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Canada Awards High-Speed Rail Predevelopment

Canada’s high-frequency rail procurement is now officially a high-speed rail project. In February, the Canadian government formally announced the selection of a predevelopment partner for a new high-speed rail project between Toronto and Quebec City, with stops in Peterborough, Ottawa, Montreal, Laval and Trois-Rivieres. The progressive P3 to deliver the project will not only be […]

P3s and Infrastructure Ontario Under Pressure

Ontario’s P3 industry is facing more public scrutiny and criticism than it ever has before, and even Infrastructure Ontario is in the cross hairs. In December, the Toronto Star ran an opinion piece titled “Infrastructure Ontario Must Go” calling for an end to the institution. The biggest source of consternation appears to be the ongoing […]

Canada Launches National Infrastructure Assessment

Canada took a major step toward implementing its long-awaited National Infrastructure Assessment (NIA) at the end of 2024. In December, it formally formed the Canadian Infrastructure Council. The 11-member council is an advisory body tasks with eventually delivering the NIA to the government. The Canadian government has been planning to conduct some form of a […]

From a High Frequency to a High Speed Rail P3

Canada’s rail industry is abuzz with reports that the government is seriously considering converting its ongoing High Frequency Rail project procurement to a truly High Speed Rail project, which would connect Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City. The government has accepted proposals for the project from three shortlisted bid teams, and is expected to selected […]

Calgary’s Green Line: High Costs, No Train

Planning and development for Calgary’s Green Line LRT project has been more than a decade in the making. It may take a decade more for the now-$6.2 billion project to be built. In September, the Alberta government pulled its $1.53B share of funding for the first phase of the line, the Calgary city council voted […]

High Frequency Rail to Test Progressive Model in Canada

Canada’s High Frequency Rail project, which will provide electrified passenger rail between Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City, is expected to be the largest infrastructure project in the nation’s history. It will also be a major test of the progressive P3 model, which has remained fairly nascent in Canada despite becoming much more prevalent in the […]

Hamilton, Ontario Gets Light Rail, Heavy Politics

Amid local outcry, the city of Hamilton, Ontario has recommended a very short-duration operating concession for its multibillion dollar light rail project. The recommendation now goes to Metrolinx, which will be the public owner of the new transit line and has final say in the line’s operations. Still, local interest groups did not treat the […]

Manitoba Election Puts School P3 at Risk of Cancellation

The provincial government in Manitoba, Canada, has been eager to build schools quickly, but for quite a long time. The province is mid-procurement on a P3 to build nine schools in the coming years, but may be changing course – now for the third time. In November, the newly elected NDP government in the province […]

High-Frequency Rail Moves to RFP

Transport Canada is moving forward with the country’s most significant infrastructure project in several decades. The launch of the RFP for the High-Frequency Rail (HFR) project between Quebec City and Toronto could redefine travel along one of the country’s most populous and trafficked corridors. The scope of the HFR project is to upgrade more than […]

Montreal’s New Transit: Automated Trains, Pension Fund Financing

July ushered in a new era of transit in Montreal with the grand opening of the Réseau Express Metropolitain (REM) light rail project – the first new light rail line in Montreal in Decades. For now, only the REM’s southern branch is starting operations, along with five stations along that segment. Once the entire project […]