Ontario’s New Democrats say it’s time for the province to deliver on making highways 11 and 17 safer.
They’re calling on the Ford Government to implement the NDP’s Northern Highway Strategy following the latest push on highway improvements from the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM).
FONOM is calling for the modernization of the highways to be a nation-building project.
“The two-lane Trans-Canada Highway through Northern Ontario isn’t just the weak link in our national transportation system—it’s dangerously unsafe,” says John Vanthof, MPP for Timiskaming – Cochrane. “A car registered in Timiskaming and involved in an accident is four times more likely to face a fatal outcome than anywhere else in Ontario. Premier Ford promised to extend the 2+1 system from Temiskaming Shores to Cochrane, but his government hasn’t even started the first pilot project.”
He adds they fully support making the Trans-Canada highways a true nation-building project.
The province’s Northern Highways Program website shows the first 2+1 pilot north of the city as a rehabilitation project slated to start in 2027-28.
It covers 13.8 km from Sand Dam Road to Ellsmere Road.
