Ontario/Highway classification

This page describes the highway classification scheme used in Ontario following the 2022 Canadian highway guidelines. This is a working draft and contents may be subject to discussion.

Guidelines

These tagging guidelines are tentative, and should be discussed with other Ontario mappers before applying to the map. The existing guidelines in the main provincial page still applies.

• highway=motorway - Controlled-access highways (e.g. 400-series freeways, DVP, Gardiner, RR 174 in Ottawa etc. ) and sections of other roads that are controlled-access (e.g. parts of Highway 69, etc.). Such roads are generally signed with no pedestrians and bicycles signs () at entry points.
• highway=trunk - Trans-Canada Highway and NHS core routes, plus some other routes between identified major population centres.
• highway=primary - Most King's Highways that are not controlled-access, former important King's Highways that were lost to downloading (e.g. Highway 2)
• highway=secondary - Ontario Secondary Highways, County/Regional/Municipal roads, and urban/suburban arterials where no numbered system exists, and some bypassed King's Highways (e.g. Hwy 17 in Arnprior)
• highway=tertiary - Ontario Tertiary Highways, important rural roads (usually paved and with higher posted speed limit), collector streets in urban areas, some less important County/Regional/Municipal roads
• highway=unclassified - most rural roads, industrial roads in urban areas
• highway=residential - residential roads

expressway=yes will be used to identify expressway-grade roads, which are classified following the list above and not by their quality. Most existing cases of expressways in Ontario are tagged with highway=trunk as of present.

Super-twos or two-lane freeways will be tagged the same as ordinary ones with oneway=no.

Population centres

Population centres for trunk determination includes all cities that are centres of census metropolitan areas. For Northern Ontario, in addition to Thunder Bay, other cities which are key destinations for the highways are listed as well.

• Barrie
• Belleville
• Brantford
• Cochrane
• Guelph
• Hamilton
• Kenora
• Kingston
• Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge (Tri-Cities, including Waterloo Region)
• London
• Niagara Falls–St. Catharines
• North Bay
• Ottawa
• Peterborough
• Sarnia
• Sault Ste. Marie
• Sudbury
• Thunder Bay
• Toronto
• Windsor

Out-of-province and across the US border

• Buffalo, NY
• Detroit, MI
• Duluth, MN
• Flint, MI
• Gatineau, QC
• Montreal, QC
• Niagara Falls, NY
• Rouyn-Noranda, QC
• St. Ignace, MI
• Watertown, NY
• Winnipeg, MB

Motorways

Roads tagged motorway in Ontario should include all 400-series highways, plus other roads marked with no pedestrians and bicycles sign at entry points and has multiple grade-separated interchanges.

Highway	Cities served/location	Motorway status begins	Motorway status ends	Note
Highway 400	Toronto – Barrie – Sudbury (via Highway 69)	Black Creek Drive & Lawrence Avenue	Highway 69	One at-grade intersection south of exit 168.
Highway 401	Windsor – Toronto – Cornwall – Montreal (via A-20)	Gord Howie Intl Bridge	Autoroute 20
Highway 402	Sarnia – London	Blue Water Bridge	Highway 401
Highway 403	London – Hamilton – Toronto (via QEW)	Highway 401	QEW/427
Highway 404	Toronto – Newmarket – Keswick	401/DVP	Woodbine Avenue
Highway 405	Niagara Region	QEW	Queenston-Lewiston Bridge
Highway 406	St. Catharines – Welland	QEW	Roundabout
407 ETR	Burlington-Brampton-Richmond Hill-Pickering	QEW/403	Brock Road/407
Highway 407 Toll	Pickering – Clarington	Brock Road/407 ETR	Highway 35/115
Highway 409	Toronto	427	401	West of 427, no longer provincial, now under GTAA
Highway 410	Mississauga – Caledon	403/401	Highway 10
Highway 412 Toll	Whitby	401	407 TOLL
Highway 416	East	401	417
Highway 417	Pembroke (via Highway 17) – Ottawa -Montreal (via A-40)	Highway 17	Autoroute 40
Highway 418 Toll	Clarington	401	407 TOLL
Highway 420	Niagara Falls	QEW	Stanley Avenue
Highway 427	Toronto – Vaughan	QEW/Gardiner	Major Mackenzie Dr
Queen Elizabeth Way	Toronto – Hamilton – Niagara	Gardiner/427	Peace Bridge
Highway 7	New Hamburg – Kitchener	west of Foundry Street	Victoria Street/Hwy 85	Concurrency with Highway 8 until Hwy 8 extension. Part of Conestoga Parkway.
Highway 7	Carleton Place – Kanata	west of Cemetery Sideroad	Highway 417
Highway 8	New Hamburg – Cambridge	west of Foundry Street	Highway 401	Concurrency with Highway 7 until Hwy 8 extension. Part of Conestoga Parkway.
Highway 11	Several places	Several places	Several places	Several places
Highway 58	Thorold	Highway 406	Davis Rd/Thorold Stone Rd
Highway 69	Pickerel River – Sudbury	Grundy Provincial Park	south of Estaire Road	Twinned segments between French River and Sudbury. Future Highway 400. Two-lane segments with at-grade intersections tagged trunk.
Highway 85	Kitchener-Waterloo	Highway 7/Victoria Street	north of King Street	Part of Conestoga Parkway.
Highway 115	Orono-Peterborough	Highway 35	Telephone Road
Don Valley Parkway	Toronto	Gardiner Expressway	401/404
Gardiner Expressway	Toronto	QEW	Major Mackenzie Drive
Ottawa Regional Road 174	Orleans	417	Trim Road
Allen Road	Toronto	Transit Road	Eglinton Ave
Lincoln Alexander Parkway	Hamilton	403	RHVP
Red Hill Valley Parkway	Hamilton	Linc	QEW
E.C. Row Expressway	Windsor	Gord Howie Bridge	Barnwell Rd
Highbury Avenue	London	Highway 401	Thames River
Dougall Parkway	Windsor	Darcey Street	Highway 401	Formerly Highway 3B
Nikola Tesla Blvd	Hamilton	Ottawa Street	QEW	Formerly Burlington Street

