The company reported 23,088 carloads during the month, which was also a new February record. The company moved 2.395 million tonnes of grain in January 2026 with 24,688 carloads — both monthly records for January.

“This is the second straight monthly Canadian grain record and it continues a strong start to 2026 as our railroaders work safely and efficiently with our supply chain collaborators to move a record grain crop across Western Canada,” said Elizabeth Hucker, CPKC vice-president of sales and marketing bulk, in the news release.

CPKC transported more than 17.1 MMT of Canadian grain and grain products through the first 30 weeks of the 2025/26 marketing year, hitting the largest totals since the record setting 2020/21 crop year.

The volume of Canadian grain and grain products moving on CPKC tracks have exceeded the average supply chain capacity targets outlined in the company’s annual grain service plan in multiple weeks in 2025/26.

CPKC said it was “critical that all supply chain participants, including customer loading facilities and terminal operators loading grain into vessels at ports, operate at full capacity to sustain this strong momentum.”

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As the proposed Alto high-speed rail network enters the public consultation phase, farmers along the corridor are voicing concerns about how the project could reshape their land and livelihoods.

The privately operated rail line, owned by the federal Crown corporation Alto, would link Quebec City and Toronto, cutting through more than 1,000 kilometres of rural communities. With projected costs reaching $120 billion and a targeted completion date of 2043, the project represents one of the largest infrastructure undertakings in Canadian history.

The Alto project was first announced in January 2025 by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Initial planning of a high-speed rail line, however, dates back to November 2022, when the government announced the Via HFR, a high-frequency rail line running the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor.

The Alto project, deemed a revision of the Via HFR, proposes two corridor options: the north, which runs from Peterborough to Ottawa, or the south corridor, which would take a similar route, running through Kingston.

WHY IT MATTERS: The Alto project could have a significant impact on rural communities, including land expropriation and risk to wildlife habitat.

Farming communities along the proposed corridors are concerned about how the project will impact transportation, result in land expropriation and compromise community safety.

Cory Kozmik is an environmental professional and a third-generation dairy farmer located in the township of Asphodel-Norwood, just south of Highway 7 near Peterborough. Her family’s 460-acre farm, Erdine Farms, sits within the proposed footprint of the southern corridor of the Alto project.

Kozmik said the loss of farmable land, including reduced access to land, will significantly impact farm operations. Her own property is at risk of being cut in half as a result of the Alto project, with a loss of access to up to 150 acres.

Kozmik added another farmer in the area will potentially experience reduced access to 12 critical access roads.

“We cannot afford the hours per day just to re-route from one place to another, particularly when equipment movement is subject to off-farm employment permits,” she said.

She said the threat of dead-end roads will sever access to services and recreational facilities, including the existing Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs trails that run through this area. This would displace a significant source of tourism income and force the re-routing of trails through farmland.

Identifying environmental impact

The Alto rail line will run alongside several environmental wetlands and wildlife corridors. Kozmik pointed to the Birdsall Wildlife area, in Peterborough, as an area of concern. The 242.9-hectare area of environmental sensitivity is managed by Otonabee Conservation. She said Alto “tries its hardest to avoid the wetland,” but feared the new railbed would drastically impact the drainage in the area and the farms in particular with flooding similar to that experienced during the construction of the Trent-Severn system at the turn of the century, which displaced landowners.

She noted habitat loss in her community was already identified as a massive driver for population decline across species.

“There are concerns heard from other farmers about the vertical compaction of the soil and the damage such heavy infrastructure will have on the underground tributaries and groundwater our communities rely on,” she said, adding the hydrogeological area in her community is already challenged for access to suitable groundwater for homes and farms.

She believes the Alto project risks contaminating and exhausting the groundwater in the area, and said further fragmentation will cause significant displacement of wildlife and increase their interactions with roadways and the general population.

Community access and safety

On Feb. 3, the community of South Frontenac, about 180 km east of Peterborough, was among the first to vote against the project, citing land expropriation and safety traffic concerns.

Kozmik said this is a stand other communities should take, warning that in the long run, much of the subsequent infrastructure required to accommodate the project, such as overpasses and road upgrades, will be downloaded to the municipalities. She said this will set up a feedback loop of reduced services and increased taxes that small communities cannot afford.

The project will also exacerbate slow emergency response times often experienced in rural communities.

“Adding on even more time to emergency response is going to mean life or death for a lot of folks,” she said.

