Date: October 10, 2026
Reporter: Emilly Jordan
Canada’s proposed Alto high-speed rail project is facing renewed uncertainty after Quebec’s newly elected Parti Québécois government said it would oppose the project, while the federal government and Alto’s leadership maintain that planning for the proposed Toronto-to-Quebec City rail network will continue.
The Parti Québécois, led by Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, campaigned against Alto during Quebec’s recent provincial election. The party argued that the billions of dollars expected to be required for the project would be better directed toward repairing and maintaining existing infrastructure, including hospitals, roads and public transit.
The opposition presents a significant political challenge because the proposed railway would cross both Quebec and Ontario and would require cooperation between the federal government and the provincial governments along the corridor.
Alto is a federal Crown corporation responsible for developing the proposed high-speed rail network between Toronto and Quebec City. The project is intended to create a dedicated passenger rail corridor capable of speeds of 300 kilometres per hour or more, substantially reducing travel times between major cities. The federal government has described the project as a major national transportation and infrastructure initiative.
During an Alto public meeting on Wednesday, the corporation's chair, J. Robert S. Prichard, said the project was expected to take roughly 15 years from development through completion and would involve working with several different governments during that period.
Prichard said Alto's responsibility was to focus on preparing the project and ensuring that it was ready to move forward in accordance with its mandate, rather than becoming involved in political disputes between governments.
“Our job is to laser focus on preparation and being ready to deliver this project on time,” Prichard said, according to reporting based on the CBC story.
Alto has targeted 2029 for the beginning of construction of the first segment of the network. The initial phase selected by the federal government is the Ottawa-Montreal corridor, with further development planned toward Toronto and Quebec City.
The federal government has continued to defend the project despite Quebec's opposition. Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon's office said Ottawa supports cooperative federalism and is prepared to work with the Quebec government.
The federal government argues that Alto would provide long-term benefits to Quebecers by improving connections between major centres and supporting travel for employment, education, tourism and personal activities.
The project has also faced opposition from agricultural groups concerned about the potential effect of a new rail corridor on farmland and farming operations.
Jérémie Letellier, president of the Fédération de l’UPA de la Montérégie, said the project could have serious consequences for agricultural communities in Quebec and Ontario. He argued that compensation would not necessarily address the operational difficulties farmers could face if a high-speed railway crosses their land.
Alto has sought to reassure farmers and other landowners that the railway would be designed to minimize disruption to existing transportation networks. Chief Executive Officer Martin Imbleau said the project would not sever numbered highways, federal highways, provincial highways or major roads, with overpasses and underpasses planned where necessary.
The question of cost has also become an important part of the political debate. A recent Parliamentary Budget Officer analysis estimated the potential cost of constructing the full project at between approximately $75 billion and $113 billion, substantially higher than earlier estimates.
The scale of the proposed investment has provided the Quebec government with an additional argument for questioning whether high-speed rail should take priority over existing infrastructure needs. St-Pierre Plamondon has said Quebec should focus its infrastructure spending on areas such as healthcare facilities, roads and public transportation rather than committing to the proposed high-speed railway.
The project nevertheless has supporters in communities along the proposed corridor. In June, Transport Canada announced that Kingston would be considered as a potential stop on the network following public consultations. Alto was directed to examine a southern route between Peterborough and Ottawa that could include Kingston and connect with existing VIA Rail services, subject to technical and economic feasibility.
Kingston's final status remains undecided. Alto chair Prichard said the city had made a strong case for inclusion but that additional feasibility work was necessary before a decision could be made.
The proposed railway has also attracted opposition from Quebec's Conservative Party, which won 19 seats in the provincial election and has criticized the project. The political disagreement therefore extends beyond the new Parti Québécois government and could complicate efforts to build provincial support for the railway.
At the same time, Alto says it is continuing technical and environmental work. Earlier public consultations involved municipalities, Indigenous communities, farmers, landowners, industry groups and transportation organizations. The consultation process generated tens of thousands of comments and was intended to help shape the project's route and mitigation measures.
The federal government has argued that the project could generate broader economic benefits. Transport Canada estimates that Alto could eventually produce a permanent increase in Canada's gross domestic product and create more than 50,000 construction jobs, although these are government projections rather than outcomes that have already occurred.
The political dispute comes at a particularly important stage for the project. Alto is continuing preparation for the proposed first construction phase while the newly elected Quebec government has made its opposition clear.
The ultimate future of the project could therefore depend not only on engineering, environmental assessments and financing, but also on negotiations between Ottawa and Quebec City. A federal infrastructure project of this scale would require extensive coordination with provincial authorities, municipalities, Indigenous communities, landowners and other stakeholders.
For now, Alto says it remains focused on preparing the railway, while the federal government continues to support the initiative. Quebec's new government, however, has signalled that it does not consider the project a priority, leaving the proposed high-speed connection between Ontario and Quebec facing a significant political test before construction is expected to begin in 2029.