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last mo.

Poilievre Vows to Cancel Toronto–Quebec City High-Speed Rail Plan

The promise raises the stakes for a $60–$90 billion rail plan now entering land checks under looser federal expropriation rules.

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Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says the plan to link Quebec City and Toronto, and the major cities in between, by high-speed rail is a waste of taxpayer money.

Overview

  • Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said his party would scrap the project if it forms government, calling the proposed line a waste of taxpayer money.
  • The plan would link Toronto and Quebec City for an estimated $60 billion to $90 billion, with the route not finalized and initial work eyed between Ottawa and Montreal near the end of the decade.
  • Alto, the federal Crown corporation running the file, has begun contacting property owners between Ottawa and Montreal for assessments, and its CEO said expropriation, meaning forced sale with compensation, could be used if talks fail.
  • The federal budget implementation law changed the Expropriation Act to speed land purchases, and Prime Minister Mark Carney has floated naming the line a project of national interest.
  • Poilievre’s stance sharpens a political split as Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe express support, while rural residents and farmers warn about land and environmental harm as Alto targets key route decisions by year’s end.