MONTREAL — Mario Péloquin will become the new president and CEO of VIA Rail Canada as of June 12, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced Tuesday.
Péloquin becomes VIA’s fourth CEO in four years, following Yves Desjardins-Siciliano, Cynthia Garneau, and Martin Landry, who had been CEO since May 2022.
Péloquin spent little more than a year as chief operating officer of New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, being named to that position in November 2019 before returning to Canada for a position with construction firm AECON in February 2021. Most recently, he was executive vice president, major projects, with Keolis in Boston.
His lengthy rail resume includes time with Canadian National; as a senior advisor with Transport Canada; as an investigator with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada; and with Thales, Siemens, and engineering firms SNC-Lavalin and AECOM (not to be confused with more recent employer AECON).
“Mr. Péloquin brings considerable experience in the transportation and rail industry into his new role and is well suited to lead VIA Rail over the coming years,” Alghabra said in a press release. “I wish Mr. Péloquin every success as he continues to connect Canadians, from coast-to-coast-to-coast.”
Landry, the departing CEO, had previously been VIA’s chief commercial officer since May 2014. He was promoted when Garneau resigned after three years, reportedly in response to the High Frequency Rail project being shifted from VIA’s oversight to that of Transport Canada [see “VIA’s struggle for relevance at the root of CEO’s resignation: Analysis,” Trains News Wire, May 24, 2022].
Not a good sign for VIA to average one CEO per year and not a good sign that their new hire seems to flit from job to job.
Maybe VIA Rail takes after Canada’s favorite sport. Almost no hockey player completes a career where he started. Borje Salming, one of the most famous Leafs, also skating for the Wings. Guy LaFleur, the Habs hometown man, skated for two other NHL teams. Tim Horton, Wayne Gretzky, Detroit’s “Mr. Hockey” Gordie Howe, Marc Messier, all of them moved around.
Then the most worthy and famous Canadian of all, David Gunn, he moved around also … Amtrak, MBTA, NYCTA, SEPTA