Ontario’s future economy will move on the roads and rails it builds today.
At Highways to Prosperity: Unlocking Growth Through Infrastructure, hosted in partnership with the Greater Kitchener Waterloo and Hamilton Chambers of Commerce, leaders from across government, industry, and labour examined how Ontario’s next generation of highway investments can ease congestion, attract new industry, and reinforce the economic spine of our region’s Innovation Corridor.
The Honourable Prabmeet Sarkaria, Ontario’s Minister of Transportation, outlined a $100-billion plan to expand, repair, and modernize the province’s highways, bridges, and transit systems. “Every minute that is lost in traffic could have been spent at work, with family, with friends,” the Minister said. “That’s what truly resonated with the people of this province and that’s why we’re building now, to give that time back.”
That focus on building today to unlock tomorrow set the stage for a broader reflection on how foresight has always powered our region’s. As Toronto Region Board of Trade’s President and CEO Giles Gherson reminded attendees, long-term thinking — not short-term fixes — has always been this region’s strength. “Once upon a time, this region was known for its obsession with advanced planning,” he said. “Peter Ustinov used to call Toronto ‘New York run by the Swiss’ — we were boring, but we got things done. We need to get back to that kind of planning, not the patchwork fixes that have defined the last 30 or 40 years.”
From planning to construction
Major projects are moving from concept to construction. Early work is underway on Highway 413 near the 401–407 interchange while design contracts for the Bradford Bypass have been issued. Additional upgrades including bridge replacements along the 401 East and 400, the twinning of the Garden City Skyway, and northern expansions such as Highway 69 and all-season roads to the Ring of Fire reflect a province-wide shift toward generational planning.
Integration across modes
The province is linking highway investments with transit expansion. Two-way GO service to Kitchener and the return of the Northlander passenger rail are positioned as complementary measures to relieve congestion, expand labour mobility, and improve freight reliability across the corridor.
Execution through standardization and technology
A new, province-wide standardization of highway design and construction aims to cut red tape and reduce costs. At the same time, data analytics, AI, and digital-twin modelling are reshaping how Ontario plans and manages infrastructure, enabling faster delivery and better safety outcomes when paired with clear data-sharing rules.
Planning for the long term
Speakers agreed that sustained foresight, not incremental fixes, will determine whether Ontario’s growth corridors remain competitive. The province’s current infrastructure wave marks a return to the kind of long-range planning that built the Bloor Viaduct and the QEW, positioning today’s investments to serve for decades ahead.
$100 billion
Total value of Ontario’s transportation build-out. This includes new highways, bridge replacements, and transit projects designed to modernize how people and goods move across the province.
82,000
The number of skilled tradespeople expected to retire this decade. Ontario’s ability to deliver on its infrastructure goals will hinge on sustained investment in training and workforce renewal.
$600 million
The value of goods moving each day along the busiest stretch of Highway 401 — Canada’s most heavily travelled highway and the backbone of the Innovation Corridor’s economy.
Highway 413 (60 km)
Designed to connect Highway 400 in Vaughan to Highway 401/407 in Halton, the project is expected to add more than $1 billion to Ontario’s GDP during construction and support around 6,000 jobs annually. When complete, it will shorten commutes across Peel, Halton, and York by up to half an hour each way.
Bradford Bypass (16 km)
The new link between Highway 400 and Highway 404 will reduce east–west travel times in Simcoe and York Regions, add roughly $190 million to Ontario’s GDP each year, and support 1,300 jobs during construction.
15 million people by 2051
Up from roughly 10 million today, the Greater Golden Horseshoe’s population is projected to grow by five million within a generation, a reminder that infrastructure decisions made now must serve the region for decades to come.
“It’s estimated that around 82,000 workers are set to retire in the next decade in our industry. So, we need to be proactive in how we’re attracting and retaining the skills right now to be ready to meet that demand and stay ahead of it. LiUNA has really set industry standards on outreach, retention, and apprenticeship — and this generation of work is supported by a historic Skills Development Fund that’s investing directly in workers, training centres, and the future of our industry.”
— Victoria Mancinelli, Director of Public Relations, Marketing and Strategic Partnerships, LiUNA
“The good news is there’s been so many advancements in data, AI, connectivity — so many waves crashing together. Every vehicle is becoming connected. The data and insights are absolutely there to be transformative at scale. The technology problem is solved. What we need now is to use those insights to reduce collisions, plan more effectively, and do so in a privacy-compliant way.”
— Mike Branch, Vice President, Data & Analytics, Geotab
“We have to look at transportation networks as ecosystems, not just single corridors. Every corridor doesn’t have to be multimodal, but we need to designate certain routes for certain roles and think at a regional level — what are we trying to achieve in terms of movement, safety, and environmental performance? The ministries and municipalities have to be okay adopting approaches that might be unconventional, because that’s what it will take to build the system we need.”
— Tara Erwin, Senior Vice President & Regional Transportation Director, HDR
“Ontario is building a lot of infrastructure right now. Highways are one part of this, and we have a transportation system that does need to grow to meet the needs of the millions of people that have come in recent decades and that we didn’t necessarily build for and that are going to be coming in the years to come. So, we have to get better at doing it. We have to have the skilled people that are capable of doing it, and we need to adopt the new technologies that can make it more efficient.”
— Dr. Jonathan English, Founding Principal, Infrastory Insights
