EXCLUSIVE: Ontario raising speed limits on more highways

Speed limits are set to rise to 110 km/h on an additional 938 kilometres of highways in Ontario.

Drivers will soon be able to legally go faster on more stretches of Ontario’s highway network.

At a news conference in King City Wednesday morning, Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria will announce a speed limit bump from 100 km/h to 110 km/h on 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.

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.

Sarkaria says the changes will help drivers get where they’re going faster and safer.

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.