Speed limit to increase on most Ontario highways

The speed limit will increase on most Ontario highways, the province announced today.

The Ontario government said it is raising the speed limit from 100 km/h to 110 km/h on an additional 938 kilometres of provincial highways.

Starting June 26, the province will begin increasing the speed limit to 110 km/h on sections of Highways 401 and 416 in eastern Ontario, followed by sections on other highways, including the Queen Elizabeth Way and Highways 400, 401, 402, 403, 416 and 417, the province announced today.

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, the province said.

The change will help “get drivers where they’re going faster and safely,” said Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation.

Speed limit increases are implemented only on highways 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/h, the province said.

The change comes after what the province says was a successful increase to speeds on 10 sections of provincial highways in 2024 and six sections of provincial highways in 2022.

The increased speeds align with posted speed limits in other jurisdictions across Canada.

Currently, 873 kilometres of provincial highways are posted at 110 km/h, the province says.

Once in effect, nearly 89 per cent of the province’s highway network will have a posted speed limit of 110 km/h, up from 43 per cent today.

Lead photo: Doug Kerr