Jazmin Li
Canada is a vast country with a dispersed population, making air transportation essential. Toronto Pearson Airport is the largest and busiest airport in Canada, located in Mississauga, Ontario. It is followed by Vancouver International Airport and Montréal-Trudeau, which have also seen substantial passenger growth. Calgary International Airport is the busiest airport in Alberta. Canada's principal highway is the Trans-Canada Highway, which extends 4,860 miles between Victoria, British Columbia, and St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, traversing 10 provinces. It is the world's longest national road and has distinctive white-on-green maple leaf route markers. Numbered highways are split by province, with most maintained by their provincial or territorial transportation department. Ten territorial highways are found in the Northwest Territories, while Nunavut has several roads and highways but none are yet numbered.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Total length of the National Highway System | 38,098 kilometres (23,673 miles) |
| Number of lanes on the Dempster Highway | 2 |
| Length of the Dempster Highway | 740 kilometres |
| Length of the Trans-Canada Highway | 7,821 kilometres (4,860 miles) |
| Length of the British Columbia section of the Trans-Canada Highway | 1,045 kilometres (649 miles) |
| Number of lanes on the British Columbia section of the Trans-Canada Highway | 4-8 |
| Number of lanes on the Ontario Highway 401 | 4-18 |
| Number of vehicles passing through a 1 km section near Pearson International Airport in 2016 | 400,700 |
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What You'll Learn
Trans-Canada Highway
Canada's National Highway System is not under federal jurisdiction or coordination. Instead, individual provinces are responsible for highway construction, maintenance, and route numbering. The Trans-Canada Highway, Canada's principal highway, is a highway system with several parallel routes across the country. The term "Trans-Canada Highway" typically refers to the main route, which connects most of the country's major cities, including Vancouver, Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, and Fredericton.
The main Trans-Canada Highway route is designated as Highway 1 in the four western provinces (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba). The British Columbia section, starting in Victoria and ending at the Alberta border, is 1,045 km (649 mi) long. After leaving Vancouver Island, the highway travels through Metro Vancouver as a four-to-eight-lane freeway before continuing eastward up the Fraser Valley to Hope. Approaching Kamloops, it re-enters a freeway alignment and passes through as a four-lane highway. East of Kamloops, the highway narrows to a mostly two-lane rural road through the Interior of British Columbia. The highway crosses two high passes: Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park and Kicking Horse Pass in Yoho National Park, reaching its highest point of 1,627 m (5,338 ft).
The Trans-Canada Highway continues into Alberta as Highway 1, passing through Banff National Park and tourist destinations such as Lake Louise, Banff, and Canmore. After Calgary, it continues as a four-lane expressway towards Medicine Hat and then into Saskatchewan. Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba have widened most of their southern Trans-Canada Highway network to four lanes. In Saskatchewan, the highway mainly travels straight as a four-lane route.
In Ontario, the Trans-Canada Highway includes Highways 11, 17, and 417. Unlike the western provinces, the highway numbers in Ontario and Quebec change at each provincial boundary or within the province as the route piggybacks on existing provincial highways. In Quebec, the TCH network overlaps with the province's Autoroute freeways. The Trans-Canada Highway continues eastward through New Brunswick as Highway 2 and into Nova Scotia as Highways 104 and 105. The main route ends in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, where it is again designated as Highway 1.
The Trans-Canada Highway system also includes several other routes. A branch from southern Manitoba leads northwest to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, via Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and Edmonton, Alberta. Another spur connects New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island via a bridge across the Northumberland Strait. Additionally, the Yellowhead Highway, connecting Winnipeg to Prince Rupert, is considered part of the Trans-Canada Highway system.
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Toronto Pearson Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport is Canada's largest and busiest airport, serving 46.8 million passengers in 2024. Located in Mississauga, Ontario, it is the primary airport serving Toronto and its metropolitan area, situated 25 kilometres (16 miles) northwest of downtown Toronto. The airport is named after Lester B. Pearson, the 14th Prime Minister of Canada and recipient of the 1957 Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work in peacekeeping.
Toronto Pearson is a major global hub for several airlines, including Air Canada, Porter Airlines, WestJet, Air Transat, and Flair Airlines. The airport features two passenger terminals, Terminal 1 and Terminal 3, both capable of handling domestic, transborder, and international travel. Terminal 1, with 58 gates, spans 346,000 square metres (3,724,000 square feet). It was designed by a joint venture of prominent architecture firms, including Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP and Moshe Safdie and Associates. The former Terminal 2 was demolished in 2008 to make way for the expansion of Terminal 1.
The airport boasts five runways and covers a significant area of 1,867 hectares (4,613 acres). It is operated by the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) and supported by a large workforce of around 50,000 employees. Toronto Pearson offers an extensive network of non-stop domestic flights to all major and numerous secondary cities across Canada. As of 2025, over 50 airlines operate direct or non-stop flights to more than 180 destinations worldwide.
Toronto Pearson provides a range of amenities and services to cater to the needs of travellers, including long-term parking, curbside pick-up, shopping, and dining options. It also maintains facilities for United States border preclearance and is the first airport in Canada to offer free Aira ASL services. The airport employs a dedicated Traffic Management Unit (TMU) to control ground traffic, including aircraft and vehicles, with the main air traffic control tower located within the infield operations area.
Toronto Pearson experiences significant snowfall during winter, with accumulations ranging from 110 to 130 centimetres (43 to 51 inches) in a typical winter season. To ensure smooth operations, the airfield maintenance unit deploys a 24-hour snow removal team comprising over 200 workers and a fleet of specialised equipment, including snowplows and snowmelters.
