Canada to invest $4.7 billion in new VIA Rail trains to move production from U.S.

The Government of Canada will spend $4.7 billion to build a fleet of new VIA Rail trains in Ontario in an effort to move production away from the U.S.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed during a press conference in Thunder Bay that 313 passenger cars will be built in the province. Speaking at an Alstom railcar factory, Carney noted that this will be the “first time in four decades [that] VIA’s passenger cars will be produced and assembled and maintained in our country.”

Federal transport minister Steven MacKinnon said this is the biggest investment in VIA Rail history, with Carney noting that nearly 700 jobs in Ontario and Quebec will be supported by the initiative.

The VIA Rail investment comes after trade talks between Canada and the U.S. fell through last month. Despite the countries enjoying a close relationship for many decades, U.S. President Donald Trump has been destroying that over the past year with unjustified heavy tariffs and repeated threats to Canada’s sovereignty. (This is to say nothing of how many Canadians have been detained in awful conditions by Trump’s murderous ICE agents.)

During these latest trade negotiations, the U.S. made demands that Carney said “asked too much and offered too little.” These include calling on Canada to lift French-language and CanCon requirements for foreign companies (the former of which it has since walked back), having control over Canada’s trade partners and more.

And because Canada dared to push back, Trump has been having his usual petulant outbursts, including ordering Lake Ontario to be renamed “Lake America.” This is despite the fact that he has no real authority to do this and everywhere outside of the U.S., especially Canada, will continue to recognize the body of water by its proper name, Lake Ontario.

Time will tell how Trump may cry foul about this latest VIA Rail news.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Via: The Toronto Star