12 Feb 2025 13 min read

Electrifying Canada

National Electric High-Speed Rail

Canada is a country of vast landscapes, towering mountains, sprawling prairies, and endless forests. It is also a country of immense potential—an economic powerhouse rich in resources, talent, and innovation. Yet, for all our strengths, Canada is crippled by an outdated and inefficient transportation system.

We are the second-largest country in the world, yet travel between our major cities remains slow, expensive, and environmentally destructive. Air travel is overpriced and unreliable. Highways are congested and crumbling. Our passenger rail system is outdated, inefficient, and virtually non-existent in many regions.

Meanwhile, nations around the world—France, Germany, China, Japan, Spain—have embraced high-speed, electrified rail networks, creating fast, efficient, and sustainable transportation for their people. These countries are reducing emissions, slashing travel times, and boosting economic growth while Canada continues to fall behind.

It’s time to change that.

We need a nationwide, all-electric high-speed rail (EHSR) network—one that spans coast to coast, connecting every city over 100,000 people with fast, affordable, and zero-emission rail travel. This isn’t just a transportation project. It’s a nation-building initiative that will define the next 100 years of Canadian progress.

The Case for High-Speed Rail in Canada

1. Economic Growth and Job Creation

A national high-speed rail network would be one of the largest infrastructure projects in Canadian history—creating hundreds of thousands of jobs in construction, engineering, and technology.

Building the network: Manufacturing railcars, laying track, constructing stations, and upgrading electrical grids would inject billions into the economy.
Local job creation: Small and mid-sized cities along the rail corridors would see new investment, rising property values, and business growth around transit hubs.
Strengthening national industries: A high-speed rail system would boost manufacturing, tourism, and logistics, making it easier for businesses to move people and goods across the country.

Countries that have built HSR networks have seen huge economic returns, with every $1 invested yielding up to $4 in benefits. Canada has an opportunity to replicate and even surpass these successes.

2. Faster, More Efficient Travel

Imagine boarding a train in Toronto and arriving in Montreal in under two hours—no security lines, no baggage fees, no delays.

Or taking a one-hour trip between Calgary and Edmonton instead of sitting in traffic for three.

Or traveling coast to coast from Vancouver to Halifax in under 24 hours—an experience that is both fast and breathtaking as the country speeds by outside your window.

With average speeds of 350-400 km/h, high-speed rail makes intercity travel faster than flying for distances under 1,000 km. When you factor in airport security, boarding wait times, and the trip to and from the airport, HSR outperforms airlines on key routes while being far more comfortable and affordable.

And unlike roads and runways, high-speed rail operates in all weather conditions, unaffected by snowstorms or heavy rain. In a country known for its harsh winters, this resilience cannot be ignored.

3. Slashing Carbon Emissions with 100% Electric Rail

Transportation is one of Canada’s largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for nearly 25% of national emissions.

High-speed rail offers a zero-emission alternative:
- Four times more energy-efficient than air travel
- Eight times more efficient than cars
- Runs on renewable electricity instead of fossil fuels

Canada is one of the world’s clean energy leaders, with vast hydroelectric, wind, and solar resources. A fully electrified HSR system would be powered by Quebec’s hydro dams, the Prairie’s growing solar fields, BC’s wind farms, and Ontario’s clean grid—ensuring a truly sustainable future.

The result? Millions of tonnes of CO₂ emissions eliminated every year, putting Canada on track to meet and exceed its climate commitments.

4. Connecting Every Major Canadian City—No One Left Behind

This project must include every city in Canada with a population over 100,000. Too often, infrastructure investment focuses on a few major urban centres, leaving mid-sized cities and rural regions without access.

This network would include these larger hubs, and more:
WEST → Vancouver, Surrey, Burnaby, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Victoria, Kelowna
ONTARIO → Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Hamilton, London, Markham, Vaughan, Kitchener, Windsor, Barrie, Kingston, Oshawa, Sudbury, Guelph
QUEBEC → Montreal, Quebec City, Laval, Gatineau, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières, Saguenay
ATLANTIC CANADA → Halifax, Moncton, St. John’s, Saint John
THE NORTH → Whitehorse, Yellowknife, Thunder Bay, Innunguat, and key Indigenous communities

This ensures regional connectivity for all—not just for Toronto, Montreal, or Vancouver.

5. A Smart Investment in National Sovereignty

Canada relies too heavily on foreign-controlled airlines for domestic travel. By building a national, public high-speed rail system, we:

Secure Canada’s long-term transportation future
Reduce dependence on American-owned airlines
Invest in domestic engineering, manufacturing, and innovation

In times of global uncertainty—pandemics, economic crises, geopolitical conflicts—having a reliable, Canadian-built, Canadian-operated high-speed rail network is a matter of national security.

How Do We Build It?

This is not a question of affordability—it’s a question of priorities.

We invest in highways, pipelines, and airports without hesitation, but when it comes to nationwide high-speed rail, we hesitate. That ends now.

This network can be funded through:

Public-private partnerships (PPP)
Green infrastructure bonds
Pension fund investments
Carbon offset credits

The return on investment is clear, and delaying only makes the project more expensive in the long run.

Canada’s Defining Moment

A century ago, the Transcontinental Railway united the country, making Canada the modern nation it is today.

Today, we need an all-electric high-speed rail network to define the next century of progress.

This is not just a transportation project. This is a transformation of how Canadians live, work, and connect.

We can choose to continue crawling behind the rest of the world, dependent on outdated infrastructure and fossil fuels.

Or we can electrify, modernize, and lead.

The future of Canada must be built on rail.

The time is now.

Let’s build.

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Thanks!

Canada was built on rail. It’s time to do it again. All-electric, high-speed, coast to coast. Every city over 100K connected. Faster than flying. Zero emissions. No excuses. The world is ahead. Canada must build. Now.

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