Motorway islands

These disconnected sections of freeway-grade highway ("motorway islands") with at least two interchanges and are at least 3-15 km long are to be tagged highway=motorway.

Highway	Location	Motorway status begins	Motorway status ends	Note
Highway 11	Orillia	Forest View Road/Line 15 RIRO	Laclie Street exit	Bypass of Orillia
Highway 11	Muskoka District	Hewitt Street near Gravenhurst	High Falls Road (DR 50)
Highway 11	Huntsville	Lindgren Road	Rocks Road
Highway 11	Parry Sound District	Wooden Bridge Road	Farm track north of exit 294
Highway 11	Parry Sound District	Unnamed road south of exit 301	Proudfoot Road	Bypass of Trout Creek
Highway 11	North Bay	River Road near North Bay	Seymour Street in North Bay
Highway 17	Greater Sudbury	Middle Lake Road	Fielding Road near Lively
Southwest Bypass	Greater Sudbury	Old Highway 17 near Whitefish	Highway 17 near Coniston	Two-lane freeway except around Highway 69. Bypass of Sudbury

Trunk roads

Trunk network will largely be the same, but with additions. Changes to be coordinated with those in Manitoba, Michigan, Minnesota, New York and Quebec:

Proposed Ontario trunk routes

Highway	NHS	Cities linked	Trunk status begins	Trunk status ends	Note
Huron Church Road	Core	Detroit, MI → US border → Windsor → Chatham and London (via Highway 401)	Ambassador Bridge	Highway 401	Most important road to the US border. Can be demoted to primary once the Gordie Howie International Bridge opens.
Highway 7	Core	North Bay (via Highway 12) → Peterborough → Ottawa	Highway 12 near Kawartha Lakes	Highway 417 in Ottawa	Trans-Canada Highway (Central Ontario route).
Highway 11	Core (Thunder Bay-Barrie), No (Fort Frances-Thunder Bay)	Winnipeg (via Highway 17) → Fort Frances, ON-International Falls, MN → Thunder Bay → North Bay → Orillia → Barrie → Toronto (via Highway 400)	Highway 17 near Kenora	Highway 400 in Barrie	Entire route, including concurrency with Highway 17 between Thunder Bay and Nipigon, and Highway 71 between Kenora and Fort Frances. Also Trans-Canada Highway.
Highway 12	Core	Sudbury (via Highways 400 and 69) → Orillia → Peterborough (via Highway 7)	Highway 400 near Coldwater	Highway 7 near Kawartha Lakes	Trans-Canada Highway Central Ontario Route
Highway 16	Core	Ottawa (via Highways 416) → US border → Watertown, NY (via NY 812 and 87)	NY 812 at Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge	Highway 416 near Prescott
Highway 17	Core	International Falls, MN (via Fort Frances) → Thunder Bay → Sault Ste. Marie → North Bay → Pembroke → Ottawa	PTH 1 at Manitoba boundary	Highway 17A near Kenora	Trans-Canada Highway. Excludes segment through Kenora which is bypassed by Highway 17A.
Highway 17A	No	Kenora District	Highway 17 bypass through Kenora
Highway 61	Core	Duluth, MN → US border → Thunder Bay	MN 61 at Pigeon River-Grand Portage border crossing	Highways 11 and 17 in Thunder Bay
Highway 66	Core	Timmins (via Highways 11) → Rouyn-Noranda, QC	Highway 11 near Swastika	Route 117 at Quebec boundary
Highway 69	Core	Barrie (via Highway 400) → Sudbury	Highway 400 near Parry Sound	Highway 17 (Southwest Bypass) at Sudbury	Undivided segments between Parry Sound and French River, and Sudbury. Twinned segments tagged motorway. Future Highway 400 extension.
