THUNDER BAY — The provincial government is “taking action now” for safer highways in the north, Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said Wednesday at the 2026 Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association (NOMA) conference.
“Highway safety is a top priority for this government,” Sarkaria said.
Highways 11 and 17, which together are Ontario’s portion of the Trans-Canada Highway, provide “vital links not just for Ontario but for all of Canada,” he said.
And the province’s Progressive Conservative government is “investing heavily” to see that those routes are safe and reliable, he added.
Among the improvement Sarkaria mentioned are the addition of passing lanes, expansion in truck parking and rest areas, and the commercial vehicle inspection station on Highway 11/17 near Shuniah that opened in 2024.
Thunder Bay–Superior North MPP Lise Vaugeois, a New Democrat, said Sarkaria’s speech was missing some important elements.
“First of all,” she said, “I would like them to take responsibility for the lack of training and lack of regulation in the trucking industry.
“If he follows through on some of the things that he said — so, if we are getting at least some passing lanes on Highway 11, if we are getting some rest stops and places for trucks to pull off — that is the least they can do. That’s a start.
“Those things, I would say, are well within budget. So let’s see them.”
Vaugeois said northern highways need improvements in maintenance.
“We’ve lost people because of black ice on the highway, and that’s because the sand wasn’t on the highway when it should have been.
“So there are very fundamental issues that could be addressed immediately.”
NDP Leader Marit Stiles added that it’s important to remember the highways are a provincial responsibility.
“It needs to be the province’s responsibility to take on that maintenance, and we know that that is a big part of the problem here in northern Ontario, particularly during the winter.
“So we’ve been asking them to address that for a long time and we expect them to do so.”
