The federal Liberal government has introduced sweeping new legislation designed to dramatically accelerate the development of a high-speed rail network connecting Toronto and Quebec City. Tabled on November 21, 2025, the proposed High-Speed Rail Network Act aims to cut through bureaucratic red tape that has historically delayed major national infrastructure projects.
Unprecedented Powers to Expedite Construction
At the heart of the new bill are significant new powers for Alto, the Crown corporation responsible for the massive railway initiative. The legislation would grant the corporation enhanced authority for the acquisition or expropriation of land required for the project's path. Furthermore, in a move that experts are calling unprecedented, the bill seeks to exclude the project from standard review by the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA).
The act would deem the high-speed rail line de facto approved and legally bar the CTA from rescinding that approval. This leaves the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) as the sole major federal body conducting a review, focusing primarily on the environmental assessment.
A New Approach to Major Project Management
The proposed act is embedded within the Liberals' extensive budget implementation bill, offering the first concrete look at how Prime Minister Mark Carney's government plans to fulfill its promise to streamline the construction of transformative national projects. This summer, the government had already designated the high-speed railway as a "transformative project" under its new Major Projects Office, pledging to reduce the pre-construction timeline from eight years down to five.
The new legislative strategy involves segmenting the colossal undertaking into more manageable pieces. The bill proposes to cut the project into segments of up to 50 kilometres, with each segment being reviewed and approved individually. This approach is intended to prevent bottlenecks and keep the project moving forward continuously.
Expert Reaction and Project Details
Lavagnon Ika, a professor of project management at the University of Ottawa and director of the Major Projects Observatory, expressed that the legislation ventures into "uncharted territory." He noted that these are "sweeping and unprecedented powers being given to the cabinet to kind of… pre-approve any mega project without much scrutiny from independent regulators."
The high-speed rail project itself is monumental in scale and cost. It promises to develop roughly 1,000 kilometres of fully electric rail dedicated to high-speed trains that will travel at speeds of up to 300 km/h. Alto states that this will slash travel times between major cities along the corridor by half compared to the existing Via Rail service. The estimated cost for this transformative piece of infrastructure is between $60 and $90 billion.
While legislating approval for a project significantly speeds up the process, the strategy has historically been met with strong opposition from parliamentarians who argue it undermines regulatory oversight and democratic accountability. The government's move signals a firm commitment to making the long-discussed high-speed rail corridor a reality, betting that the economic and environmental benefits will outweigh the concerns over its accelerated approval process.
