With the final passage of the Liberals’ omnibus budget bill, the HighSpeed Rail Network Act is now law. The Liberals used this law to give themselves special expropriation powers to build the high-speed rail line.
Here are 5 changes the Liberals have made that every landowner in Eastern Ontario should be aware of.
1. No requirement to negotiate before expropriation
Under the ordinary Expropriation Act, the federal government usually must try to buy land voluntarily before expropriating it.
Bill C‑15 removes that step for high‑speed rail land. If the minister decides land is needed, the government can move directly to expropriation without first attempting a negotiated purchase.
What this means for owners: fewer chances to sell voluntarily before formal expropriation begins.
2. Streamlined and less detailed notice requirements
Normally, expropriation notices must include detailed information about the land, the project, and the owner’s rights.
For high‑speed rail projects, Bill C‑15 allows simpler notices. The notice only needs to confirm that a notice of intention has been registered and identify the general location. Providing more detail is left largely to the minister’s discretion.
What this means: landowners may receive less information upfront about how and why their land is being taken.
3. Elimination of public hearings on objections
Under the regular process, landowners can object and have their concerns heard through a public hearing before an independent hearing officer.
Bill C‑15 removes this hearing process for high‑speed rail expropriations. Owners can still file a written objection within 30 days, but there is no oral hearing and no independent hearing officer. The minister alone reviews objections.
What this means: objections are decided internally by government, with no public forum or independent review.
4. Minister has final say to proceed or withdraw
After the objection period ends, the minister may either confirm or abandon the expropriation, with no obligation to justify the decision publicly beyond the statute.
What this means: greater decision‑making power rests with the federal minister, not an external body.
5. Expropriation powers come into force early
Evidence to the Senate confirmed that expropriation authority becomes law before the rail corridor is fully defined and before environmental assessments are completed. Corridor details are expected later, after the legal powers already exist.
What this means: land can fall under expropriation authority even when final routing decisions are not yet settled.
Will History Repeat?
In 1972, Pierre Trudeau expropriated farmland in Pickering to build an airport. By 1975 the airport plan was on hold. The government kept the land. In January of this year the government announced there would be no airport. The land will go to Parks Canada to be included in Rouge National Park.
30×30
Last month, Carney re-announced the Liberal plan to fulfill the commitments Trudeau’s government made in the United Nations Biodiversity Treaty. All of the media reporting on the Liberal announcement was focused on the treaty’s Goal #3. This is the goal to preserve 30% of Canada’s NATURAL habitat by 2030. This goal receives the most media attention because national parks are what Canadians’ normally think about when they think conservation. Over 50% of Canada is currently undeveloped. Reaching the goal of conserving 30% is simply a matter of taking the time to negotiate with provinces and indigenous communities to remove the land from any future potential economic development.
What has received zero media attention is the treaty’s Goal #2. This is the radical goal to return 30% of Canada’s developed lands to nature by 2030. By turning over farmland, which had originally been expropriated for an airport, to be included in Rouge National Park the Liberals are advancing Goal #2.
When Liberals claim the high-speed rail line will cost $60 to $90 billion alarm bells should be going off. With such a huge 50% margin, this is not a financial estimate, but a focus-group tested slogan. The California High-Speed Rail project is currently projected to cost approximately $126 billion to $135 billion USD. This is an estimate for project currently in construction. Converting to Canadian dollars and taking into account inflation suggest that Carney’s high-speed rail will cost over $200 million.
In time, Canadians will learn what the true cost to build the high-speed rail line is. It will become politically toxic and the Liberals will cancel it. Thanks to the changes Liberals made to expropriation laws, the Liberals will find themselves with a vast tract of developed land they can restore to nature to meet Goal #2.