Minister MacKinnon highlights "once-in-a-century" opportunities for Canada's businesses and workforce
MONTRÉAL, Nov. 18, 2025 /CNW/ - Alto and its private developer partner Cadence are initiating outreach to Canada's steel industry to better understand its interest, capacity and readiness to supply this critical component of the high-speed rail project, helping ensure the largest infrastructure build in the country in over a half century generates lasting benefits for Canadian businesses and workers.
Guided by the Government's intent to Buy Canadian, Alto will seek to leverage domestic capabilities by sourcing key components of the future rail network from Canadian suppliers to the greatest extent possible. This includes several hundred thousand tonnes of steel for high-speed rails, structures, facilities and electric infrastructure.
In the coming weeks, Alto and Cadence intend to meet with leaders across the Canadian steel industry to better understand current production capabilities, scaling potential, and opportunities for modernization. This engagement will help shape a procurement approach that prioritizes Canadian suppliers and strengthens domestic supply chain resilience.
Building Canada's first high-speed rail network will require more than 4,000 km of steel rails in addition to massive quantities of structural beams, catenaries, and other core materials. Few infrastructure projects in modern Canadian history have generated an industrial demand of this magnitude. This scale of procurement presents a rare opportunity for Canada's steel and manufacturing sectors to expand capacity, accelerate investment, and innovate to position themselves for the opportunities ahead. By sourcing locally where possible, Alto aims to strengthen domestic supply chains, support Canadian jobs, and ensure that the economic ripple effects of this nation-building project are felt across the country. "This initiative is one of Canada's largest infrastructure investments in decades. It is about strengthening our country by building more here at home," said the Hon. Steven MacKinnon, Minister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons. "This new High-Speed Rail Network will be transformational. It's a once-in-a-generation opportunity to connect Canadians in new ways while creating a new industry and high-quality jobs."
"Alto is a nation-building project that will create major opportunities for Canadian businesses," added Alto's President & CEO, Martin Imbleau. "We're inviting the industry to engage early, to prepare, to build capacity, and to modernize to meet the scale of this project, one of the most complex infrastructure builds in Canadian history. The time to get ready is now."
"Canada hasn't seen an infrastructure project of this magnitude in decades," said Cadence General Manager Daniel Farina. "We will need huge quantities of steel, and we want Canadian steelmakers to be ready to respond to request for proposals, because they are coming fast! This is a massive opportunity for Canadian suppliers, and we want to make sure they can seize it."
Alto will be Canada's first high-speed rail network, spanning close to 1,000 kilometres from Toronto to Québec City and reaching speeds of 300 km/hour or more. It will significantly cut travel times and connect close to half of Canada's population. The project will create more than 50,000 jobs during construction, generate productivity gains that could reach up to $35 billion annually, and contribute to cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
The Government of Canada has identified Alto as a transformative strategy for the country, and the Initiative will receive support from the Major Projects Office to enable the start of construction in four years. Pre-procurement activities for project components will start in 2026. Alto and Cadence will make sure that industry participants have the information they need to take part.
About Alto
Alto is a Crown corporation dedicated to building the largest public infrastructure project in Canada's recent history – the country's first ever, reliable and frequent high-speed rail network. With stations in Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montréal, Laval, Trois-Rivières and Québec City, this project will connect millions of Canadians living along the country's most densely populated corridor. Alto will bring cities and people closer together and create significant socio-economic benefits that will help generations to come. For more information on this transformative project, visit altotrain.ca.
About Cadence
Cadence is a Canadian-led multinational team of companies that brings together world-class expertise in designing, financing, building, operating, and maintaining large-scale, complex rail infrastructure. In collaboration with Alto, the team will contribute technical and commercial expertise to support key project milestones and to inform the Government of Canada's final investment decision. For more information on Cadence, visit https://cadence.info/en.
SOURCE Alto
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