Ottawa, ON – Dan Albas, Conservative Shadow Minister for Transport, released the following statement on the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s (PBO) report showing that the Alto high-speed rail will cost Canadians more:
“Conservatives will cancel the $113 billion Alto Rail to save you money.
“Today, the PBO reported that Canadians could pay up to $113 billion for the Liberals’ high-speed rail, far above the government’s estimate of $60 billion to $90 billion. The PBO warned that ‘the risk is more likely that the project will go over budget rather than under.’
“The project’s total estimated cost is greater than the current federal deficit and would amount to nearly $10,800 for a family of four, for a service that two-thirds of Canadians said they would not even use. The Liberal government has already spent over $700 million since 2022 without a single metre of track under construction.
“That $113 billion covers construction alone and does not include operating and maintenance costs. It also excludes the proposed Kingston route, which the PBO says would drive costs higher. This project has become so chaotic that the Liberals keep adding stops, including in Liberal-held ridings like Kingston, that will push the price higher.
“Worse, the PBO cautioned that if the Liberals fail to control permitting problems, litigation, design changes and weak project management, the costs could rise well beyond $113 billion. Each year construction is delayed adds another $1.5 billion to the bill.
“Canadians are out of money. The Liberals want to blow $113 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. Construction is not expected to begin until 2030.
“We’ve seen this before. 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.
“Canadians need fast, affordable and reliable transportation, not a Liberal high-speed rail boondoggle that drives up costs, delays construction and threatens the expropriation of productive farmland across Ontario and Quebec.
“Mark Carney must focus on targeted improvements to existing transportation infrastructure that can move people and goods faster, at lower cost and with less risk to taxpayers.
“Conservatives will cancel wasteful boondoggles like Alto Rail, to lower the inflationary deficit, save you money and restore the promise of an affordable life.
“We will get government out of the way by repealing anti-development laws C-69 and C-48, and cutting red tape and bureaucracy to get projects built now. No more delays, no more lists, no more illusions. Conservatives will ensure Canadian workers can build projects, jobs and prosperity for all.”