The Canadian government is likely to postpone the sale of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline until after the 2025 federal election, Reuters News reported Monday, July 26, citing unnamed officials interviewed by Bloomberg News. 

According to the report, Ottawa purchased the C$34 billion ($24.88 billion) Trans Mountain expansion project in 2018 to guarantee its completion and sell it after it enters operations. 

However, the project’s completion faced multiple delays and cost overruns. 

The long-delayed project started operating on May 1, boosting Alberta oil shipments to the Pacific Coast to nearly 890,000 barrels per day, tripling the initial amount transported. 

According to Katherine Cuplinskas, the Finance Ministry spokesperson, the government was planning to kickstart the divestment process.

"The federal government will launch a divestment process in due course," Cuplinskas said. However, she declined to give details on the timing of the sale. 

Cuplinskas added that the project will ensure Canada receives fair market value while maintaining the highest environmental standards.

Trans Mountain Corp. said in a statement the government intends to sell the pipeline but has not set a timeline. Ottawa announced plans in May to make it easier to sell the pipeline to Indigenous groups.

However, disagreements over the pipeline’s value and criticism of ballooning costs – now nearly five times the 2017 estimate – have complicated the sale process.