Highway 71	Core	Winnipeg, MB (via Highway 17) → International Falls, MN (via Fort Frances)	Highway 17 near Kenora	US 53 at Fort Frances-International Falls border crossing	Trans-Canada Highway up to Highway 11 at Fort Frances. Concurrent with Highway 11 between Manitou Rapids and Fort Frances
Highway 115	Core	Oshawa and Toronto (via Highway 401) → Peterborough	Highway 401 at New Castle	Highway 7 near Peterborough	Tagged motorway north of exit 19. Part of Toronto-Ottawa corridor.
Highway 137	Feeder	Watertown, NY (via I-81) → Brockville (via Highway 401)	I-81 at Thousand Islands Bridge	Highway 401 near Lansdowne	Entire route
Highway 138	Feeder	Watertown, NY (via NY-37) → Cornwall	NY 37 via Seaway International Bridge Bridge	Highway 401 at Cornwall
Falls Avenue	Core	Niagara Falls	Highway 420	NY 384 at Rainbow Bridge	At-grade portion of Highway 420
Nicholas Street, Rideau Street and King Edward Avenue	Core	Ottawa → Gatineau	Highway 417 (Queensway) in Ottawa	A-5 at Macdonald-Cartier Bridge	Connects Highway 417 and A-5.

Expressways

Ontario roads to be tagged expressway

Highway	Proposed classification	Location	Expressway status begins	Expressway status ends	Note
St. Thomas Expressway	Primary	St. Thomas	Wellington Road South (CR 25)	Centennial Avenue	Bypass of St. Thomas
Highway 6	Primary	Caledonia	Argyle Street South	Greens Road	Bypass of Caledonia
Highway 6	Primary	Hamilton	Upper James Street	Highway 403 exit 61
Highway 6	Trunk	Hamilton	Highway 403 exit 74	Highway 5	Short motorway spur
Hanlon Expressway	Primary	Guelph	Highway 401 exit 5	Highway 6 and 7
Highway 11	Trunk	Thunder Bay	Highway 61	east of Highway 587 junction	Thunder Bay Expressway within Thunder Bay city limits
Highway 11	Trunk	Parry Sound District	English Line/Loxton Line	Monroe Road/River Road West
Highway 11	Trunk	Parry Sound District	exit 294	Unnamed access south of exit 301
Highway 11	Trunk	Parry Sound District	exit 231	Rat Tray Road/Wooden Bridge Road
Highway 11	Trunk	Bracebridge-Huntsville	High Falls Road (DR 50)	Lindgren Road
Highway 11	Trunk	Orillia-Gravenhurst	Laclie Street	Hewitt Street/Pinedale Road	RIRO expressway
Highway 11	Trunk	Barrie-Orillia	Penetaguishene Road	Forest View Road/Line 15	RIRO expressway
Highway 17	Trunk	Algoma District	Highway 17B	east of McKnight Road	Including bypass of Echo Bay
Highway 26	Primary	Collingwood	Poplar Sideroad	Mosley Street
Highway 35/115	Trunk	Durham Region	Highway 401 exit 435	exit 19	RIRO expressway
Highway 40	Trunk	Lambton County and Sarnia	south of Rokeby Line	Highway 402 exit 6
Highway 137	Trunk	Thousand Islands	I-81 at Thousand Islands Bridge	Highway 401 exit 661
Airport Parkway and Branson Avenue	Primary	Ottawa	Air Cargo Private/Airbus Private	Holmwood Avenue exit 661
John A. Macdonald Parkway	Secondary	Ottawa	Carling Avenue	Wellington Street
Veterans Memorial Parkway	Secondary	London	Wilton Grove Road	Clarke Road

Primary

Primary roads in Ontario should include all primary provincial highways not already tagged motorway or trunk, plus significant former provincial highway segments. What is a significant former provincial highway is subjective, but some guidelines proposed as of April 2022 are:

• They do not have truck restrictions
• Carries a high volume of traffic
• Connects two or more major urban municipalities (cities or towns).

