Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne titled Budget 2026 Masters of Our Destiny, but try telling that to farmers watching the Liberals make it easier to take their land for a train that has not broken ground.

In Annex 3, under “Accelerating High-Speed Rail Construction,” the government proposes legislation to streamline expropriation and enable early pre-construction work for Alto, the planned Toronto–Quebec City high-speed railway.

“Almost immediately”

That’s how fast Transport Minister Steve McKinnon says private property could be seized after approval of the ALTO high-speed rail

Expropriation of pristine farmland and private hunting land, for a $90B megaproject that won’t be on time or on budget pic.twitter.com/mSWNVzr9nv

— Tamara Ugolini 🇨🇦 (@TamaraUgo) February 26, 2026

There is no draft bill accompanying that entry, and no explanation of which property-owner protections could change.

This is not Ottawa’s first pass. The High Speed Rail Network Act, passed in March 2026, already allows the Crown corporation to seek expropriation without first demonstrating an attempt to purchase the land. It also removed the usual public hearings on objections. Landowners can still object in writing, but no longer have that public forum to make their case.

Now the Liberals want another round of streamlining.

Alto’s CEO argued before a parliamentary committee in February that clearer legislative tools were necessary to prevent delays, limit speculation and manage financial risk. He also acknowledged that expropriation is deeply sensitive and said voluntary agreements would remain the preferred approach.

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Earlier this week, ALTO CEO lobbied the senate for “buy in” on a “regulatory framework” (hint: Bill C15) to expropriate properties in the path of their $90B mega project if “preferred voluntary agreements” are unsuccessful pic.twitter.com/3Tob5hITKX

— Tamara Ugolini 🇨🇦 (@TamaraUgo) February 28, 2026

For affected farmers, those assurances sit alongside enormous uncertainty over when voluntary negotiations will give way to forced expropriation.

Alto describes a roughly 1,000-kilometre network linking Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montreal, Laval, Trois-Rivières and Quebec City. Its working construction estimate is $60 billion to $90 billion. The Parliamentary Budget Officer puts the figure higher, at roughly $75 billion to $113 billion.

The final alignment is still not set, with Alto saying it’s narrowing a study corridor. The spending, however, has already been well underway.

Ottawa committed $3.9 billion over six years for co-development when it selected the Cadence Consortium in February 2025. The partnership includes AtkinsRéalis, which is just SNC-Lavalin rebranded, a company with a history of corruption and corporate misconduct now entrusted with delivering one of Canada's largest infrastructure projects.

Alto’s 2024–25 annual report records nearly $77 million in expenses, including $48.5 million for professional services and $22.8 million for compensation and benefits.

A parliamentary response also disclosed $2.76 million in short-term incentive payments covering part of 2025. All 134 officials received a payment, with 18 executive-level officials sharing approximately $1.2 million.

Meanwhile, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Ontario Landowners Association and Quebec farm groups have warned that the railway will divide land farmers have held for generations, destroy ecologically sensitive areas, sever access and jeopardize livelihoods.

Even after billions have been committed and millions made in incentives, there’s no final route, but just the ever-increasing promise that the government is accelerating the acquisition of private land.

Before the Liberals claim Canadians are masters of their destiny, landowners deserve to see exactly what powers it intends to claim over theirs.