OTTAWA – The Canadian government is offering Indigenous groups a collective 15 per cent ownership stake in the Trans Mountain pipeline through a low-cost loan.
In a letter to a First Nation along the pipeline’s path and seen by The Canadian Press, a federal Department of Finance official says the equity investment would be equally distributed among participating groups.
It says details of the federal government’s offer would be shared during a series of in-person meetings in Vancouver, Victoria, Kamloops and Edmonton planned for late October.
The official says the government will provide the affected Indigenous communities with up to $100,000 to support such expenses as travel, office space rental and equipment through March 2028.
Ottawa bought the existing Trans Mountain pipeline, its expansion project and related assets for $4.5 billion in 2018.
It later committed to exploring Indigenous economic participation in the expansion with 129 Indigenous communities potentially affected by the project.
The expansion increased the Trans Mountain system’s capacity from roughly 300,000 barrels per day to about 890,000 barrels per day.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 22, 2026.