The route of the proposed high-speed rail project between Toronto and Quebec City is one of the most important issues in the upcoming Terrebonne byelection, according to the Bloc Québécois. 

Leader Yves-François Blanchet was in the riding Wednesday alongside former MP and current candidate Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné, who lost her seat to the Liberals’ Tatiana Auguste last spring by a single vote.

That result that was recently annulled by the Supreme Court because of an Elections Canada error.

Recent floor crossings and safer races in Ontario have raised the stakes in Terrebonne, where a Liberal victory could grant the Carney government a slim majority.

But Blanchet has been clear he doesn’t want that to be the ballot-box question in Terrebonne on April 13.

He and Sinclair-Desgagné are, instead, focusing on how the Liberals have approached expropriations and consultations for the Alto’s high speed rail project.

On Wednesday he renewed his party’s criticism of Liberal efforts to fast-track the project, slamming them as undemocratic, especially the removal of the right to a hearing for properties being expropriated along the corridor.

Blanchet said many residents in the riding could be impacted, and that not enough attention has been paid to this issue given “painful memories” associated with intensive and unnecessary expropriations for the Mirabel airport decades ago. 

Blanchet told voters that no matter what their view is on the proposed high-speed train, the Bloc Québécois is the party to vote for. 

“Are you against it, and want to express that? Nathalie and the Bloc Québécois will work for you,” he said. 

“Or, on the other hand, if you are supportive of it, and it seems a lot of you somewhat supportive, but need clear information, a respect for property rights, and for it to be done well? Then Nathalie and the Bloc will speak for you.”

Sinclair-Desgagné said a lot of her supporters are concerned by the plan, pointing to a recent well-attended meeting of residents wanting more answers from Alto.

READ MORE: Bloc slams ‘undemocratic’ plan to fast-track high-speed rail

The Bloc Québécois press conference comes on the heels of one by Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who called on the government to cancel the high-speed rail project earlier this week. 

“The project is another example of a ridiculous pie-in-the-sky Liberal spending initiative,” he said, adding that it would cost $90 billion and questioning future demand for the service. 

Poilievre was also critical of the expropriation measures in the budget bill, even if Conservatives helped the Liberals pass that legislation by declining to join the Bloc Québécois push for amendments.

“It is a Liberal land grab,” he said while answering a reporter’s question on Tuesday. “Your private property is not safe under this Liberal government… Property rights are human rights.”

Opposition party focus on this project suggests it could be a politically potent issue, although recent polling doesn’t back that up. 

Numbers from Abacus Data suggest there is cross-party support, including up to 58 per cent among Conservative voters and 68 per cent among Bloc Québécois supporters.

A spokesperson for Transport Canada tells iPolitics the high-speed rail project will be the largest infrastructure project in the country’s history and that previous expropriation rules were not designed for a project of that scale. 

“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. 

Transport Canada said the new expropriation measures are “essential” to support “the timely delivery of the project.”

In December, the federal government announced it was eyeing the end of the decade to begin construction on the first stretch of the high speed rail connecting Ottawa and Montreal.