Top 10 busiest highways in Canada

As a Canadian Trucking Company, we know a thing or two about busy Canadian Highways. In fact, we’ve transported goods along all of these routes at one time or another. While we prefer the open road, sometimes one of the 10 busiest highways in Canada is the only route in or out. 

When you’re heading out on the road, we hope you’re not caught in one of these 10 bottlenecks. 

1. Hwy 401 between Hwy 427 & Yonge St

Location: Toronto, Ontario

The 401 has been called the busiest highway in Canada, but also the busiest highway in the world. Southern Ontario is a big, highly populated area, and having only one major highway tends to clog things up. This stretch was built in the 1960s and takes up over 3.2 million hours of drivers time every year. If you never see this bottleneck, it wouldn’t be a bad thing.   

2. DVP/404 between Don Mills Rd & Finch Ave

Location: Toronto, Ontario

Five of the top 10 busiest highways in Canada in terms of bottlenecks are from the great province of Ontario, and the Don Valley Parkway between Don Mills Road and Finch is almost as bad as it gets. This is 10.5 kilometers of crawl, giving the DVP the well-earned nickname, the Don Valley Parking Lot. 

3. Hwy 40 between Blvd Pie-IX and Hwy 520

Location: Montreal, Quebec

Our first highway not in Ontario, this 10 km stretch on the Metropolitan Autoroute (Autoroute 40) between Boulevard Pie-IX and Autoroute 520. This is the busiest stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway, with $45 million in lost opportunity cost from drivers sitting in traffic. 

4. Gardiner Expy between S Kingsway & Bay St

Location: Toronto, Ontario

Located in Downtown Toronto, this portion of the Gardiner Expressway between South Kingsway and Bay St. is already considerably busy by 6:00 AM, and it will stay that way until after the sun is down no matter what season it is. If your commute is between 1:00 AM and 3:00 AM, however, you’re in luck! 

5. Hwy 15 between Hwy 40 & Chemin de la Côte Saint-Luc

Location: Montreal, Quebec

While the speed limit may be higher here (100 kilometers per hour) than it is in some of the Ontario highways, the average speed during the day is terrible on this stretch, coming in at less than 50 kilometers per hour in most time slots. 

6. Hwy 401 between Bayview Ave & Don Mills Rd

Location: Toronto, Ontario

Another extremely busy stretch along the 401 is between Bayview and Don Mills. While the speed limit remains higher here than on other highways, the sheer scale of the 401 will keep you from getting anywhere near that maximum. 

7. Hwy 409 between Hwy 401 and Kipling Ave

Location: Toronto, Ontario

This 1.6 kilometer stretch of highway leaves people sitting for 279,000 total delay hours every year. If you like slow, you’ll like the 409. 

8. Hwy 25 between Ave Souligny & Rue Beaubien E

Location: Montreal, Quebec

The third stretch of highway in Montreal on our list has some terrible average speeds, you can expect to clock in at less than 30 kilometers per hour during rush hour in the afternoon. 

9. Granville St at SW Marine Dr

Location: Vancouver, British Columbia

Though not a traditional expressway, the signalized portion of Highway 99 that runs through downtown Vancouver still made the cut on this list. Sitting at about a kilometer and a half in length, there just aren’t many entry points into one of Canada’s largest cities, making many bottlenecks. The best trucking companies in BC know to avoid this strip whenever possible.  

10. W Georgia St between Seymour St & W Pender St

Location: Vancouver, BC

Vancouverites will know this stretch well. The average speed of travel is less than 20 kilometers per hour for pretty much all daylight hours and only rises to 30 kilometers per hour outside those times. It’s the definition of congestion, which is why Vancouver’s best transportation companies look for alternative options whenever possible. You should do the same. 

We hope you don’t find yourself stuck in any of these 10 busiest highways in Canada. Contact the logistics experts and transportation team at Dolphin Delivery to have your goods delivered on time. We know the best routes – and these 10 busy highways aren’t always optimal. See reviews of Dolphin Delivery to learn more. 

Data provided by CAA’s national study of bottlenecks.