Opposition to the Alto project took a partisan turn on Tuesday, March 31.
In Peterborough, according to a press release issued by the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced that the Conservatives oppose the proposed high-speed rail project, which is projected to cost up to $90 billion with construction projected to begin in 2030. Poilievre called on the Liberal government to cancel the project, and said that as Prime Minister, his government would do so.
Poilievre said the project’s total estimated cost is greater than the current federal deficit and would amount to nearly $8,000 for a family of four, for a service that two-thirds of surveyed Canadians said they would not use even once a year. The government has already spent more than $700 million since 2022 on initial planning and public consultation.
“Canadians need transportation that works and taxpayer dollars that are respected; this project does neither,” said Poilievre. “Instead, the Liberals want to blow $90 billion on another Liberal illusion that will come late, go over budget and leave taxpayers stuck with the bill, if it even gets built at all,” said Poilievre.
The Conservative press release criticized recent Alto announcements, alleging the crown corporation’s CEO recently confirmed that construction will not start until 2030, a year later than originally announced. The Conservatives also allege the CEO said it will take seven years to build the Alto line between Ottawa and Montreal, whereas the entire Canadian Pacific Railway was built in just four years.
The Conservatives claim that according to the McGill University Transport Research Lab, Alto will require $2.54 billion in annual subsidies in its first year, more than double the total cost of operating VIA Rail this year. The Conservatives also note that existing VIA service continues to be inadequate, referring to an Auditor General’s report showing that VIA had an on-time performance of just 51 per cent in 2024, falling to as low as 30 per cent in the first quarter of 2025.
The Tories also raised the spectre of the Mirabel Airport expropriations in 1969 and how the proposed Alto route would also likely require the expropriation of thousands of acres of private property across Ontario and Quebec. In 1969, the federal government expropriated nearly 100,000 acres of farmland to build Mirabel airport, right in the Ottawa-Montreal corridor. After displacing roughly 12,000 people, the government used only 5,000 acres, and passenger flights stopped more than 20 years ago.
“Conservatives want projects that make money, by getting government out of the way, granting fast permits and low taxes to privately funded construction. We support targeted improvements to existing transportation infrastructure that can move people and goods faster, at lower cost and with less risk to taxpayers,” Poilievre concluded.
