A new NHL franchise in Quebec City would be nice, but a new arena would never get federal funding from a Liberal government before a high-speed rail link, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said Tuesday.

Ignatieff said his funding priority would be the often-discussed and never-built high-speed rail link between Quebec City and Windsor.

The popular idea of bringing the Nords back to the provincial capital arose when the city's incumbent mayor began campaigning on a promise to build a modern arena that could attract a National Hockey League team.

Régis Labeaume, who is in the midst of a municipal election, has unveiled an ambitious plan to build a $400-million arena.

But he wants Ottawa and Quebec to kick in $175 million each while the city covers only the remaining $50 million it would cost to build an 18,000 seat arena.

Quality transport infrastructure should come first, Ignatieff said.

"You have to do one thing at a time in my opinion," Ignatieff said. "But I'd really like there to be a hockey team in Quebec City, that's for sure."