Categories: Lifestyle

The Ontario Government is removing tolls on two highways this week

Image via Stanley Deng/Shutterstock

Back in February, the Ontario Government announced that it is removing tolls on two highways this spring. And the time has come.

The government will be permanently removing tolls on Highways 412 and 418, effective April 5, 2022.

“We have heard the people of Durham loud and clear and we agree that the tolls imposed on Highways 412 and 418 by the previous government are wrong and unfair,” said Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, in a release when it was first announced. “That’s why we are removing the tolls on these Highways so that people and businesses have more travel options and hard-earned money in their pockets.”

Right now, Highways 412 and 418 are the only tolled north-south highways in Ontario.

“I have long advocated for the removal of tolls from Highway 412 and 418, and today we are taking action to resolve this unfair decision made by the previous government,” said Lorne Coe, MPP for Whitby. “The removal of tolls shows this government’s steadfast commitment to helping Durham Region continue to grow and thrive.”

The province says it has allocated approximately $2.6 billion in funding for 2021–22 in support of the multi-year Ontario Highways Program, which includes more than 570 expansion and rehabilitation projects underway or planned.

Previously, toll rates for the provincially owned Highway 407 extension were temporarily frozen until May 31, 2021. But toll rates on the privately owned and operated 407 ETR are not impacted by the province’s measures.