Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson arrives for a meeting of the federal cabinet in West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. Photo by Justin Tang / THE CANADIAN PRESS

The Canadian government will likely look at selling equity in the state-owned Trans Mountain oil pipeline only after steps are taken over the next few years to maximize its output, Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said.

The government purchased the pipeline in 2018 to ensure a major expansion was built. The project ballooned in cost to about $34 billion, but it opened last year and roughly tripled the pipeline’s capacity to bring crude oil from Alberta to a port near Vancouver.

Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who oversaw the purchase, consistently said the government d

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