Feds announce $4.7B for new VIA Rail cars to be built in Ontario, Québec

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In the latest push of its Buy Canadian Policy, the federal government is spending more than $4.7 billion for VIA Rail to acquire and maintain 313 new passenger rail cars from Alstom Canada. This will be the first time in four decades that VIA Rail passenger cars will be built entirely in Canada.

Contract marks first time in 4 decades that VIA Rail cars will be built entirely in Canada

Sarah Law · CBC News

· Posted: Sep 03, 2026 2:05 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

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Carney announces $4.7B to build rail cars in Canada instead of U.S.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced an investment of $4.7 billion to build and maintain more than 300 rail cars for VIA Rail in Canada rather than in the U.S. Carney said the investment is predicted to generate more than $1.6 billion in economic benefits.

In the latest push of its Buy Canadian Policy, the federal government is spending more than $4.7 billion for VIA Rail to acquire and maintain 313 new passenger rail cars from Alstom Canada.

This will be the first time in four decades that VIA Rail passenger cars will be built entirely in Canada. Much of its existing fleet was built in the United States.

“They'll be Canadian electricians that install the wiring, Canadian machinists that will make the precision parts, Canadian welders will build the steel frames from Canadian carbon steel," Carney said at the Alstom Plant in Thunder Bay, Ont., on Thursday morning.

“That work reaches well beyond the factory floor into communities across our country.”

These cars will be manufactured and assembled in Thunder Bay and La Pocatière, Que., with design and engineering work taking place in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Que.

The government projects the project could generate more than $1.6 billion for the economy and support nearly 700 jobs across Ontario and Québec.

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks at the Alstom Plant in Thunder Bay, Ont.

“We've announced the contract of the decade,” said Michael Keroullé, president and CEO of Alstom Americas.

“This is actually kind of the first time we get the opportunity to work with the national railroad, with VIA Rail. But more importantly, we are replacing cars that are now 70 years of age, very old, long overdue in terms of replacement.”

The announcement comes on the heels of another big project underway at the plant, which will handle the final assembly of new subway cars for the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) — each of which will include 55 per cent Canadian content.

More to come.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sarah Law is a CBC News reporter based in Thunder Bay, Ont., and has also worked for newspapers and online publications elsewhere in the province. Have a story tip? You can reach her at sarah.law@cbc.ca.

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