After Hours With Trudeau, Suncor CEO Confident on Trans Mountain

(Bloomberg) -- After meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for about four hours last month, Suncor Energy Inc. Chief Executive Officer Steven Williams said he’s more confident than ever that the major pipeline projects proposed for western Canada will be built.

Kinder Morgan Inc.’s Trans Mountain expansion was a main topic of discussion when Williams gave Trudeau a tour of Suncor’s Fort Hills operation in early April because the project had sparked an escalating trade war between Alberta and British Columbia. Williams said he was encouraged by Trudeau’s resolve to see the expansion through to completion.

“He has been unambiguous,” Williams said in an interview with BNN Bloomberg’s Tara Weber. “He has said the government is supporting Trans Mountain and it will get built.”

While Williams declined to say what Trudeau’s specific plans for ensuring the project’s success may be, he said the government’s options include taking an equity stake and other measures.

“In three or four hours, you can have some pretty detailed conversations, but that’s for the federal government to disclose,” Williams told reporters after Suncor’s annual meeting in Calgary.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kevin Orland in Calgary at korland@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net, Carlos Caminada, Joe Carroll

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