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Calgary International Airport
Canada's iconic highways, including the Trans-Canada Highway, connect most of the country's major cities. The Trans-Canada Highway, for example, connects Vancouver, Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, and Fredericton. The Yellowhead Highway, which is considered part of the Trans-Canada Highway system, connects Winnipeg to Prince Rupert, British Columbia.
The history of Calgary International Airport dates back to the mid-20th century. In 1956, a new passenger terminal was constructed, dubbed one of the most modern air terminals in Canada at the time. The terminal featured an open public concourse and ticketing offices for three airlines. In the following years, Calgary City Council lobbied the federal government to designate the airport as an "international airport". As a compromise, on 6 April 1962, the federal government approved naming the airport terminal Calgary International Airport from Calgary Municipal Airport. However, it did not receive official "International" status until 1969.
The increasing aircraft traffic at Calgary Municipal Airport led to the need for upgrades. In 1966, the City of Calgary sold the airport to the federal government, which began refurbishing the runways. Plans were made to build a new passenger terminal, with the federal government committing to a $20 million passenger terminal. However, construction of the new terminal experienced delays, and it was finally opened in October 1977, with a cost of $130 million. This terminal remains the core of Calgary International Airport's domestic terminal today.
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Canada's busiest highways
Canada's highway system has developed over the 20th and 21st centuries, connecting the country and improving safety for travellers. The Trans-Canada Highway is a highway system with several routes throughout most of the country. The main route passes through nine of the ten provinces and connects most of the country's major cities. It includes:
- Highway 1 in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba
- Highways 11, 17, and 417 in Ontario
- Autoroutes 40, 25, 20, and 85, and Route 185 in Quebec
- Highway 2 in New Brunswick
- Highways 104 and 105 in Nova Scotia
- Highway 1 in Newfoundland and Labrador
The Trans-Canada Highway system has no national construction standard, so standards vary among provinces and cities. For example, in British Columbia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador, the highway is mostly a two-lane road. In contrast, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba have widened most of their southern Trans-Canada Highway network to four lanes.
The Trans-Canada Highway also includes the Yellowhead Highway, which connects Winnipeg to Prince Rupert, British Columbia. This route is further north than the original Trans-Canada route and is named for the Yellowhead Pass in the Rocky Mountains.
Another iconic highway is the Dempster Highway, which starts at Klondike Corner, Yukon, and stretches 740 km to Inuvik, Northwest Territories. This scenic route passes through Tombstone and Nitainlaii territorial parks and into the Arctic Circle.
However, Canada's busiest highway is Ontario's Highway 401, commonly referred to as the "four-oh-one". It is North America's busiest roadway, surpassing roadways in Los Angeles and Atlanta. It is also the world's busiest truck route, carrying 60% of vehicular trade between Canada and the US. In 2019, the Toronto section of Highway 401 saw an average of 359,850 vehicles on a typical day, with one section between Renforth Drive and Highway 427 reaching 450,300 vehicles. In 2016, a 1 km section near Pearson International Airport saw an average of 400,700 vehicles passing through each day, making it possibly the busiest stretch of highway in the world.
Five of the top 10 busiest highways in Canada in terms of bottlenecks are in Ontario, including the Don Valley Parkway between Don Mills Road and Finch. Outside of Ontario, one of the busiest stretches of the Trans-Canada Highway is the 10 km stretch on the Metropolitan Autoroute (Autoroute 40) between Boulevard Pie-IX and Autoroute 520 in Montreal.
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Canada's busiest airports
Canada's highway system, the Trans-Canada Highway, has several parallel routes throughout most of the country. The main route, Highway 1, passes through nine of the ten provinces and connects most of the country's major cities, including Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, and Montreal. Other iconic highways include the Yellowhead Highway, which connects Winnipeg to Prince Rupert, and the Dempster Highway, which stretches 740 km from Klondike Corner, Yukon, to Inuvik, Northwest Territories.
Canada is a large country with many sparsely populated areas, and air transportation is essential for connecting its remote communities. Toronto Pearson International Airport, located in Mississauga, about 20 km west of Toronto, is the largest and busiest airport in Canada. It serves as a hub for major Canadian airlines such as Air Canada and WestJet and offers connections to numerous destinations worldwide. The airport has five runways and two active terminals, with a total passenger capacity of around 47 million per year. However, the actual number of passengers has exceeded this figure on several occasions, leading to capacity bottlenecks.
Vancouver International Airport is the second busiest airport in Canada, serving as the country's hub for flights to Asia and Oceania. Montréal-Trudeau Airport is also one of the busiest, serving over 22 million passengers annually, with nearly 16 million on international flights. Its proximity to Europe has contributed to its substantial passenger growth in recent years.
Calgary International Airport is the busiest airport in Alberta and the fourth busiest in Canada. The region's petroleum and tourism industries, as well as its proximity to Banff National Park, have driven growth. The airport offers nonstop flights to destinations in North America, Central America, Europe, and Asia.
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Frequently asked questions
The Trans-Canada Highway is the principal highway of Canada and the world's longest national road. It extends 4,860 miles (7,821 km) between Victoria, British Columbia, and St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, traversing 10 provinces.
Toronto Pearson Airport is the largest and busiest airport in Canada. Vancouver International Airport is the second busiest airport, and Calgary International Airport is the fourth busiest airport in Canada. Montréal-Trudeau has also seen substantial passenger growth in recent years.
There are currently ten territorial highways in the Northwest Territories, numbered 1-10. Some of the roads include the Mackenzie Valley winter road system, the Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road, and the Dettah Ice Road.
