Ontario raising speed limits on most provincial highways

 KING CITY, Ontario — The Ontario government is raising the speed limit from 100 km/hour to 110 km/hour on an additional 938 kilometres of provincial highways. The change builds on the safe and successful increase to speeds on 10 sections of provincial highways in 2024 and six sections of provincial highways in 2022, aligning with posted speed limits in other jurisdictions across Canada.

Currently, 873 kilometres of provincial highways are posted at 110 km/hour. Once in effect, nearly 89 percent of the province’s highway network will have a posted speed limit of 110 km/hour, up from 43 percent today.

“Under the leadership of premier Ford, our government is helping get drivers where they’re going faster and safely,” said Prabmeet Sarkaria, minister of transportation. “We’re going to keep supporting commuters, workers and businesses by investing in our $31 billion plan to build and expand roads and highways, so we can get people and goods moving across Ontario and keep workers on the job.”

Starting June 26, the province will begin increasing the speed limit to 110 km/hour on sections of Highways 401 and 416 in eastern Ontario, followed by sections on other highways, including the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) and Highways 400, 401, 402, 403, 416 and 417. With this new speed limit in place, drivers travelling from Sarnia to Toronto could save nearly 20 minutes, while those travelling from Toronto to Ottawa could save nearly half an hour.

Speed limit increases are only implemented on highways that have been designed and engineered to safely accommodate higher speeds, following rigorous technical reviews and any necessary infrastructure improvements. Most of Ontario’s freeway network was originally designed to safely accommodate a posted speed of 110 km/hour.

Quick facts

• Newly constructed freeways will be designed with a posted speed limit of 110 km/hour, including Highways 413, 425 (Bradford Bypass), 7 (Kitchener to Guelph) and 69.
• Speed limit increases will begin taking effect incrementally from late June through to September 30, 2026.
• Over $380 million worth of goods move along Highway 401 every day, making it one of the province’s critical transportation corridors.
• For more than 25 years, Ontario’s roads have ranked among the safest in North America, with one of the lowest fatality rates per 10,000 licensed drivers.
• In July 2024, 12 provincial highway sections, including two trial sections in northern Ontario, had their speed limit permanently increased to 110 km/hour.
• Ontario is investing approximately $31 billion over 10 years to build, repair and expand highways, roads and bridges across the province.

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