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OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on the federal government to cancel a proposed high-speed rail line between Toronto and Quebec City.
Speaking to reporters in Peterborough, Ont., on Tuesday, Poilievre called the project a “boondoggle” that would waste taxpayer dollars.
“Carney Liberals will confiscate farmland and private property, disrupting communities and harming the quality of life of local residents who will not even get to use the train because it won’t have any stops near their homes,” said Poilievre, who was joined by MP Philip Lawrence and former MP Michelle Ferreri.
Alto, the Crown corporation overseeing the project, estimates the full project will cost between $60 billion and $90 billion.
Construction of the first phase of the 1,000-kilometre rail line, linking Montreal and Ottawa, is set to kick off in 2029 or 2030.
That will be a test case for what would be a massive infrastructure project intended to transform rail travel in Canada’s most densely populated region.
The seven stops mandated by the federal government are: Toronto; Peterborough; Ottawa; Laval, Que.; Montreal; Trois-Rivières, Que.; and Quebec City.
The proposed network would host 72 trains a day running on dedicated electric tracks at speeds of up to 300 km/h, slashing travel times. It would make for a three-hour trip between Toronto and Montreal and less than one hour between Montreal and Ottawa.
Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said on social media Tuesday that Poilievre is “showing Canadians that he has no vision to create jobs and grow the economy.”
“For decades, Canadians have advocated for a modern, fast, inter-city rail network,” said MacKinnon. “Alto is a generational investment that will transform travel and connect communities. It will boost GDP by $35 billion annually, create over 51,000 well-paying jobs, and help Canadians work, study and travel more efficiently.”
MacKinnon argued that Poilievre is “turning his back” on Canadians from Quebec City to Toronto and the communities in between.
“Investing in high-speed rail means building a more connected, competitive Canada, and proves Canada can get big things done,” he said. “The Conservatives, as usual, think small.
“Turning away from nation-building investments is the wrong choice, and one Canadians reject at a time when we need to build and grow.”
A grassroots coalition of farmers, small-town residents and municipal councillors says the rail corridor would cleave their communities, prompt hundreds of land expropriations and offer locals few benefits while costing taxpayers billions of dollars.
In eastern Ontario, at least five townships and municipalities have passed resolutions opposing a proposed southern route for the line. At least one has come out against the other, more northerly option.
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture and Quebec’s Union des producteurs agricoles have called for the suspension of the project. Several Facebook groups opposing it or giving voice to residents’ concerns have cropped up, with three of them garnering more than 14,000 members in total.
Alto is weighing two possible corridors for eastern Ontario. One traces a direct line between Ottawa and Peterborough and the other arcs along a more southerly path.
Not all communities outside the major cities are opposed. Kingston city council last month voted overwhelmingly to support the project’s southern route — on two conditions: it must include Kingston as a stop and run along Highway 401 to steer clear of environmentally sensitive areas. Neither are part of the plan at the moment.
At his press conference, Poilievre highlighted existing issues with Via Rail delays and said the funds could instead be used to lower debt, taxes and inflation.
“This $90-billion Liberal boondoggle does not make sense and it does not make dollars,” Poilievre said.
Poilievre also said no one would set foot on this train until 2037 and argued that it only took four years to build the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Discussions to build a rail line connecting Canada’s provinces began ahead of Confederation in 1867. The plans expanded when British Columbia was enticed to join Canada in 1871 in part with a promise that a railway line linking it to the east would be built within a decade.
Actual construction began in 1881 and lasted until 1885.
The Parks Canada website says in the early 1880s thousands of labourers from China were brought to Canada to help build the Canadian Pacific Railway. The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada says they received only a dollar a day, half the pay of a white worker, and that hundreds of Chinese workers died from accidents or illness, as the work was dangerous and living conditions were poor.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2026.
—With files from Christopher Reynolds in Montreal
Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press
