Alto high-speed rail executives received more than $2.8 million in bonuses last year despite not having laid a single metre of track, according to government records reviewed by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF). The federal Crown corporation, created to oversee Ottawa’s high-speed rail project along the Toronto-Quebec City corridor, handed out the bonuses between Jan. 1 and July 16, 2025.
CTF criticizes bonuses for incomplete work
“Why do these train executives think they deserve huge taxpayer-funded bonuses when they haven’t laid a single metre of track?” said Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director at the CTF, in a statement. “Government bureaucrats don’t deserve bonuses before they finish their work, so they definitely don’t deserve bonuses before they even start their work.”
The records were released in response to a parliamentary question from Andrew Scheer, Conservative MP for Regina—Qu’Appelle and Opposition House Leader. Scheer had asked for information on bonuses awarded at Crown corporations for the 2025-26 fiscal year, broken down by recipient level.
Breakdown of bonus payments
For Alto, a wholly owned subsidiary of VIA Rail, the total bonus figure was $2,758,967.68, distributed to 18 officials at the executive level or higher and 116 below the executive level. These numbers represent 100% of the corporation’s officials. Bonuses for executive-level or higher officials amounted to $1,232,699.24, averaging about $68,000 each. The remaining $1,526,268.44 was divided among lower-level officials, averaging a little more than $13,000 each.
“The above‑referenced payment relates to the reference period commencing on January 1, 2025, and ending on July 16, 2025, and represents the organization’s most recent short‑term incentive payment,” the document states.
Project still in development phase
Canada’s high-speed rail plans remain in the “development” phase, according to Alto’s website. The next phase, “construction,” has no start date listed. However, in an interview last September, Alto CEO Martin Imbleau said phased construction is expected to start in 2029 or 2030, with the first of four route segments completed in six to eight years and the entire network finished in the early 2040s.
Government figures show Alto had an operating budget of $51.67 million in 2023-24, which jumped to $597 million in 2025-26. The government attributes the increase to “additional funding from Budget 2024 and a 2025 off-cycle to continue the (high-speed rail) project. This funding will support the Crown’s core and enabling activities and allow the project to complete the procurement phase and undertake its next phase: co-development.”
