Greg Ebel to retire as Enbridge CEO, Michele Harradence named as successor

Greg Ebel is retiring as chief executive officer of Enbridge Inc. ENB-T as the Calgary-based energy transporter proceeds with projects to expand its pipeline system to ship more oil to the United States despite a fractious bilateral trade relationship.

Mr. Ebel, 62, will step down from his post at the end of 2026, four years after he became CEO of the company that moves the bulk of Canadian crude production to U.S. refineries. He will be replaced by Michele Harradence, an industry veteran who is currently the company’s executive vice-president and president of gas distribution and storage, the company said on Tuesday.

Mr. Ebel was chairman and CEO of Spectra Energy, the U.S. gas distributor Enbridge acquired for $37-billion in 2017. When the deal closed, he became Enbridge’s chairman.

As Enbridge’s CEO, he oversaw the expansion of operations in the United States. That included a US$9.4-billion takeover of three natural gas utilities from Dominion Energy in 2023, which diversified the company’s sources of revenue. The company is now expanding oil shipping capacity to U.S. markets and its Canadian natural gas network.

All told, current and potential projects under consideration represent $41-billion in capital spending, the company said in a statement.

By July, Enbridge shares were up nearly 50 per cent from the time Mr. Ebel took the helm, though they have since drifted lower. They were largely flat at around $16.50 on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Tuesday afternoon trading.

“He leaves behind an enduring legacy and a company that is stronger, more diversified and better positioned for the future,” Enbridge chairman Steve Williams said in the statement.

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Mr. Williams took note of Mr. Ebel’s profile on the national stage, saying he has been prominent in “advancing Enbridge’s voice on energy security, affordability and competitiveness.”

Soon after U.S. President Donald Trump announced his initial round of tariffs on Canadian imports, Mr. Ebel called for Ottawa to declare pipeline proposals as projects of national interest, to help diversify export markets for Canadian energy.

“If this is the significant crisis that I know many Canadians feel that it is, then you would think you’d want your lawmakers actually making laws to address that,” Mr. Ebel said in March, 2025.

Since then, the government of Prime Minister Mark Carney has established the Major Projects Office to clear away regulatory roadblocks for major infrastructure to get built, including by listing them as projects of national importance.

He also said early on that he doubted that escalating trade friction with the U.S. would result in a reduction of exports to that country’s refineries, a prediction that has turned out to be the case. Indeed, Canadian exports have increased and the supplies have remained virtually free of duties.

However, he resisted any notion of leading a new multibillion-dollar project to ship crude oil to Canada’s West Coast, saying that the company was unwilling to take on the financial risk of developing it. More than a decade ago, Enbridge abandoned its proposal to build the Northern Gateway Pipeline following years of regulatory delays and court challenges.

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Ms. Harradence, 57, has held senior roles within Enbridge’s gas transmission, distribution and midstream businesses in Toronto and Houston since 2017. She previously held management roles at Spectra and Shell Canada, where she was manager of the company’s refinery in Sarnia, Ont.

Given her long association with the company, her promotion suggests the odds of any material changes to a strategy that has proven largely successful are small, said Maurice Choy, analyst at RBC Capital Markets.

“She was also on the executive leadership team over the past seven years, helping to shape Enbridge’s strategy during this time, and we would anticipate that the company’s high ambition on and approach to growth will remain consistent soon after she takes over as CEO,” Mr. Choy said in a research note.

Enbridge has announced a $1.4-billion expansion of its mainline oil pipeline system in the U.S., which is aimed at increasing capacity for Canadian oil shipments by 250,000 barrels per day by next year. It currently moves about three million barrels a day, or roughly 30 per cent of all the oil shipped in North America.

This summer, it started construction on a $4-billion project to expand its British Columbia natural gas pipeline system, partly to replace volumes that will be directed to West Coast liquefied natural gas exports.