Community feedback

Throughout January and February, Alto has hosted mandated in-person and virtual public consultations. Alto has also set up an online consultation portal, where those unable to attend a public consultation can provide feedback.

Speaking on behalf of Alto, Crystal Jongeward, senior advisor of corporate communications, said the company’s goal is to determine the alignment of the project while limiting land needs or property acquisition through the use of existing infrastructure corridors.

“Where we can, we will also work to avoid or minimize a scenario where the alignment divides a parcel of land,” she said.

Jongeward said the project is subject to a federal environmental impact assessment under the Impact Assessment Act, which evaluates the effects the project may have on natural and human environments and includes in-depth consultation with Indigenous peoples and key stakeholders such as the agricultural community.

She said the company’s aim is to ensure fair compensation based on the market value of the property and to cover potential losses and reasonable consulting fees incurred by the owner.

“We will also strive to preserve the current use of the property whenever possible, and, in most cases, only part of a property will need to be acquired,” she added. “We intend to prioritize discussion and negotiation; however, if it comes to it, expropriation could also be used in an appropriate and responsible way.”

She explained that no final decision has been made on the project’s alignment and that public consultation will help the company select appropriate rail network alignment and station locations and guide efforts to minimize impacts.

Despite pushback from some communities, Jongeward said Alto is working closely with local municipal staff in communities along the corridor and surrounding areas, adding that the company wants to continue conversations with agriculture-focused associations and organizations.

“We want to return any lands used for staging back to public use in better condition than we found them and we will work closely with local communities to do this,” she said.

The task of feeding cities

The Ontario Farmland Trust (OFT) has been advocating for the protection of prime farmland throughout the consultation process. Martin Straathof, executive director of OFT, said the organization has met directly with Alto representatives to provide initial input on farmland protection and agricultural system impacts.

“It can affect farm businesses, agri-food suppliers, processors, and service providers, and in some cases undermine the critical mass of agriculture needed for these businesses to remain viable,” he said. “If farms are divided or cut off from key infrastructure and suppliers, this can significantly impact access to acres owned by a farm on either side of the rail line, increase transportation costs, reduce efficiency and threaten long-term viability.

Straathof stressed that large-scale infrastructure projects require significant aggregate, much of which is located under prime farmland.

“Research shows that even when land is rehabilitated after extraction, it rarely returns to its original productivity, and in some cases, breaches of the water table mean land can never return to agriculture,” he said. “The energy demand associated with electric high-speed rail will likely increase pressure for renewable energy development, including solar and wind, which is already placing growing demands on farmland.”

While expropriation may involve financial compensation, Straathof said it does not replace the loss of integrated land bases.

“In many regions, it is extremely difficult to find replacement farmland that is available, affordable and close enough to maintain viable operations,” he said.

The OFT has seen similar dynamics following the establishment of the Greenbelt, where development pressure “leapfrogged” into less-protected communities, which had not experienced development pressures like this before, said Straathof.

He expected the project will drive a population influx to locations along the corridor, including the Peterborough region, which could experience increased population growth from commuters working in Toronto or Ottawa.

“This, in turn, may drive development pressure into surrounding rural municipalities that are not currently equipped to manage it, leading to sprawl on farmland,” he said.

Straathof said the OFT advocates for routing along existing transportation corridors to reduce impacts on agricultural systems, adding that the organization recognizes that high-speed rail requires long, straight alignments, which may limit those options.

Dividing communities

The federal government is touting the project as a sustainable transportation solution for densely populated regions of Ontario and Quebec. In a statement, federal Minister of Transport Steven MacKinnon said the project will transform travel in the Toronto-Quebec City corridor, providing access to faster, more frequent and more reliable rail service. He said that the project would bring communities closer together while fostering economic growth and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

“The government of Canada understands the concerns raised by communities and local landowners and recognizes that meaningful engagement with farmers and rural communities is essential,” he said in the statement, noting Transport Canada remains committed to ensuring that the consultation process led by Alto is credible and accessible, and that local parties are treated equitably and consistently throughout the process. MacKinnon added that any final routing decisions will reflect consultations with landowners.

This sentiment is not shared on all sides of the House of Commons. Scott Reid is the MP for Lanark-Frontenac, one of the communities at the heart of the Alto line debate. Reid is also the founder of the Lanark Landowners Association and stands firmly in opposition to the Alto project.

“The best way to deal with issues relating to Alto is to make sure that Alto never goes forward,” he said, adding that the issue is not how to mitigate the damage caused by the project but how to stop it.

