He made the announcement during a press conference on another subject on Wednesday October 2.
“Earlier this year we increased the speed limit on 10 more sections of the 400 series highways and today I asked the minister [des Transports] to increase the speed limit to 110 kilometers on all 400 series highways where it is safe to do so,” he said.
Those last eight words are important to Doug Ford.
“I will repeat: where it is safe to do so,” he insisted.
Already in 2022
His government had increased speed limits on six sections of highways, mainly 400 series, across southern Ontario in April 2022.
In July, 10 more sections were added, notably in parts of the eastern part of the province, including near Ottawa.
The speed limit was therefore increased by 10 km/h on a section of approximately 70 kilometers of Highway 416 south of Ottawa, between the 401 and the federal capital.
The speed limit was also increased to 110 km/h for 107 kilometers from Highway 16 to the Quebec border, 66 kilometers between Belleville and Kingston and 44 kilometers between Colborne and Belleville.
Quebecers in favor of the idea
In 2019, the province launched a pilot project aimed at increasing speed limits on six sections of provincial highways to 110 km/h, including on Highway 417 between Ottawa and the Quebec border and on Highway 417, from the Kanata region to Arnprior.
In a survey commissioned by the Coops de l’information in 2023, the majority of Quebec respondents indicated that they were “rather” or “very” in favor of the idea of increasing the speed limit from 100 to 110 km/ h on their highways.
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