Canadian speed limits are set by different levels of government (federal, provincial, and municipal), depending on the jurisdiction under which the road falls, resulting in differences from province to province. The limits have been posted in kilometres per hour (km/h) since September 1, 1977. Before then, when Canada used Imperial units, speed limits were in miles per hour (mph).

Statutory speed limits

Statutory speed limits are default speed limits set by statute in each province or territory. They apply on roads which do not have posted speed limits. Posted speed limits may differ significantly from the statutory speed limit. For example, in Alberta, Highway 1A has a statutory maximum speed limit of 100 km/h but a posted speed limit of 30 km/h near . In most provinces and territories, statutory speed limits are in urban areas, in rural areas. There is no statutory speed limit for grade-separated freeways; however the typical speed limit in most provinces is or . Statutory speed limits for school zones tend to be in urban areas and 50 km/h in rural areas. The highest speed limit in Canada is found on British Columbia's

Coquihalla Highway Coquihalla may refer to: *British Columbia Highway 5 Highway 5 is a north–south route in southern British Columbia, Canada. Highway 5 connects the southern Trans-Canada route ( Highway 1) with the northern Trans-Canada/Yellowhead route ( Hig ...

with a speed limit of . Formerly, British Columbia's Okanagan Connector and Highway 19 also possessed 120 km/h limits, but have since been reduced to 110 km/h. "N/A" means there is no such roadway in the province or territory. This table contains the statutory maximum speed limits, in kilometres per hour, on roads in each category. This table contains typical daytime speed limits, in kilometres per hour, on typical roads in each category. The values shown are not necessarily the fastest or slowest posted limit.

Regulations

Demerit point warning on King's Highway 12 in Ontario, Canada

Community safety zones

In Ontario, speeding fines double in areas identified as "Community Safety Zones".

Construction zones

In most Canadian provinces, as in most other locales, speed violation fines are double (or more) in construction zones, although in Ontario and Alberta, this only applies if workers are present in the construction zone.

Racing, contests and stunt driving

In Ontario, as of September 2007, drivers caught exceeding the posted speed limit by 50 km/h or more may have the vehicle that they are driving impounded immediately for seven days, have their licence suspended for seven days, and have to appear before the court. For a first conviction, they face an additional $2,000–$10,000 fine and six demerit points; they may also face up to six months in jail and licence suspension of up to two years. For a second conviction within 10 years of the first conviction, their licence may be suspended for up to 10 years.

Truck speed limiters

Since 2009 in both Ontario and Québec, trucks must be equipped with devices to electronically limit their speed to . In 2012, an Ontario court ruled that the law violated the

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part ...

, however the law was upheld by the

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in 2015.

Radar detectors

Radar detectors Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

in Canada are legal only in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. They are illegal to use or possess in the other provinces and all three territories. Regardless of whether they are used or not, police and law enforcement officers may confiscate radar detectors, operational or not, and impose substantial fines in provinces where radar detectors are illegal. Quebec penalizes $500 for use of a radar detector, along with confiscation of the device.

Signage

A speed limit sign reads "MAXIMUM XX", such as "MAXIMUM 80" for 80 km/h. A minimum speed sign reads "XX MINIMUM", such as "60 MINIMUM" for 60 km/h. File:CA-ON road sign Rb-001-060.svg, Speed limit sign File:Québec P-070-1-60.svg, Minimum speed limit sign File:Canada - Speed Limit (50 kmh).svg, Speed limit sign in Ontario File:British Columbia R-4.svg, Speed limit sign in British Columbia and Yukon File:Ontario Rb-5.svg, Upcoming/advance notice of speed limit change sign File:British Columbia R-3.svg, Upcoming/advance notice of speed limit change sign in British Columbia and Yukon File:Ontario Rb-3.svg, Speed limit change sign in Ontario File:Québec P-070-4-40.svg, Speed limit sign in Quebec File:British Columbia R-5.svg, Speed limit ends sign in British Columbia File:Québec D-110-P-2-45.svg, Recommended speed sign File:Québec D-120-55.svg, Exit recommended speed sign in Quebec; Anglophone signs read EXIT or RAMP File:Ontario Wa-32.svg, Exit recommended speed sign in Ontario File:British Columbia I-106-100.svg, Metric signage reminder in British Columbia, posted on highways near the US border, to and from ferry terminals on Vancouver Island, and international airports File:Québec I-400.svg, Metric signage reminder in Quebec, posted near US border

Review of speed limits

British Columbia

In British Columbia, a review of speed limits conducted in 2002 and 2003 for the Ministry of Transportation found that posted limits on investigated roads were unrealistically low for 1,309 km and unrealistically high for 208 km. The report recommended increasing speed limits on multi-lane limited-access highways constructed to high design standards from 110 km/h to 120 km/h. As described in that report, the Ministry is currently using "Technical Circular T-10/00 ... to assess speed limits. The practice considers the 85th percentile speed, road geometry, roadside development, and crash history." In July 2014, speed limits were adjusted on many of the province's highways, including some which were increased to , currently the highest speed limit in Canada.

Ontario

Ontario's first provincial legislation governing automobile use came into effect in 1903, which included a speed limit. The first provincial Highway Traffic Act (passed in 1923) changed the speed limit for highways to . Limits were later increased, for rural roads, to and then again to . In 1968, the maximum speed limit for freeways was raised to . In 1976, the maximum speed limit for freeways was reduced to 60 mph, while the rural limit was reduced to 50 mph, except for main highways running through northern Ontario, which were reduced to 55 mph. In 1977, highways started using the metric system, with speeds being increased slightly to a maximum ranging from . In 2013, "speed too fast / exceed speed limit" contributed to 18.4% of all collisions, while "speeding" accounted for 55.2% of all driving convictions. An Ontario-based group is lobbying to increase speed limits from 100 km/h to 120–130 km/h (80 mph). In 2015, the Ontario government announced a plan to reduce residential speed limits from the statutory default 50 km/h, either by reducing the statutory limit to 40 km/h or by giving municipalities the option to set their own statutory speed limits, as well as allowing posted speed limits in school zones to be lowered to 30 km/h. On September 26, 2019, speed limits were increased, in a two-year trial, to from as part of a pilot across Highway 402 from

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(90 km), the Queen Elizabeth Way from

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/ Lincoln to

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(32 km), and Highway 417 from

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to the Ontario/Quebec border (102 km). In 2021, due to the

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significantly reducing traffic in 2020, the trial was extended until 2023. On April 22, 2022, the above speed limits of were made permanent, in addition to a stretch of Highway 417 from Kanata to Arnprior,

Highway 401 King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one, is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian provin ...

from Windsor to

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, and

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from Newmarket to East Gwillimbury. Two other areas will start a speed limit trial, on Highway 400 from MacTier to

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, and Highway 11 from Emsdale to South River.

References

{{North America topic, Speed limits in

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