From his snowmobile, Gord Boulton can point out every lake and landmark that dots his 263 hectares in South Frontenac, Ont.
He built a home on the property and spent nearly 30 years maintaining trails, fishing and guiding deer hunts across its hills and woodlands.
Now he’s worried a large chunk of it could be cut off by a high-speed train.
“When I looked at their map and I seen that my property was dead center of the areas that they were looking at putting the rail through, it was devastating,” Boulton said.
The map Boulton is referring to is from Alto, the Crown corporation responsible for the high-speed rail project connecting Toronto and Quebec City. Construction is expected to begin by 2029.
Two routes have been proposed. The first option, and initially the only one offered, would run in a straight line between Peterborough, Ont., and Ottawa.
As public consultations began, a second potential corridor emerged, dipping south to within a half-hour’s drive of downtown Kingston.
Boulton said that second option across South Frontenac caught him and many others off guard.
He has more reason to worry than most: Alto has said it’s aiming to take advantage of existing corridors, and Boulton already has Hydro lines crossing his land.
“When you’ve been here your whole life … to hear that they just want to bulldoze over your area, and … people’s houses are going to be lost, right? It’s horrible to think that that can happen,” he said.
Mayor demands local stop
Some local leaders and businesses have expressed more openness to the southern option, however. They’re working to make sure the new train —and the spike in growth and commerce that could come with it — doesn’t pass the region by.
This week, Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon noted Kingston and the Islands MP Mark Gerretsen has been “very vociferous” in advocating for a stop near his community.
Gerretsen said the local tourism team and chamber of commerce are behind the push, and encouraged everyone to share their perspectives as part of ongoing consultations.
One of those consultations is set to take place in the Township of South Frontenac, though Alto said the details have yet to be nailed down.
Regardless, the township council made its position clear during a meeting Tuesday night where a motion opposing high-speed rail through their community received unanimous support.
Instead, councillors suggested moving the route even closer to Lake Ontario.
“It needs to be in the City of Kingston boundary with a stop, or else there is absolutely no point even running it south,” Mayor Ron Vandewal said in an interview with CBC.
Risk of ‘devastation’
The area is part of the Frontenac Arch, a UNESCO-designated biosphere, and Vandewal said running a rail line through the middle of it risks doing more harm than good.
“It would have very little economic positives for South Frontenac, but I think it could be generational devastation on the community,” Vandewal said.
He’s also worried about access to local farms, and the three-metre fence that would line the tracks.
For the train to travel at speeds up to 300 km/h, the track must be straight and can’t stop at every crossing, Vandewal said.
When the local council met with representatives from Alto in December, only the northern route was on the table, Vandewal said. Now that a second option is under discussion, he’s hoping the Crown corporation will heed their concerns.
“Hopefully they listen,” he said. “But at the end of the day, if they go ahead … there’s nothing this council can do to stop it.”
Kingston isn’t among 7 stops
Alto spokesperson Benoit Bourdeau said the Crown corporation understands the concerns in South Frontenac and said they’ll help with “corridor refinement,” noting in an email to CBC that no route has been selected and impact assessments are still underway.
Part of that includes studying wildlife movement and considering how animals will cross the rail corridor.
Bourdeau said Alto’s mandate letter calls for seven stations, and a stop in Kingston currently isn’t listed among them. But “as with any major infrastructure project, government may refine parameters over time,” he added.
Boulton, the landowner who fears for his property, has created a Facebook group to share his concerns. He said he was surprised when it grew to more than 3,000 members in a matter of weeks.
He’s since heard from everyone from neighbours to lawyers and large companies with questions and worries of their own.
Boulton said Alto seems open to feedback, and he’s holding out hope South Frontenac will be spared.
“The people that we are talking to there are listening,” he said. “But is it going any further than their ears? I don’t know.”