Being a former provincial highway does not guarantee primary status, especially where the "best" route between a pair of cities or towns is on a controlled-access highway. For example, most of former Highway 2 will remain secondary, being largely superseded by 400-series highways as the best route between cities and towns it served.

Connecting Links and provincial highway gaps or truncations

To keep with network connectivity and continuity, trunk, primary, or secondary classification should continue across a certain route up to a suitable endpoint, and not end at a point where it becomes a locally maintained road due to Connecting Link agreements or a provincial highway gap or truncation due to relinquishment ("downloading") to municipal control. For example, Highway 7, which is tagged as primary, should remain as a primary through Peel Region up to Highway 427. Another example is Highways 8 and 24, both of which end at Cambridge city limits; the primary classification should continue across the city into the 401.

Important former provincial highways

Downloaded King's Highways still deserving of primary tag

Former Highway	Current form	Begins	Ends	Communities served	Justification	Notes
Highway 2	"County Road 2", "Old Highway 2", "Highway 2", other numbers	EC Row Expy	Quebec border	Tecumseh, Tilbury, Chatham, London, Woodstock, Paris, Brantford, Ancaster, Burlington, Oakville, Mississauga, Toronto, Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa, Bowmanville, Newcastle, Port Hope, Cobourg, Brighton, Trenton, Bellevile, Napanee, Kingston, Gananoque, Brockville, Prescott, Morrisburg, Cornwall	"Main Street Ontario", goes through a large number of historical towns and cities along the Windsor-Quebec corridor. Largely bypassed by 401, however, culturally significant and important and an alternate to the 401.	Tagged as a mix of primary and secondary. Excluding portion of Stormont, Glengarry and Dundas County Road 2 which closely parallels the 401 and connects with Quebec Route 338 (tagged secondary).
Highway 5	"Dundas Street", "Bloor Street"	Paris	Kingston Road (formerly Highway 2)	Paris, Waterdown, Burlington, Mississauga, Toronto	Known as the secondary "Main Street" of both Toronto and Mississauga, and also a higher-capacity non-freeway alternative to Highway 2.
Highway 7	Regional Roads 107 and 7	Highway 7 at Brampton-Georgetown boundary	Highway 7 at Markham-Durham Region boundary	Brampton, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Markham	Largely bypassed by Highway 407, but still commonly referred to as Highway 7 and is an alternate route to the tolled 407. Also connects the two Highway 7 segments since the Peel and York Region segments are downloaded.	Tagged as primary already.
Highway 11	Yonge Street (Toronto and Barrie), Regional Road 1 (York Region), County Road 4 (Simcoe County)	Lake Shore Boulevard at Toronto	Essa Road	Toronto, Richmond Hill, Aurora, Newmarket, Bradford, Barrie	Largely bypassed by Highways 400 and 404, but still a good non-freeway alternate route between downtown Toronto and Barrie. It is also known as the "Main Street" of not only Toronto, but several other towns it passed along the way (such as Richmond Hill, Aurora, and Bradford).	Tagged primary on Yonge and RR 1 up to Highway 7. In Barrie, primary to end at Essa Road. Connect to Highway 400 via Essa Road.
Highway 27	Brown's Line (Etobicoke), Regional Road 1 (York Region), County Road 4 (Simcoe County)	Lake Shore Boulevard at Etobicoke	Highway 400 in Barrie	Toronto, Vaughan, Barrie	Largely bypassed by Highways 400 and 427. Section between QEW and the 401 upgraded to Highway 427. Surface alternative to Highway 400 between Vaughan and Barrie.	Already tagged as primary.
Highway 29	Road 29 (Ottawa), Highway 15, County Road 29 (Leeds and Grenville Counties)	Arnprior	Brockville	Brockville, Smith Falls, Carleton Place, Arnprior	Largely bypassed by Highways 416 and 417, but still a good and shorter alternate route. Part renumbered Highway 15.	Already tagged as primary.

Neighbouring projects

For classification projects in neighbouring provinces and territories connected by highway with Ontario:

• Quebec - No project
• Manitoba - No Project

Neighbouring US states (basing on United States/2021 Highway Classification Guidance)

• New York - Yes
• Michigan - Unknown
• Minnesota - Yes