Speed limits in Canada

Community safety zones and automated speed enforcement

In Ontario, speeding fines are doubled in areas identified as "Community Safety Zones". On November 14, 2025, the section of the Highway Traffic Act that permitted automated speed enforcement was struck. Instead, the government launched a $210 million road safety initiatives fund for municipalities to implement traffic calming measures.

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 Quebec, trucks must be equipped with devices to electronically limit their speed to 105 km/h (65 mph). In 2012, an Ontario court ruled that the law violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, however the law was upheld by the Ontario Court of Appeal in 2015. In April 2024, 105 km/h speed limiters also became mandatory for commercial trucks in British Columbia.

Radar detectors

Radar detectors 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.

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 120 km/h (75 mph), currently the highest speed limit in Canada. Some of the sections were later rolled back due to a study finding "marked deterioration in road safety", which critics called the study misleading due to an oversimplification of the data.

Alberta

On April 29, 2026, Alberta increased the speed limit on a 22 km (14 mi) stretch of Highway 2 south of Leduc from 110 km/h (68 mph) to 120 km/h (75 mph) on a trial basis, with considerations to increase the speed limit to 120 km/h (75 mph) on most rural highways depending on the outcome of the trial. Later that year, on September 10, 2026, the trial section was extended further south, totalling 44 km (27 mi).

Ontario

Ontario's first provincial legislation governing automobile use came into effect in 1903, which included a 15 mph (24 km/h) speed limit. The first provincial Highway Traffic Act (passed in 1923) changed the speed limit for highways to 25 mph (40 km/h).

Limits were later increased, for rural roads, to 50 mph (80 km/h) and then again to 60 mph (97 km/h). In 1968, the maximum speed limit for freeways was raised to 70 mph (110 km/h). In 1976, due to the oil crisis, the maximum speed limit was reduced while simultaneously being metrified to 100 km/h (62 mph) for freeways, while the rural limit was reduced to 80 km/h (50 mph), except for main highways running through northern Ontario, which were reduced to 90 km/h (56 mph). In 1977, as a result of the metrification, the speed limits increased slightly to a maximum ranging from 80 to 100 km/h (50 to 62 mph) while signs were being changed.

In 2012, an Ontario-based group lobbied to increase speed limits on the 400-series highways from 100 km/h to 120 to 130 km/h (75 to 81 mph). However, the Minister of Transportation at the time Bob Chiarelli rejected the petition, citing speed accounted for 20% of fatal collisions, and that Ontario highways were among the safest in North America and he intended to keep it that way.

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 May 10, 2019, the government announced plans to increase the speed limit on 400-series highways on a trial basis. Later that year, on September 26, 2019, the speed limits were increased from 100 km/h (62 mph) to 110 km/h (68 mph) on three sections of freeways on a two-year trial basis. In 2021, the trial was extended until 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic significantly reducing traffic in 2020. On April 22, 2022, the three trialed sections were made permanent along with three additional sections while two new sections were trialed. On July 12, 2024, the two trialed sections were made permanent, in addition to 10 new sections. On June 24, 2026, the government announced that the speed limit would increase from 100 km/h (62 mph) to 110 km/h (68 mph) on all remaining freeway sections "where it was safe to do so". Nearly 89% of freeways now have the 110 km/h (68 mph) speed limit.