Ontario drivers will soon be able to travel faster on hundreds of additional kilometres of provincial highways as the provincial government expands its 110 km/h speed limit program across the province.
The Ontario government announced today that it is increasing the speed limit from 100 km/h to 110 km/h on an additional 938 kilometres of provincial highways. The move follows earlier increases on 10 highway sections in 2024 and six sections in 2022.
Once the changes are fully implemented, nearly 89 per cent of Ontario’s highway network will be posted at 110 km/h, compared with 43 per cent today. Currently, about 873 kilometres of provincial highways have a posted speed limit of 110 km/h.
Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said the higher speed limits will help commuters and businesses move more efficiently across the province.
“Under the leadership of Premier Ford, our government is helping get drivers where they’re going faster and safely,” Sarkaria said in a news release. “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.”
The province said the first phase of the changes will take effect June 26 on sections of Highways 401 and 416 in eastern Ontario. Additional sections of the Queen Elizabeth Way and Highways 400, 401, 402, 403, 416 and 417 will follow.
According to the government, the higher speed limits could reduce travel times significantly. Drivers travelling between Sarnia and Toronto could save nearly 20 minutes, while motorists travelling between Toronto and Ottawa could cut almost 30 minutes from their trips.
Provincial officials said speed limit increases are only introduced on highway sections that have undergone technical reviews and, where necessary, infrastructure improvements to ensure they can safely accommodate higher speeds. The government noted that most of Ontario’s freeway network was originally designed and engineered for speeds of 110 km/h.
The expansion, they said, brings Ontario’s highway speed limits more in line with those in several other Canadian jurisdictions, where 110 km/h limits are already common on major freeways.
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