Two Kinder Morgan Canada executives were each awarded bonuses of $1.5 million on May 28, the day before the Canadian government announced it will buy the pipeline for $4.5 billion, according to a filing with securities regulators.

The retention bonuses for Kinder Morgan Canada President Ian Anderson and David Safari, the company’s vice president responsible for Trans Mountain, will be paid in equal parts in July 2019 and July 2020, provided that they remain with the company for the next two years, says the June 1 filing regarding the sale of Trans Mountain.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced on May 29 the federal government will acquire the controversial pipeline from Edmonton to Burnaby, B.C., effectively nationalizing the project until another operator steps in.

The Trans Mountain project has faced fierce opposition from the B.C. government, environmentalists and protestors, prompting Kinder Morgan to suspend spending on the project in April until it was given assurances that it could be completed.

Anderson, who has been Kinder Morgan Canada’s president since 2005, received total compensation of US$2.27 million from the company’s May 30, 2017 initial public offering date to Dec. 31, 2017, according to an information circular for the company’s recent annual meeting.

Safari, who joined Kinder Morgan in 2015, earned total compensation of US$1.54 million in the same period.

The bonuses were reported earlier by National Observer.