High-Speed Rail
-
The 2025-2026 Main Estimates have provided Transport Canada $22.9 Million to support the Co-Development phase for the High-Speed Rail Initiative (formally the High Frequency Rail Initiative), which is comprised of $13.0 Million in personnel expenses and $9.4 Million in operating expenses and $500,000 in Grants.
-
In the 2024-25 Main Estimates, Transport’s planned spending authorities for High Speed Rail was approximately $122M.
-
The decrease between the 2024-25 and the 2025-26 Main Estimates is due to funding for the design bid fees which were only required in 2024-25.
-
The High-Speed Rail Initiative is expected to be the largest transportation infrastructure project in Canada in generations, bringing faster, greener, more frequent and reliable service to travellers.
-
The procurement process concluded with the selection of a private development partner, Cadence, that will be collaborating with Alto throughout the Co-Development Phase, launched in March 2025, to develop and design the initiative.
SUPPLEMENTARY MESSAGES
-
The personnel and operating expenses will enable TC to support advancement of the Initiative through the entirety of Stage 1 and through the early months of Stage 2 of the Co-Development Phase.
-
Notably, this funding will enable TC to perform essential functions that are within the purview of Government as the project sponsor and accountable owner of the Initiative. This includes: providing strategic and expert advice to the Minister and Alto; leveraging expertise to deliver on federal obligations such as supporting a whole-of-government approach to prepare for the launch of the Impact Assessment and other regulatory activities; advancing work in preparation for rail access and land acquisition; and supporting the fulfilment of the Crown’s duty to consult and advancing reconciliation (including through delivering grants to enable participation of Indigenous Peoples through the Community Participation Funding Program), among other activities.
-
The Other Operating expenses will support Transport Canada during the Co-Development phase. These include professional services such as Financial and Transition Advisors; a Technical Advisor and Legal support; Project Management Advisor services; and other operational costs like travel, training and translation.
-
In addition to the funds received by Transport Canada for the High-Speed Rail Initiative, two Crown Corporations in the Transport Portfolio received funding to support and advance the HSR initiative: VIA Rail received $8M and Alto received $597M in 2025-26. For VIA Rail this facilitates their participation in the Co-Development phase. More specifically, it will support the planning and eventual transfer of their Quebec City - Windsor Corridor passenger rail services to the private partner. For Alto, this funding facilitates the start of the Co-Development phase where it becomes the project and contracting authority for the Initiative. Alto will work with the private development partner (PDP) and government partners to design and develop the initiative. Please refer to VIA Rail and Alto Main Estimates pages for additional information.
-
The HSR rail initiative requires the support of other Government Departments and Agencies, who also received funding for 2025-2026. Those include: CIRNAC - $0.5M; HICC-$0.9M; DFO-$0.7M; CTA -$0.3M; and ECCC-$0.3M
-
Transport Canada cannot comment specifically on those Government Departments Estimates and would encourage any questions to be directed to those specific Departments for any additional questions.
UPDATE
The Initiative successfully reached a major milestone with the announcement of the successful bidder and PDP, Project Cadence Rail s.e.c. (“Cadence”), on February 19, 2025, and the Government’s decision to advance the initiative using high-speed rail.
SUPPORTING FACTS AND FIGURES
-
In 2024-2025, $3.9 billion for the first six-year period of the Co-Development phase was publicly announced by the Prime Minister on February 19, 2025, including $22.9 Million to support Transport Canada for 2025-2026. This is in addition to the $371.8 million that was provided in Budget 2024 to Alto and HICC for project advancement.
-
Budget 2022 allocated $396.8 million over two years, starting in 2022-23, to Transport Canada and Infrastructure Canada to advance HSR through the Procurement phase of the project.
-
Budget 2021 allocated $495.6 million to VIA Rail and TC to implement targeted investments on VIA Rail’s current network, and to further de-risk the HSR project.
-
In 2019, the Government committed $71.1 million to further advance the project; this included funding provided by the Canada Infrastructure Bank. This funding enabled VIA Rail and the Canada Infrastructure Bank to establish an unincorporated joint venture (the Joint Project Office) to further advance HSR.
-
Budget 2018 provided an additional $8 million to TC to conduct further due diligence on all major project elements, including capital and operating cost estimates, revenue and ridership forecasts, and environmental (GHG emissions) impacts.
-
Budget 2016 provided Transport Canada with $3.3 million to conduct a first round of due diligence on the HSR proposal.
BACKGROUND
The High-Speed Rail Initiative will consist of a network between Toronto and Quebec City, and the eventual transfer of VIA Rail operations, from Windsor to Quebec City, to the PDP. The network will span up to 1000 km, connecting the cities of Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montreal, Laval, Trois-Rivières and Quebec City. The early capital costs estimate for the network ranges from $60 billion (B) to $90B in 2024 dollars.
The Co-Development phase commenced on March 19, 2025, with the signature of the pre-development agreement (PDA) between Alto and Cadence. During the Co-Development phase, Alto and Cadence will undertake engineering and design details, Indigenous consultations, land acquisition, community consultations, environmental assessments and regulatory approvals.
Alto is a wholly owned subsidiary of VIA Rail, created in November 2022, and is now a fully operational agent Crown corporation staffed with experts in major infrastructure development. Cadence is a private consortium composed of CDPQ Infra, AtkinsRéalis, SYSTRA Canada, Keolis Canada, Air Canada and SNCF Voyageurs. The use of a progressive P3 (public-private partnership) for the Co-Development phase will accelerate progress, reduce risks, promote innovation and ultimately improve services and reduce costs.
TC will perform strategic oversight and ensure the overall delivery of the Initiative is executed in alignment with government policy objectives, direction, and priorities. Emerging priorities include supporting the Canadian economy in the context of trade disputes and improving service to Southwestern Ontario. To prioritize benefits to Canadian workers, industries and materials, TC is collaborating with Alto as well as federal partners to evaluate legal, trade, technical, and economic factors. Transport Canada expects to complete an options analysis of ways to leverage the HSR Initiative to support the Canadian economy in July 2025.
Regarding Southwestern Ontario, a Ministerial Letter of Expectations was sent outlining how Alto will work with Cadence, the province of Ontario and other key partners to develop options to extend HSR and/or enhance rail services. Alto will present an initial progress update by Spring 2026 and final options and recommendations for Southwestern Ontario to TC by Fall 2026.