New Survey Highlights Weak Mandate for Costly High-Speed Rail as Concerns Grow Over Environmental Impacts and Inadequate Public Consultation Process

EAST HAWKESBURY, ON, March 31, 2026 /CNW/ - Canadians have not granted a clear mandate for the $90 billion Alto high-speed rail project, according to a recent nationwide survey (Abacus Data, March 19-24, 2026).

Only 25 per cent of Canadians strongly support the project, and one in five remains unsure.

Support for the project is strongest in Ontario and Quebec but declines in the West and Atlantic Canada.

Forty per cent of respondents said the Alto issue would influence their vote, while 46% say it would have no impact.

An Ontario citizens' association that opposes the project, ALTNO, commissioned the survey and says it indicates support is lukewarm.

"The survey suggests that high-speed rail is not a top priority for most Canadians," said ALTNO member, Kathleen O'Connell Renaud. 

"We think people view high-speed rail as appealing, but Canadians haven't been informed about, or considered, the serious damage this high-speed rail project will wreak," said O'Connell Renaud.  These include environmental and land-use impacts, which are still largely unexamined, she said. "There is zero doubt that agricultural production, natural habitats, and critical water resources will be negatively affected."

No studies have been done on potential effects on animal and bird migration patterns, watersheds, protected species and natural environments in the proposed rail "corridors."

Other issues include the absence of a fully reviewed business case.  "We can expect big cost overruns," says fellow ALTNO member, Kirstin Muller. "The Trans Mountain pipeline's cost ballooned to almost 5 times the original estimate."

Alto's CEO, Martin Imbleau, told a Parliamentary committee hearing in February this year that he really doesn't know how much the project will cost.

Alto can't back up its claims the project would benefit Canada's economy by $24.5 billion per year. 

A C.D. Howe study in 2025 estimated a far lower benefit of between $15-27 billion in total over 60 years.

A recent McGill study said Alto would still need government handouts of $1.4 billion per year, once it is up and running.

ALTNO disputes many of Alto's other claims, including the potential time savings for travelers.

The projected Alto HSR Toronto-Montreal travel time is just 21 minutes faster than the abandoned Turbotrain express, which ended in 1982.

"Alto and the government have failed in their 'duty to consult' and fully inform Canadians and we need more information and real consultation in Ontario and Quebec "corridor" communities. Now. Before any expropriations happen," Muller said. She points out that the Alto project was announced by former prime minister Justin Trudeau in early 2025, without consulting Parliament, and without any public debate. 

The survey was conducted by Abacus Data with 1,515 Canadian adults from March 19-24, 2026. The results are valid within 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. 

The full survey results can be found on ALTNO's website- https://www.altno.ca

SOURCE ALTNO

For information: Kathleen O'Connell Renaud or Kristin Muller, phone [phone]. Email: [email protected]