He said the Alto is a niche project that will benefit a very small number of travellers “at a cost that a cash-strapped economy absolutely cannot afford.”

Reid said he plans to be an active opponent to the entire Alto project, including drawing attention to what he calls the project’s many deficiencies.

A ban on level crossings, paired with a small number of expected overpasses, will sever neighbours from each other and make land inaccessible, he said.

The cost of the project also left Reid questioning the outcomes of the Alto project.

“How on earth can we justify $90 billion in expenditures to shave 90 minutes off the time it takes to get from Toronto to Ottawa? A bit of quick math: $90 billion is $2,250 per Canadian. I wouldn’t pay that if I were personally in a position to start using Alto next week,” he said.

Given past experience with similar large-scale initiatives, Reid said the cost of the project may force its cancellation in the long run.

“This is exactly what happened with some other federally sponsored megaprojects whose enormous cost was based on very optimistic forward projections of large numbers of users,” he said. “Given the costs, I seriously doubt that this project will ever be built.”

He said he is focused on preventing early expropriation in order to mitigate risk should the project be cancelled.

“Nobody should lose their home, their farm, or their recreational property in the service of a project that will probably never be completed,” he said.

OFA and UPA call for immediate suspension

The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) and Union de producers agricoles (UPA) released a statement in response to the proposal calling for an immediate suspension of the project in pursuit of a cautious, transparent approach.

“Ontario’s farmland is a strategic provincial and national asset, and the highest and best use of our arable land is for agriculture and let’s not forget that agriculture and agri-food is a cornerstone of Ontario’s economic prosperity,” OFA President Drew Spoelstra said. “This sector, which is built around productive agricultural land, contributes $51 billion annually to the provincial economy and employs about 10 per cent of Ontario’s work force.”

The statement added that the organizations are urging the province, federal government and Alto to avoid encroachment within prime agriculture lands.

The organizations also called for several other considerations as consultation moved forward including:

• Avoid breaking farms into smaller pieces and keep fields and farm operations whole
• Protect farm drainage systems that are essential for crop production
• Address farmers’ concerns about construction impacts and ongoing costs, including fencing, and the building, upgrading and long-term maintenance of safe farm crossings for equipment and livestock
• Ensure agricultural impact assessments are independent, thorough and publicly available
• Address farmers’ concerns about construction impacts and ongoing costs, including fencing, and the building, upgrading and long-term maintenance of safe farm crossings for equipment and livestock

In response to the OFA and UPA letter, Alto released its own statement saying the company “continues on a regular basis to identify practical access solutions and ensure continuity of agricultural operations.” The company added that it strives to approach discusses with land owners in a transparent and respectful manner.

Alto added that compensation of farmers will be supported by independent professional valuations to ensure fairness.

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A record volume of intermodal traffic — mainly containers — also buoyed freight volumes.

Canadian railways moved 376.6 million tonnes of freight in 2025, down 0.2 per cent from 2024.

”A bumper 2025 harvest and strong global demand meant that grain shipments by rail remained strong throughout the year,” StatCan said.

• Carloadings of wheat increased by double digits, year-over-year each month from January to November, except for February.
• Annual carloadings of wheat rose by 14.3 per cent or 3.9 million tonnes to reach 31.1 million tonnes in 2025.
• Other cereal grains loadings also saw substantial growth in January — up 103.9 per cent — and September — up 72.7 per cent.
• Total loadings of cereals grew by 23.4 per cent to 7.8 million tonnes in 2025 — the largest increase since 2018.
• Carloadings of canola fell by 12.4 per cent to 8.8 million tonnes in 2025. StatCan attributed this to trade tensions with China.
• Freight loadings from U.S. rail connections saw significant double-digit year-over-year decreases for much of 2025.
• Annual tonnage fell by 13.3 per cent compared to 2024 at 39.3 million tonnes. That’s the lowest annual level since 2020.
• In 2023 and 2024, freight traffic from U.S. rail connections to Canada represented an average of 12 per cent of total rail tonnage per month. In 2025, the average share ranged by quarter between 10.0 per cent and 10.7 per cent.
• Loadings of fuel oils, crude petroleum and lumber fell sharply over the year. Coal shipments rose.

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Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern submitted a nearly 7,000‑page merger application to the board in December, kicking off a regulatory review of what would be one of the rail industry’s most significant transactions in decades.

The $85 billion deal (C$117.9 billion), announced in July, is aimed at speeding shipments by reducing handoffs and delays and would create the first U.S. coast-to-coast railroad. The proposal has drawn criticism from labor unions and rival railroads.

