The office of the federal ethics commissioner affirms that the personal relationship of the Minister of Finance, François-Philippe Champagne, with a senior executive of the state company responsible for the construction of the high-speed train does not constitute a conflict of interest.
In an email seen by CTV News, an advisor to the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner (BCCIE) said that “there is no risk of a conflict of interest and a screen is not necessary.”
This text is a translation of‘an article from CTV News.
Mr. Champagne’s spouse, Anne-Marie Gaudet, was hired in August 2025 as vice-president of environment at Alto.
Nathalie Trepanier, a compliance advisor assigned to Mr. Champagne, said Alto, as a crown corporation, reported to Parliament through the Minister of Transport.
“As Minister of Finance, you have no decision-making power on human resources issues at Alto, you do not have the ability to promote the interests of a specific Alto employee,” wrote Ms. Trepanier in response to a request from Mr. Champagne seeking to confirm that he had complied with his obligations under the Conflict of Interest Act.
The federal Alto project aims to connect Quebec to Toronto and will cost approximately $90 billion. To date, nearly $4 billion has been announced for the project, but Mr. Champagne’s office specifies that these funds were allocated before he became Minister of Finance.
Measures taken “proactively”
The email corroborates Mr. Champagne’s assertion that he proactively took steps beyond the rules applicable to federal politicians.
On September 10, Mr. Champagne sent a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney and the OCIEC informing them of his relationship with an Alto executive.
In this letter, Mr. Champagne writes that he “proactively applies a conflict of interest filter to Alto, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Government of Canada. This measure is being implemented due to a personal connection with someone close to me within the organization, in order to prevent any real or perceived conflict of interest.
Mr. Champagne maintained that the conflict of interest filters would be managed by his chief of staff and the deputy minister of Finance – and that Wayne Long, secretary of state at the Canada Revenue Agency, would participate in these votes and discussions in his place.
The finance minister had sought clarification from the ethics watchdog after it emerged that the relationship between Mr Champagne and Ms Gaudet had not been disclosed by the OCIEC. The monitoring body specifies that the family ties of elected officials are not made public in its published summaries.
His office previously told CTV News that he met with his ethics advisor in July 2025 after Ms. Gaudet was offered a position at Alto.
Ms. Gaudet, who describes herself on LinkedIn as an expert in “managing complex sustainability projects,” officially took up her position with the company on August 13. Mr. Champagne sent his letter to the Prime Minister a month later.
Criticisms of conservatives
Mr. Trepanier’s clarification was obtained by CTV News, four hours after Conservative MP Michael Barrett posted on social media that he had sent a letter to the federal ethics commissioner, Konrad Von Fickenstein, asking him to investigate Mr. Champagne.
“The legislation that benefits Alto was included in the Finance Minister’s budget. And nothing ends up in the budget without the Minister of Finance having taken a look at it or having contributed to it,” argued Mr. Barrett during an interview with CTV News.
“Whether it’s the budget, the budget implementation act or any other vote the minister took part in, it is inappropriate for someone close to him, described in the media as his partner, to continue to push this legislation forward,” he added.
Mr. Barrett represents the riding of Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands, which lies along the proposed Alto corridor. The MP claims that a recent survey of his voters revealed that 89% of those questioned were opposed to the project.
Mr. Champagne presented his first budget last November. In the 2025 budget, no new funding is planned for Alto, but the finance minister said the government wanted to accelerate approvals for the project.
Funding announced under Trudeau
More than a year ago, former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in February 2025 an investment of $3.9 billion for the high-speed train project. At the time, Champagne was Minister of Innovation.
Champagne became finance minister in March 2025 after being appointed by Carney following his Liberal leadership victory.
At a news conference in Brampton on Tuesday, Mr. Carney argued that Mr. Champagne had recused himself and “played by the rules,” and that these guidelines help ensure that partners of cabinet ministers can pursue their careers.
“We have a Minister of Finance capable of assuming his responsibilities and other ministers capable of assuming theirs,” said Mark Carney.
The Prime Minister added that Alto will bring $35 billion to the economy and create more than 50,000 jobs.
The rail line will extend over 1000 kilometers, with stops in Trois-Rivières, Laval, Montreal, Ottawa and Peterborough.
More than 18 million people will be connected by this rail line.
But there is considerable opposition in rural communities that the train might pass through. Not counting cities, the proposed corridor crosses approximately 17 federal rural ridings in Quebec and Ontario. The Liberals currently represent five of these ridings.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre recently declared that if he were prime minister, he would cancel the project, which he calls a “pipe dream” and a “$90 billion Liberal waste.”
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