Critics call for audit after Manitoba Hydro salary spike and deficit

Critics are raising concerns after Manitoba Hydro reported a 15 per cent increase in salaries over $85,000 from 2023 to 2024 — a $67-million rise — while simultaneously posting a $157-million net loss.

The Crown corporation’s annual compensation disclosure shows salaries over $85,000 totalled more than $458 million in 2023. In 2024, that number climbed to nearly $526 million.

“They are bloating the bureaucracy at the taxpayer’s expense,” said Lauren Stone, the MLA for Midland and the Progressive Conservative finance and hydro critic.

Hydro attributed the salary hikes to increased staffing needs related to maintaining aging infrastructure, rebuilding trades training programs and replacing retiring workers. It also cited increases from recent collective bargaining agreements and adjustments to pension and benefit obligations.

“This also included staff increases related to rebuilding our trades training program, to ensure we can continue to meet the needs of our customers in the future and replace retiring staff,” Manitoba Hydro said in a statement.

While Hydro said 2024’s $157-million loss was largely due to drought conditions — noting it reported a $638-million net income the year before — Stone said the NDP government needs to act.

“External reviews of Crown corporations like MPI have shown bureaucratic inefficiencies,” Stone said. “The NDP made a promise that they would rein in spending and bureaucratic positions within the RHAs and Shared Health, and now it’s time they start looking at Crown corporations like Manitoba Hydro.”

Manitoba Hydro is currently seeking three consecutive 3.5 per cent electricity rate increases from 2026 through 2028. In 2024, electricity rates increased by an average of one per cent.

Critics are questioning whether this level of spending is appropriate, particularly given that some employees received raises well above 15 per cent — one going from $199,000 in 2023 to $239,000 in 2024 while holding the same title. According to a Canadian wage survey, the average cost-of-living increase for workers in 2024 was 3.6 per cent.

“It might not be the highest amount that could put Hydro into financial ruin tomorrow,” said Gage Haubrich, Prairie director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “But it could be that alarm bell that something is going on here, and something needs to be looked into before it gets worse.”

Haubrich called the latest financials a “canary in the coal mine,” adding that oversight is essential.

“We’ve seen over the last couple years they only made a net income in two of those years,” he said. “And it’s important to highlight that while Manitoba Hydro is separate from the provincial government as a Crown corporation, the government is ultimately responsible for that debt. So it’s in the interest of the government, ratepayers and taxpayers to make sure that Manitoba Hydro is managing its money well.”

Finance Minister Adrien Sala, who oversees Manitoba Hydro, declined to comment and referred CityNews to the utility’s official statement.