Welcome to Economic Insights, a twice-weekly newsletter focusing on major projects and the Canadian economy at large.

Stories we are following:

• ALTO’s high-speed rail project between TORONTO and QUEBEC CITY is caught in partisan crosshairs, with PIERRE POILIEVRE and the BLOC QUÉBÉCOIS both using it to attack the LIBERALS. 
• Co-operation agreements between provinces and OTTAWA abound: NEWFOUNDLAND and LABRADOR announced a deal on Wednesday, ALBERTA officially signed its own one today, and a QUEBEC spokesperson tells iPolitics “discussions are at a very advanced stage.”

Unlikely allies on the tracks

The federal CONSERVATIVES and the BLOC QUÉBÉCOIS are using the government’s high-speed rail ambitions to score political points, focusing on how property owner rights could be impacted by changes to expropriation rules.

• • ‘Liberal land grab’: Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE  signaled his opposition to the project this week, calling it a $90 billion boondoogle.
  • But you supported it?: Asked why CONSERVATIVES didn’t derail the project when they had the chance in the budget committee, POILIEVRE said he isn’t in government and doesn’t have that power. 
  • But you did: CONSERVATIVES could have joined BLOC QUEBECOIS efforts to amend the high speed rail act, but instead helped the LIBERALS pass that legislation. 
  • I remember: The tories spent a lot of their political capital on successfully amending the sandbox regulation provisions in the budget bill.
  • Defining issue: BLOC QUEBECOIS told voters in TERREBONNE high speed rail is the defining issue in the upcoming high-stakes byelection, and that his party is best positioned to defend local interests.

• Essential: TRANSPORT CANADA tells iPolitics changes to expropriation rules are essential to ensure the project won’t be delayed. 

“The changes focus on reducing delays and duplication while preserving strong protections for landowners, including fair market compensation, access to the courts, reimbursement of reasonable costs, and the opportunity to submit objections,” reads a statement.

By the numbers

$20 billion: The estimated phase-one capital spending for the PATHWAYS ALLIANCE carbon capture project, up from $16 billion in the last estimate.

74%: The portion of the global population living in oil-importing countries.

$5.25 billion: The amount POILIEVRE claims could be “saved” for Canadians by eliminating taxes on fuel, a government revenue shortfall he’d partially offset by scrapping the gun buyback program and the ALTO high speed rail project. 

Major projects watch

— NEWFOUNDLAND and LABRADOR is the latest province to sign a co-operation agreement with Ottawa on project assessment. As for QUEBEC, it says iPolitics discussions are at a very “advanced stage.” Should they reach a deal, that would leave SASKATCHEWAN as the only province without one.

— Environment and Climate Change Minister JULIE DABRUSIN declines to confirm whether the ALBERTA–OTTAWA memorandum of understanding sets a target date of 2030 by which the province will hike its industrial carbon price to $130 a tonne.

— The ALBERTA BUSINESS COUNCIL is calling for a 250-day limit for major project reviews, and 180 days for smaller ones. The federal government has been working towards a 2 year approval timeline, meaning 730 days.

— The IMPACT ASSESSMENT AGENCY OF CANADA completed a review of the POINT ROUSSE PORT EXPANSION project in NEWFOUNDLAND and LABRADOR, and determined that its potential adverse effects within federal jurisdiction would be limited or addressed through other means.

Headlines