CN said the applicants did not fully detail their assessment of the merger’s competitive impact, citing incomplete market analyses, missing required market-share projections and other gaps in the filing.

“Given the scale and stakes of the proposed combination, the applicants must meet the highest standard of transparency and compliance,” Canadian National said.

“Rather than trying to convince everyone that there is ‘nothing to see here’, the applicants should instead be focused on meeting the rigorous and heightened standard called for by the new merger rules,” it added.

Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The review is expected to face intense scrutiny from the Surface Transportation Board and could take 12 to 18 months, with the companies targeting an early-2027 close.

“While the application outlines compelling earnings and free cash flow under favorable outcomes, regulatory uncertainty is elevated,” BMO Capital Markets analyst Fadi Chamoun wrote in a note last week.

— Reporting by Abhinav Parmar in Bengaluru

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CPKC’s revenue entitlement was just over $1.06 billion. It surpassed that by about $2.66 million. The company will be required to pay excess, plus a five per cent penalty, to the Western Grains Research Foundation.

Canadian National Railway Company (CN) did not exceed its revenue cap of about $1.46 billion. It posted a grains revenue of a bit more than $1.45 billion.

Railways’ maximum grain revenue entitlements are set based on volume-related composite price indices, which are based on historical input costs like labour, fuel and material.

Grain movement spike

Western Canadian grain movement rose by 12.1 per cent over the 2024-2025 crop year compared to the previous crop year, the transport agency said. Railways moved a bit more than 49 million tonnes compared to 43.7 million tonnes in the previous crop year.

The federal agency attributed this to an increase in shipments for both railways.

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Premiers Doug Ford and Danielle Smith signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) Monday in Calgary. The agreements are mostly focused on the exchange of energy and minerals, though they could also open new trade routes between Western and Eastern Canada.

Why it matters: U.S. tariffs and interprovincial trade barriers remain among the biggest barriers for trade stability and profitability in agriculture.

The agreements will “open new markets and create thousands of new jobs across Canada” and diversify trading partners, Ford said.

Smith said the MOUs are meant to advance pipelines and pathways for exports of energy and critical minerals to markets across Canada and the world.

“Through this agreement, we’ll work together to explore ways to improve network corridors that better connect our energy and critical minerals to markets here at home as well as around the globe.”

Smith said Alberta is seeking to add more rail lines to increase access to Ontario in areas like the Ring of Fire, refineries in southern ontario and a deep-water port in James Bay.

“Let’s get some icebreakers in there, maybe build out some additional rail and road infrastructure, and it could be a multi-purpose port, not just for oil … but also food, fibres, manufactured goods, critical minerals,” she said.

She said this would allow shipping not only to Canada’s East Coast but also to trade partners in Europe.

“Let’s work on that. And maybe I’ll sign another MOU with my friend Francois Legault (Premier of Quebec) at some later point to see if we can get further east.”

Ford said the MOUs between the two provinces are critical at a time when U.S. tariffs are still threatening trade in Canada.

“President Trump’s tariffs and the economic uncertainty they’ve created, they’re hurting workers and businesses in every part of our great country,” he said. “Steel makers and aluminum workers in Ontario and Quebec, fishermen and women in B.C. and Atlantic Canada, farmers across the Prairies, including right here in Alberta.”

“We’re doing this because we need to unlock the full potential of our economy. We need to tear down the barriers and red tape that have held us back for far, far too long,” he added. “This is how we make ourselves less reliant on the United States. This is how we secure the future of Canada.”

The two provinces will also launch a joint feasibility study to determine the best strategies, financing and endpoints for these projects.

Monday’s signings come as Ontario has made efforts to reduce trade barriers with other provinces, including last month’s agreement with Saskatchewan.

The post Ontario, Alberta sign new agreements on energy trade appeared first on Farmtario.

Premiers Doug Ford and Danielle Smith signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) Monday in Calgary. The agreements are mostly focused on the exchange of energy and minerals, though they could also open new trade routes between Western and Eastern Canada.

Why it matters: U.S. tariffs and interprovincial trade barriers remain among the biggest barriers for trade stability and profitability in agriculture.

The agreements will “open new markets and create thousands of new jobs across Canada” and diversify trading partners, Ford said.

Smith said the MOUs are meant to advance pipelines and pathways for exports of energy and critical minerals to markets across Canada and the world.

“Through this agreement, we’ll work together to explore ways to improve network corridors that better connect our energy and critical minerals to markets here at home as well as around the globe.”

