Drivers will soon be able to legally go faster on more stretches of Ontario’s highway network.
At a news conference in King City on Wednesday morning, Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria announced a speed limit bump from 100 km/h to 110 km/h on another 938 kilometers of highway.
The changes will take effect on some sections of highways 401 and 416 in Eastern Ontario on Friday. The increase will hit other parts of Hwy. 401, Queen Elizabeth Way, 402, 403, 416, and 417 by the end of September.
“This work is critical to improve travel times for families, commuters, and workers and will benefit millions of drivers,” Sarkaria said Wednesday.
“And once in effect, nearly 89 per cent of our provincial highway network will have the posted speed limit of 110km/h, up from 43 per cent today.”
In the fall of 2024, Premier Doug Ford announced his government was examining raising speed limits where safe to do so. The study came after higher limits had been implemented across hundred of kilometres that summer and in 2022.
The government estimates a higher speed limit could shave nearly 20 minutes off a trip from Sarnia to Toronto, while a drive from Toronto to Ottawa could be almost half an hour shorter.
The in-development Bradford Bypass and Highway 413 are being built with a speed limit of 110 km/h in mind.
“The key focus around this is based on safety and it is also based on previous pilots that we have run. We’ve had over 800 kilometres already that over the past two years we’ve shifted towards 110 km/h posted speed limit,” Sarkaria said, adding that there has not been an increase in fatalities in those sections.
Correction
A previous version of this article stated that the announcement will be made on Tuesday morning. The story has been adjusted to reflect the correct day of the week.
