Canada’s proposed Alto high-speed rail network could cost taxpayers as much as $113 billion to build, prompting the Canadian Taxpayers Federation to call on Prime Minister Mark Carney to scrap the project.A new Parliamentary Budget Officer report estimates construction of the Toronto-to-Quebec City rail network could cost between approximately $75 billion and $113 billion — up to $23 billion above the federal government’s preliminary upper estimate.“The government’s high-speed rail estimate already costs too much money and now the PBO report shows the train project could cost $23 billion more,” said CTF Federal Director Franco Terrazzano.“The government doesn’t have enough spare cash to buy a model train let alone a train that could cost more than a hundred billion dollars.”The federal government has previously estimated construction costs at between $60 billion and $90 billion in 2024 dollars. Transport Canada has cautioned those figures are preliminary planning estimates rather than a final project budget.Alto is planned as an approximately 1,000-kilometre high-speed passenger rail network connecting Toronto and Quebec City, with trains travelling at speeds of 300 km/h or more. The federal government says the network would cut some travel times in half and create more than 50,000 construction jobs.According to the CTF, the PBO estimate assumes Canada can achieve construction cost efficiency comparable to European high-speed rail systems. The taxpayers group said the budget watchdog noted projects in the United Kingdom and United States have cost substantially more than comparable European projects.The CTF also warned the PBO estimate does not include the potential cost of adding Kingston to the network. The federal government directed Alto in June to examine a southern route between Peterborough and Ottawa that could include a Kingston station, subject to technical feasibility and project requirements.The CTF previously estimated adding Kingston could increase the project's cost by another $3.9 billion.The taxpayers group cited the PBO as warning the project's financial risks are tilted toward costs exceeding projections rather than coming in below them..It also pointed to research by megaproject scholar Bent Flyvbjerg estimating the average global rail project experiences a 39% cost overrun.The CTF said the potential cost comes as Ottawa continues to run large deficits and faces rising debt-servicing costs.According to the federal government's 2026 Spring Economic Update, Ottawa is borrowing $65 billion this year, while public debt charges are projected to reach $58.7 billion.That is more than the $57.4 billion Ottawa is expected to transfer to provinces and territories through the Canada Health Transfer and more than the $53.4 billion the federal government expects to collect through the GST.“The government hasn’t broken ground and this train is already expected to cost billions more,” said CTF Ontario Director Noah Jarvis.“Taxpayers are already paying more than $1 billion every week just to cover interest on the federal debt and we can’t afford the government borrowing billions more to pay for politicians’ pet projects.“Carney needs to scrap this high-speed rail project that shows all the signs of a taxpayer boondoggle.”The federal government has defended Alto as a major economic and transportation project. Transport Canada says the network could generate a permanent 1.1% increase in GDP, equivalent to about $24 billion annually, while improving connections between major cities in Ontario and Quebec.The project remains in the co-development stage, with Alto and private development partner Cadence working on engineering, design, land acquisition, consultations and regulatory approvals before a final construction decision is made.The PBO is also expected to examine whether projected passenger numbers would be sufficient to support Alto's operating costs. According to the CTF release, the budget watchdog noted many high-speed rail systems around the world do not achieve operating profitability.
