The Alto high-speed rail project has concluded its first phase of public consultations, following a three-month programme of engagement across Ontario and Quebec.
Alto plans to publish a report in June setting out the main findings from this initial phase. A more detailed corridor proposal is expected to be announced in autumn 2026.
With speeds reaching 300 km/h or more on approximately 1,000 km of dedicated and mainly electrified tracks, Alto will connect millions of people living along the Toronto–Québec City corridor
© Alto
The consultations, which ended on 24 April 2026, included 26 in-person open houses, 10 virtual sessions and 32 stakeholder roundtables. More than 10,000 people from both rural and urban communities took part. Feedback gathered during this period is expected to inform the transition from a broad corridor analysis to a more defined route alignment.
Since January 2026, Alto’s online consultation portal recorded over 324,000 unique visits. More than 24,000 questionnaires were submitted, outlining public perspectives on the proposed rail line. The project’s interactive map also received nearly 20,000 comments highlighting location-specific issues. Exit surveys from in-person events indicated that 70 percent of attendees were satisfied with the information provided.
Martin Imbleau, President and CEO of Alto said:
We made a deliberate choice to engage early, and we used the past hundred days to listen to communities to better understand their realities. We value the significant number of people who took the time to share their views and suggestions with us, as well as their criticisms and concerns. All of this feedback will help us find the right balance to design a project that reduces impacts on communities while delivering lasting benefits across the entire corridor.
While this stage of consultation has concluded, engagement with Indigenous communities, provincial and municipal authorities, and other groups will continue. Ongoing discussions will contribute to shaping the final alignment of the rail line.