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National Post

Meet Tim Hodgson, the new energy minister Mark Carney hopes can bridge the gap with the West

Article content There's a story about Tim Hodgson's legendary tenacity from his investment banking days at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Article content In 1997, so the story goes, Hodgson was working in Goldman's Canadian corporate finance group in New York when he caught wind of a hostile takeover bid being made for Wascana Energy Inc., then one of Canada's largest oil and gas producers. Article content Goldman prided itself on defending companies subject to hostile takeovers and Hodgson began trying to get a meeting with the leaders of the Saskatchewan-headquartered company to try to convince them to hire his firm. Article content Article content 'Apparently, they wouldn't take Tim's call,' Simon Bregazzi, who worked at Goldman with Hodgson years later, said. 'So, he flew to Regina and just parked in reception until they would take a meeting. Apparently, he was there for days, until finally the CEO was just like, 'F— it. OK, fine. I'll meet with this guy.'' Article content Article content Former Wascana chief executive Frank Proto doesn't remember anyone camping out in the lobby, but he does remember Hodgson. Article content 'He was focused, he was aggressive; he was very sharp,' Proto recalled, noting Hodgson ultimately helped Wascana secure a $1.7-billion offer from white knight Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd., which later became Nexen Inc. 'We ended up with a substantially better deal.' Article content Nearly 30 years later, Hodgson's tenacity and dealmaking prowess are about to be put to an even bigger test. Article content Last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney tapped the rookie member of Parliament to be Canada's minister of natural resources, making him the Liberals' point person on energy and a key intermediary with the West. Article content Article content Article content Carney has pledged to make Canada an 'energy superpower' and to take a different approach to energy and resource development than predecessor Justin Trudeau, but skepticism is high in oil-rich Alberta and Saskatchewan, where Carney's track record of environmental advocacy has raised fears that his tenure will bring more of the same. Article content Article content Separatist sentiment has been rising and premiers Danielle Smith and Scott Moe have aggressively moved to freeze or scrap the federally regulated industrial carbon tax, thereby putting both provinces on a collision course with Ottawa.