MONTREAL (AP) — The Canadian government said Wednesday it is moving ahead with a multibillion-dollar plan to build a high-speed rail network between Quebec City and Toronto.
The planned rail network will be 100% electric, span approximately 1,000 kilometers, (622 miles) and reach speeds of up to 300 kph (187 mph). There will be stations in Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montréal, Laval, Trois-Rivières and Quebec City.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a news conference the government will commit CDN$3.9 billion (US$2.74 billion) over six years, starting in the 2024-25 fiscal year, to iron out specifics, including where the stations will be located in each city and the trajectory of the network, before construction can begin.
Officials say it’s too soon to estimate the final cost of the project or when it will be completed.
“A reliable, efficient high-speed rail network will be a game changer for Canadians,” said Trudeau.
The new rail system, which will be known as Alto, will get travelers from Montréal to Toronto in just three hours. The announcement from Trudeau and Transport Minister Anita Anand comes after years of debate and extensive study of options to improve commuter rail service in central Canada.
Passenger rail service currently relies on tracks used by freight trains, limiting service frequency and often causing delays. The high-speed train network would be Canada’s largest ever infrastructure project, Trudeau said.
Trudeau made the announcement even though there is uncertainly over how long the Liberal Party will continue to govern. He announced Jan. 6 he is resigning as party leader and prime minister. The Liberals will choose a new leader March 9.
All three opposition parties have vowed to bring down the Liberals’ minority government in a no-confidence vote after Parliament resumes March 24.
Trudeau was confident the rail link would be built even if the Liberals lose the next election.
“High-speed rail in this country was always going to be a project that would take long enough to build that it would cover multiple governments,” Trudeau said. “It takes a will and a determination by a government to move forward and lock in this progress.”
Martin Imbleau, president and CEO of Alto, said Canada needs a viable, sustainable alternative to car and plane travel.
“A high-speed rail network is not a luxury. It is a necessity,” Imbleau said. “Highways are more congested than ever, airports are stretched to their limits for too many people, intercity travel is frustrating, unreliable and unsustainable.”
The government has selected Cadence, a consortium of companies, to co-design, build, finance, operate and maintain the rail megaproject.
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wears a copper necklace while listening during a community gathering to celebrate a land title agreement with the Haida Nation, in Skidegate, British Columbia, on Haida Gwaii, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Tears run down Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's face as he becomes emotional while speaking during a community gathering to celebrate a land title agreement with the Haida Nation, in Skidegate, British Columbia, on Haida Gwaii, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
