Taxpayers have already shelled out nearly $3 million in bonuses to executives and staff overseeing the federal government's planned high-speed rail project between Toronto and Quebec City, despite construction being years away from beginning.

According to government records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation through an order paper question submitted by Conservative MP Andrew Scheer, the federal Crown corporation Alto handed out $2.8 million in bonuses between Jan. 1 and July 16, 2025.

All 18 Alto executives received bonuses totalling $1.2 million, for an average payout of roughly $68,500 each. The corporation's 116 non-executive employees also received bonuses, splitting another $1.5 million.

The payouts come even though Alto has yet to break ground on the project and does not expect to begin construction until at least 2029.

"We don't have a very precise alignment to start," Alto CEO Martin Imbleau told CBC, acknowledging the corporation has not yet finalized the route for the proposed rail line.

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Nevertheless, Alto cost taxpayers $597 million in the 2025-26 Main Estimates, and the government has estimated the total cost of the project could reach as high as $90 billion.

"Why do these train executives think they deserve huge taxpayer-funded bonuses when they haven't laid a single metre of track?" asked Canadian Taxpayers Federation federal director Franco Terrazzano. "Government bureaucrats don't deserve bonuses before they finish their work, so they definitely don't deserve bonuses before they even start their work."

The bonus payouts are not unique to Alto.

Government records show that VIA Rail paid out $10.3 million in bonuses in 2025-26. All eight of its executives received bonuses averaging $115,293, while 99 per cent of non-executive employees also received bonus payments totaling approximately $9.4 million.

The payouts came despite VIA Rail relying on $1.8 billion in federal support over the past five years to cover operating losses, according to its latest annual report. The Crown corporation also reported that just 35% of its trains arrived on time last year.

"Prime Minister Mark Carney needs to end Ottawa's entitlement culture because it seems like government executives think they deserve bonuses just for showing up to work twice a week with their shoes tied," Terrazzano said.

The broader federal public service has shown a similar pattern. Government data indicates that approximately 98% of federal executives received bonuses in 2024-25, costing taxpayers $201 million, even though federal departments met only 54% of their own performance targets.