THE TRANS-CANADA HIGHWAY

The Trans-Canada Highway is the world’s longest national road, extending east-west across the breadth of Canada for 7,821 kilometres, between Victoria, British Columbia and St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. It is linked by car ferries between Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, and passes through all ten Canadian provinces linking Canadian cities and providing access to small businesses, train stations and border crossings to the United States.

Construction of the Trans-Canada Highway began in 1950 under the authority of the Trans-Canada Highway Act, which authorized the Government of Canada and provincial governments to construct a national highway on a cost-shared basis.

In 1962, the Trans-Canada Highway was officially opened by then Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, although construction continued until 1971. It has seen numerous upgrades and improvements since then, such as twinning busy sections and adding lanes.

The Trans-Canada Highway is not a single route. It consists of many routes spanning Canada. Two routes run from Nova Scotia to New Brunswick, one of which travels via Prince Edward Island by way of the Confederation Bridge. There are also two routes that begin west of Montreal and several routes through Ontario. Travelling west, the main Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) passes through Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary and Banff. It then takes the highly scenic Kicking Horse Pass through the Canadian Rockies and continues through Kamloops to Vancouver Island.

In 1970, an alternate northern route called Yellowhead Highway (Highway 16) was officially opened across Western Canada. Highway 16 diverges from the main Trans-Canada Highway just west of Winnipeg at Portage La Prairie and then passes through Saskatoon, Edmonton, Hinton and Jasper. It takes the Yellowhead Pass through the Rocky Mountains all the way to the town of Tête Jaune Cache, British Columbia. The highway continues west to Prince George, British Columbia and reaches the Pacific Ocean at Prince Rupert, British Columbia.

The Government of Canada, jointly with the provinces, funded construction costs of the highway outside Canada’s national parks, and all portions of the highway inside the national parks. Today, the majority of highway and road construction is a provincial responsibility, with provinces deciding on the design, construction, safety standards and financing of highways under their jurisdiction. The Government of Canada is still solely responsible for the maintenance and repair of the Trans-Canada Highway inside national parks.

The efficient transport of people and goods plays a vital role in the health of our nation’s economy. The ongoing rehabilitation of the Trans-Canada Highway improves safety and accessibility. Improvements will reduce accidents, decrease travel time, increase trade opportunities, attract tourism and create jobs. Transport Canada recognizes the value of these improvements and is helping the provinces to maintain the Highway in this age of increasing traffic volumes.

Since 2001, the Government of Canada has committed over $808 million in funding to improve segments of the Trans-Canada Highway.

May 2006