Canada’s proposed $90 billion high-speed rail project is facing fresh uncertainty after Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre pledged to scrap the plan entirely if Conservatives form government, calling it an unrealistic and costly Liberal spending scheme.Blacklock's Reporter says Poilievre dismissed the Alto high-speed rail proposal as a “fantasy,” arguing Canadians cannot afford another massive federal commitment with unclear returns and timelines. He said a future Conservative government would cancel the project outright and redirect the funds.His comments came on the heels of Parliament passing the High Speed Rail Network Act on March 26, legislation that gives Alto Corp. expanded authority, including the power to expropriate land for a proposed electrified corridor.The rail plan envisions trains travelling up to 300 km/h, linking Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Laval, Montréal, Trois-Rivières and Québec City. However, no firm completion date has been announced, and federal estimates suggest construction could take at least a decade.A federal transport department briefing note dated June 16 placed projected costs between $60 billion and $90 billion, with just the Ottawa–Montréal segment expected to require seven years to complete.Poilievre contrasted the timeline with the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway completion, noting the historic project was finished in four years despite spanning the entire country..To date, Ottawa has committed $4.3 billion toward early planning and development. Still, skepticism is mounting over whether the project’s costs have been properly calculated.Conservative MP Scott Reid told the House of Commons the current estimates amount to little more than guesswork, warning taxpayers could be exposed to significantly higher costs as details emerge.A parliamentary petition calling for an immediate halt to the project has already gathered more than 11,000 signatures.Testifying before the Senate national finance committee, Alto Corp. CEO Martin Imbleau acknowledged that precise cost estimates are not yet available due to incomplete engineering work. He described current figures as “working assumptions” rather than firm projections.Imbleau said it remains difficult to provide accurate numbers without finalized routes and technical plans, suggesting more clarity will only come once those elements are in place.
