energy future,” noted the minister.
New board members include:
- Ben Graham (chair) – president and CEO, Manitoba Blue Cross and former president and CEO, MPI;
- Jamie Wilson (vice-chair) – vice-president, Indigenous strategy, research and business development, Red River College Polytechnic;
- Tom Akerstream – former manager of Power Smart, manager of head office facilities, and energy and sustainability advisor at Manitoba Hydro;
- Joy Cramer – CEO Southern Chiefs Organization, former deputy minister of family services, and deputy minister of housing and community development from 2009 to 2016;
- Nicole Chabot (returning member) – vice-president, L. Chabot Enterprises, and immediate past-chair of Manitoba Heavy Construction Association;
- Vernon Kalmakoff – First Nations entrepreneur in the Westman region;
- Paul Moist – former national president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), served as co-chair of former premier Gary Doer’s Economic Advisory Council and vice-chair of MPI;
- Eric Redhead – MLA for Thompson, former chief of Shamattawa First Nation;
- Mike Spence – mayor of Churchill, former Manitoba Hydro and Travel Manitoba board member; and
- Leslie Turnbull – senior advisor and former principal of Viewpoints, former vice-chair of Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation, and previous Manitoba Hydro board member.
