Speed limits increasing on portions of Hwy. 416 and 417

Ontario drivers will soon be able to legally drive faster on major stretches of the province’s highway network, as the Ford government moves ahead with a significant expansion of 110 km/h zones across the 400‑series system.

Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria announced on Wednesday near the GTA, that the province is raising speed limits from 100 km/h to 110 km/h on 938 kilometres of highway, marking one of the largest speed‑limit increases in Ontario’s history.

The first charge for the Ottawa area will take place on June 26, on Highway 416 from Cedar Grove Road to Highway 401.

Then on Aug. 21, the 416 from 1.5 kilometres south of Fallowfield to County Road 12 will increase.

On Highway 417, the changes will be from the 416 split to Highway 7 through Ottawa’s west neighbourhoods, including Highway 7 to Appleton Side Road/County Road 17.

In the east end Highway 417 from Leitrim Road to Hwy. 174 will have a speed limit change.

The move builds on earlier expansions in 2022 and 2024, which followed a multi‑year pilot project showing select highways could safely accommodate higher speeds.

Further roadways across Ontario, including Highways 401, will be added throughout the summer, and further sections on 402, 403, 416, 417, and the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) are scheduled to follow by the end of September.

Sarkaria has repeatedly argued that the increases are “evidence‑based” and bring Ontario in line with other provinces such as Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Nova Scotia, where 110 km/h is standard.

Ontario first tested higher limits in 2019 on three highway segments, then expanded the program in 2022 and again in 2024.

Those expansions covered roughly 860 kilometres — about 36 per cent of the network — and included stretches of the QEW, Hwy. 402, 417, and 404.

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