Minister of Transport Steven MacKinnon, joined by Alto President and CEO Martin Imbleau, released Alto’s What We Heard Report, which summarizes feedback gathered during the first phase of a comprehensive 100-day public consultation process, as well as through Indigenous consultation activities that were conducted from October 2025 through June 2026 across the Toronto–Québec City Corridor.
The Alto high-speed rail project is a strategic step toward delivering sustainable, faster, and more connected transportation for Canadians. It will provide more frequent and reliable passenger rail service, bring communities closer together, foster economic growth across the country, and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The report reflects feedback from Canadians, Indigenous communities, municipalities, agricultural producers, landowners, industry stakeholders, community organizations, and transportation experts on the opportunities, challenges, and potential benefits associated with the project.
Agricultural producers, landowners, and rural communities have raised important questions related to property acquisition, impacts on farmland and agricultural operations, access, and the potential effects of the project on their properties and communities. This feedback is helping to inform ongoing planning, design, and mitigation measures.
Minister MacKinnon said in releasing the report that: “Canadians shared valuable perspectives through Alto’s consultation process, and we are acting on what we heard.”
The Minister continued: “I have asked Alto to further assess an alignment option that could include Kingston as a potential stop as we continue advancing this transformative project for communities across the Toronto–Québec City corridor.”
Following the review of the findings, Minister MacKinnon has directed Alto to develop a plan to assess a southern route option between Peterborough and Ottawa that includes a potential stop in Kingston that would interconnect with VIA Rail services, subject to technical feasibility and project requirements.
Alto’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Martin Imbleau said that: “Consultation is an ongoing dialogue. Public input, as well as feedback from organizations, experts and Indigenous communities, is invaluable in helping us refine the project, especially as we chose to engage early in the process. Alto’s objective is to develop a project that delivers the greatest collective benefits, while minimizing impacts on communities and the environment. Technical and environmental analyses are continuing rigorously, and this work will allow us to present a more precise alignment this fall that reflects the comments we have received.”
High-speed rail would reduce travel times between Kingston and Toronto to approximately 90 minutes while establishing Kingston as a key regional mobility hub, improving connections and placing up to 80% of residents between Peterborough and Ottawa within a 25-minute drive of a station.
Ongoing exchanges with environmental organizations in the Kingston area as a part of the consultation process clearly illustrated the need to minimize local and environmental impacts.
Minister MacKinnon and Alto confirmed that these concerns will be taken very seriously and that the project will be developed in a way to mitigate potential impacts. This commitment will guide all technical analyses as work progresses. Once a preferred alignment is identified, the project will proceed to more detailed design and regulatory review, including the Impact in Assessment process.
This next phase will continue to involve consultation with potentially impacted Indigenous communities, public engagement, and coordination with provincial, municipal, and other partners.
This work represents an important next step in refining the rail corridor and ensuring the project delivers the greatest possible benefits to communities across the Toronto–Québec City corridor while reducing impacts and remaining technically and economically viable.
