The Trans Mountain pipeline only got built because Ottawa stepped in to buy it.
Claimed by: Commonly stated across the Alberta debate
True: True as written according to the settled evidence. How we rate.
Summary
This is accurate. Facing opposition and legal uncertainty, Kinder Morgan halted work and the federal government bought the Trans Mountain pipeline and expansion for 4.5 billion dollars in 2018 to keep the project alive, then financed construction through a Crown corporation. The expansion went into service in 2024 with a final cost of roughly 34 billion dollars, far above early estimates. Supporters and critics draw opposite lessons from it, but the basic fact that federal ownership was what carried it to completion is not in dispute.
Evidence
In May 2018 the federal government agreed to buy the Trans Mountain expansion and related assets from Kinder Morgan for 4.5 billion dollars to ensure completion, holding them in a Crown corporation.
The expansion entered service in 2024 at a final cost of about 34 billion dollars, up from an early estimate near 5.4 billion, with tolls expected to cover only part of the bill.