Toronto-Quebec City High-Speed Rail Could Cost Up to CA$113 Billion, Provide Modest Short-Term Stimulus, Watchdog Says

11:30 AM EDT, 10/01/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Canada's proposed high-speed rail line between Toronto and Quebec City could cost up to CA$113 billion, exceeding the government's current estimate of CA$60 billion to CA$90 billion, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) in a Thursday note. The PBO puts the baseline route's cost, excluding Kingston, at CA$75 billion to CA$113 billion, with tunnels, elevated structures and construction through Canadian Shield terrain among the key sources of cost uncertainty. Using 850 kilometers as an upper-bound estimate for new track, the watchdog puts the cost at roughly CA$71 million to CA$106 million per kilometer in 2024 dollars, based on a total project cost of CA$75 billion to CA$113 billion. Each additional kilometer of tunnel could add about CA$169 million, while elevated structures could add about CA$153 million per kilometer. The report also estimates that costs could rise by around CA$1.5 billion for each additional year before construction begins. The project is expected to provide a "modest" near-term boost to the economy during construction, added the PBO. For the Ottawa-Montreal segment, the watchdog forecasts a CA$1.8 billion increase in real gross domestic product in 2029, rising to CA$2.0 billion by 2033, with employment gains growing from about 4,300 to 9,000 jobs. The estimates reflect annual, rather than cumulative, economic impacts and exclude potential productivity gains once the rail system is operational.