Smith said Alberta is seeking to add more rail lines to increase access to Ontario in areas like the Ring of Fire, refineries in southern ontario and a deep-water port in James Bay.

“Let’s get some icebreakers in there, maybe build out some additional rail and road infrastructure, and it could be a multi-purpose port, not just for oil … but also food, fibres, manufactured goods, critical minerals,” she said.

She said this would allow shipping not only to Canada’s East Coast but also to trade partners in Europe.

“Let’s work on that. And maybe I’ll sign another MOU with my friend Francois Legault (Premier of Quebec) at some later point to see if we can get further east.”

Ford said the MOUs between the two provinces are critical at a time when U.S. tariffs are still threatening trade in Canada.

“President Trump’s tariffs and the economic uncertainty they’ve created, they’re hurting workers and businesses in every part of our great country,” he said. “Steel makers and aluminum workers in Ontario and Quebec, fishermen and women in B.C. and Atlantic Canada, farmers across the Prairies, including right here in Alberta.”

“We’re doing this because we need to unlock the full potential of our economy. We need to tear down the barriers and red tape that have held us back for far, far too long,” he added. “This is how we make ourselves less reliant on the United States. This is how we secure the future of Canada.”

The two provinces will also launch a joint feasibility study to determine the best strategies, financing and endpoints for these projects.

Monday’s signings come as Ontario has made efforts to reduce trade barriers with other provinces, including last month’s agreement with Saskatchewan.

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The VRCPI for the Canadian National Railway is set at 1.9734, an increase of 1.72 per cent over last crop year. For Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway, the VRCPI is set to 1.9349, an increase of 3.11 per cent from the previous crop year, the CTA said in a news release on Wednesday.

The VRCPI is an inflation factor determined based historical price information for railway inputs like labour, fuel, material and “other capital items,” the CTA said. Future changes in railway price components are also factored in.

The indices are used to determine the railways’ maximum revenue entitlements for movement of Western Canadian grain in the 2025-2026 crop year.

If the railways exceed their maximum revenue entitlement, they must pay the excess, plus a penalty, to the Western Grains Research Foundation.

In 2024, CPKC exceeded its revenue cap by a bit more than $1.8 million. CN did not exceed its maximum revenue entitlement.

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The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan had long advocated for the removal of the surcharges, saying they affected farm profitability.

Carbon surcharges were implemented to cover costs associated with emissions and fuel consumption.

Both Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City eliminated the surcharges as of April 1 in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick after the federal government ended consumer carbon pricing.

“This is massive for farmers,” said APAS president Bill Prybylski in a news release. “Axing the surcharges puts more cash where it belongs, in our pockets and back into our rural communities.”

APAS said since 2019, Saskatchewan farmers paid about $200 million in the fees. It estimated that the bill in 2025 would have been $80 million.

“We’ve fought tirelessly for relief and seeing it finally come to an end is incredibly rewarding,” Prybylski said.

The move comes at a time of incredible trade uncertainty.

A CN notice to producers said the Low Carbon Fuel Standard is still in place in British Columbia and “will remain unchanged per the tariffs issued effective April 1, 2025.”

APAS said it remains concerned about that and whether it will increase shipping costs to B.C. ports. The organization is also advocating for transparency of how the federal Output-Based Pricing System, or industrial levy, impacts farm input costs.

CN said it would follow legislation closely and re-adjust if necessary.

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Unifor, which represents more than 3,000 members at the railroad’s Council 4000 and Local 100 committees, said the agreement includes improvements to wages and benefits as well as job protections for members working in CN terminals and headquarters across Canada.

The railroad earlier this month had reached a new tentative four-year collective agreement with the union. These new four-year agreements include three per cent wage increases annually, CN said in a statement.

“This agreement secures important gains that reflect the critical contributions of Unifor members to CN’s operations,” Unifor National President Lana Payne said in a statement.

“By working together with Unifor, we now have new agreements that strengthen our workforce and enhance our ability to serve customers reliably across North America,” said Tracy Robinson, CN’s president and chief executive officer in a statement today.

The ratification comes after Unifor members last month authorized a strike action if the parties failed to reach an agreement by Jan. 1.

The union had initiated negotiations with CN Rail in September, with bargaining priorities that included higher wages, addressing concerns about the pension plan and job security for its members.

— Reporting by Nilutpal Timsina in Bengaluru. Additional reporting by Geralyn Wichers, Glacier FarmMedia.

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