The chief executive of Trans Mountain Corp. says the federal government should wait three to five years to unload the pipeline system after the company nearly doubled a core performance measure in the second quarter. Mark Maki, who rose to the CEO job last September after serving as chief financial officer, said Trans Mountain was returning significant cash to Canadians, and that its valuation would likely only grow as it reached operating capacity. “In my heart of hearts, (the time to sell is) a few years out. I would say three to five,” Maki said. Trans Mountain’s adjusted earnings (before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) rose to $558 million in the second quarter, which ended June 30, nearly double the $283 million in the corresponding period a year earlier, which only partially included the commercial effects of the expanded system. Year-to-date throughput pipeline was 730,000 barrels per day, up from 402,000 barrels per day in the corresponding period last year, pegging utilization during the 2025 period at 82 per cent. “Since the beginning of the year, we’ve returned $729 million to the federal government through interest, fees and dividends,” Maki said. “We’re on track to exceed $1.25 billion by year-end. These are tangible returns to Canadians.” The federal government, which purchased Trans Mountain in 2018 for $4.5 billion and funded an expansion that cost $34 billion, will continue receiving dividends and interest payments until the pipeline is sold. As for a buyer, Maki said a large pension fund, possible one of Canada’s own, would make sense as owner of the pipeline system that transports oil to from Alberta to British Columbia’s coast and into Washington State. “I spent lots of time visiting those folks over the years, and there’s a really nice match of what this asset is with the long term obligations of pension funds, so there’s a real logical owner there,” he said. But for now, he said, uncertainties over toll rates — hearings before the Canada Energy Regulator are to take place this summer, with final arguments schedule for early 2026 — in addition to extra capacity in the pipeline and expansion plans that would take two to four years to complete, mean the government would be selling below the ultimate value. “All of those are things that a buyer, when they look at this, is going to go, ‘Well, I’m going to discount for that,’” Maki said. “Take away those uncertainties on the front end, and it becomes more of an annuity they (pension funds) can value. If I’m thinking about strategy of sale, it would be get rid of uncertainties on the front end and then have a conversation about the back end, and that’ll be a constructive process.” He said more time as a federal Crown corporation would also allow Trans Mountain to continue to build value for Ottawa by reaching operating capacity, something that hasn’t happened since commercial operations began on the expanded system last May. It has been suggested that oil companies are reluctant to increase their use of Trans Mountain while toll rates remain disputed, but Maki said August and September should both be strong, with the system now running at closer to 90 per cent of capacity. He added that the price differential between West Texas Intermediate crude oil and Western Canada Select had narrowed but is now widening again, suggesting concerns that capacity is going to get tight. “The things that we’ve been talking about in the public domain, about adding a little bit of capacity in the system, will be timely because the network is starting to fill up,” he said. Trans Mountain has been exploring short and long-term projects with an aim of increasing pipeline capacity by 200,000 to 300,000 barrels a day. These include introducing drag-reducing agents to increase flow efficiency and building out electric motors and pumps to increase the “horsepower” of the operations. Maki said the latter, if it moves ahead, would not be concluded until close the end of the decade. He said expansion of Trans Mountain fits with Prime Minister Mark Carney ’s plans to unfurl “nation building” projects to create economic corridors and an energy powerhouse and reduce reliance on the United States amid trade tensions . “This asset can serve the States but also can serve Asia,” he said of the system that runs from Edmonton to Burnaby, B.C., with a branch into Washington State. “The bulk of the system starts in Canada, ends in Canada, and so it’s immune to a lot of … the tariff stuff ,” he added. “This is a really important piece of infrastructure for the country. It is nation-building infrastructure.” Second-quarter net income was $150 million compared to a net loss of $48 million a year earlier. Trans Mountain said the improvement was due to commercial commencement of the expanded system and a strengthened balance sheet. Transportation revenues increased by 85 per cent during the second quarter, while operating expenses rose by less than 44 per cent. • Email: bshecter@nationalpost.com Ottawa may not want to get out of the pipeline business just yet: Trans Mountain CEO'Northern Leg' to Trans Mountain pipeline attracts interest amid brewing trade war