Farm Orgs tell Alto that Silencing the Voice of Agriculture is not Collaboration

Alto project faces the scrutiny of Ontario and Quebec farm organizations

(June 17, 2026) – The National Farmers Union Ontario (NFU-O) will not collaborate with Alto on the high speed rail project planned between Toronto and Montreal. This morning a group of five Ontario and Québec farm organizations, including NFU-O, informed Alto that they would not be collaborators in their project until the Alto project was paused “for meaningful consultation and intentional exploration of low impact alternatives.” 

The five farm organizations, including the NFU-O, Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, L’Union des producteurs agricoles, and L’Union des Cultivateurs Franco-Ontarien will continue to meet to advocate for fair consultation with farmers and rural communities on the impacts of the Alto project.

Just last week, NFU President Jenn Pfenning roused a Parliament Hill rally organized to oppose Alto, declaring that the Alto project does not provide the public transit solution that we so desperately need in cities and communities across Canada. 

“We view Alto as a net negative for farmers and for agricultural and environmentally-sensitive land throughout Ontario and Quebec,” says Josh Suppan, NFU-O president.

The estimated  $90 billion+  budget for the Alto project will almost certainly ensure that over the next generation our public transit will become even more underfunded. Canadians cannot know the project’s true costs or financial implications, because Alto has not publicly released any verifiable cost estimates, feasibility studies, or calculations behind their much-publicized overall price tag. We have also received little evidence to support the expected ridership, or the supposed environmental and economic benefits.

The lack of transparency on the part of Alto is one of many reasons that the NFU-O and other farm organizations from Ontario and Québec have refused to sign Alto’s “Collaborator Agreements.”  Alto brought these Collaborator Agreements to individual farm organizations with the hope of getting  “buy-in” and credibility from the agricultural sector. 

“These Collaborator Agreements were the equivalent of non-disclosure agreements,” says Josh Suppan. “Signing would have severely limited what we could share with our members, curtailing our ability to advocate in the best interest of food producers. Attempting to silence the voice of agriculture is not how consultations should be done.”  

Farm organizations are membership-based and must be able to be open and transparent with their members. Alto’s approach to the Collaboration Agreements and their broader engagement strategy reflects their preference of avoiding transparency where possible, hoping that popular public sentiment toward high speed rail, and public assumptions about details that Alto refuses to supply, will lead to a general acceptance of the project.

“The NFU and the NFU-O are committed to working with other farm organizations to bring a stop to the Alto project,” says Phil  Mount, NFU VP of Policy. “It is time for meaningful transparency, an open conversation about the social license of this project, and an honest comparison of its alternatives.”

Josh Suppan

NFU-O President

president@nfuontario.ca

(705) 738-3993 #2