The Environmental Political Economy
of High-Speed Rail in Canada
Academic Study Group
hsrcanadastudygroup.ca · #EPEofHSRCan
Members
Dr. Ryan Katz-Rosene
Associate Professor, Environmental political economy, University of Ottawa
Ryan is the founder of the EPE of HSR in Canada Study Group and has held an interest in this area since he completed his PhD on this very topic in 2014. His research today largely centers on climate policy debates, ecological political economy, and global environmental governance.
Dr. Steven J. Cooke
Canada Research Professor of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Science, Carleton University
Steven's research interests span the natural and social sciences with a focus on solving complex environmental problems. Cooke is the Founding Director of the Canadian Centre for Evidence-Informed Conservation and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. www.fecpl.ca
Dr. Matti Siemiatycki
Director, Infrastructure Institute, School of Cities, University of Toronto; Professor, Department of Geography & Planning
Matti's work focuses on delivering large-scale infrastructure projects, evidence-based infrastructure investment decisions, and the effective integration of infrastructure into the fabric of cities. infrastructureinstitute.ca/matti-siemiatycki
Dr. Ahmed M. El-Geneidy
Professor, Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Public Transit Planning and Operation, School of Urban Planning, McGill University
Ahmed's research interests include land use and transportation planning, transit operations and planning, travel behaviour analysis including both motorized (auto and transit) and non-motorized (bicycle and pedestrian) modes of transportation, travel behaviour of disadvantaged populations (seniors and people with disabilities), and measurements of accessibility and mobility in urban contexts. tram.mcgill.ca
Dr. Khandker Nurul Habib
Professor, Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto
Khandker's research focuses on intercity travel demand, travel behaviour, multimodal competition, station accessibility, and ridership forecasting, with specialized work on high-speed rail development in the Windsor–Québec Corridor. His research program investigates network configuration, investment evaluation, and the impacts of HSR on same-day mobility and peak travel demand. www.khandkernurulhabib.com
Dr. Murtaza Haider
Professor & Radhe Krishna Gupta Executive Chair in Cities and Communities, Alberta School of Business, University of Alberta
Murtaza is the Executive Director of the Cities Institute at the University of Alberta, where his work bridges data analytics and city-building strategies. His research explores transportation systems, infrastructure delivery, housing market dynamics, and urban planning, with extensive experience analyzing Canadian and international transit networks.
Join Us!
The Environmental Political Economy of High-Speed Rail in Canada is an emerging academic study group bringing together researchers and students who share an interest in the complex political, economic, and environmental dimensions of high-speed rail development in Canada.
We welcome participation from scholars across disciplines whose work is grounded in independent, rigorous research. This is explicitly a scholarly project: our analysis is driven by evidence and expertise, free from institutional or commercial interests either for or against HSR development in Canada.
Who should get in touch?
- Academic researchers working on rail, energy, transport, environment, or infrastructure policy
- Graduate students working in this area looking for a research community around these themes
What does membership involve?
At this early stage, the study group is loosely organized around shared research interests, fostering research collaborations, amplifying research findings and media outputs, and thinking forward to a planned academic workshop in 2028. There are no formal membership requirements — just genuine scholarly interest in the topic (so if this is of interest, get in touch).
Get in Touch
Tell us a bit about yourself and your research interests.