diff --git a/packages/aws-cdk/lib/cli/cdk-toolkit.ts b/packages/aws-cdk/lib/cli/cdk-toolkit.ts
index 0ca6ebcc0..c61f7f93a 100644
--- a/packages/aws-cdk/lib/cli/cdk-toolkit.ts
+++ b/packages/aws-cdk/lib/cli/cdk-toolkit.ts
@@ -1280,7 +1280,7 @@ export class CdkToolkit {
       });
     } catch (e) {
       await this.ioHost.asIoHelper().defaults.error((e as Error).message);
-      return 1;
+      throw e;
     }
 
     return 0;