Founded in 1916 as the Department of Public Highways of Ontario, the MTO oversees the province's 16,900km (10,500mi)network of highways.[3] This includes the 400-series highways, with the section of Highway 401 that passes through Toronto being the busiest in North America.[4]Metrolinx, a crown agency that oversees GO Transit and the Prestofare card system, reports to the MTO.[5] The ministry is also responsible for vehicle registration and issuing drivers licences.[6]
History
This section may be too long and excessively detailed. Please consider summarising the material.(October 2025)
Early roads in Ontario were cleared when needed for local use and connections to other settlements. Key roads such as Yonge Street and Kingston Road were cleared by order from officials by various parties such as settlers, British Army units (portion of Yonge c.1795Queen's Rangers) or private contractors (Toronto to Trent section of Kingston Road c. 1799-1800 by Asa Danforth). Road standards varied (poor in winter or after rainfall) and used by horses or horse drawn stagecoaches.
With the arrival of motor vehicles proper road development and maintenance was needed. The earliest Ontario government office responsible for roads and transportation was the position of the Provincial Instructor in Road-Making, first appointed in 1896 and attached to the Ontario Department of Agriculture. A.W. Campbell held the position of Provincial Instructor in Road-Making from 1896 to 1900 and Director of the Office of the Commissioner of Highways from 1900 until 1910. He was tasked with training Provincial Road Building Instructors. These instructors worked to establish specifications for the almost 90,000 kilometres (56,000mi) of county- and township- maintained roads.
The name of the office was changed to the Commissioner of Highways and transferred to the Department of Public Works in 1900. By 1910, the office was generally referred to as the Highways Branch. In 1910, W.A. McLean, Provincial Engineer of Highways, succeeded A.W. Campbell as the director of the Highways Branch.
Under considerable pressure from the Ontario Good Roads Association and the ever-increasing number of drivers, which the province itself licensed at that time, the Department of Public Highways was formed in 1916 with the goal of creating a provincial highway network.[7] The department assumed all the functions of the Highways Branch. The department assumed its first highway, the Provincial Highway, on August 21, 1917.[8] On February 20, 1920, the department assumed several hundred kilometres of new highways, formally establishing the provincial highway system. Although established as a separate department, the Department of Public Highways shared ministers with the Department of Public Works prior to 1931 and seems to have been in a quasi-subordinate relationship with this department.
In 1916, the Motor Vehicles Branch was established within the Ontario Department of Public Highways. Prior to this, responsibility for the registering and licensing of motor vehicles rested with the Provincial Secretary (a responsibility it held since 1903). Although there are references to motor vehicle licensing and registration between 1916 and 1918, there is no mention in the Annual Reports of what agency actually performed this function; it is, however, likely that it was a form of, or precursor to, the Motor Vehicles Branch. In 1919, a Registrar of Motor Vehicles, as head of the Motor Vehicles Branch, is clearly identified.
In 1917, the Provincial Highway Act was passed, giving the department authority to maintain and construct leading roads throughout the province as provincial highways (designated King's highways in 1930). The Department of Public Highways was renamed the Department of Highways in 1931 and was assigned its own minister, Leopold Macaulay, though Macaulay later held both portfolios in 1934.
In 1937, the Department of Northern Development, previously responsible for highways in the northern parts of the province, was merged into the Department of Highways, thus bringing all highway work in the province under one administration.
On July 1, 1957, legislation was passed which established a separate Department of Transport, and the Motor Vehicles Branch was transferred to this new department. The new department assumed responsibilities for vehicle licensing, vehicle inspection, driver examination, driver licensing and improvement, traffic engineering, accident claims, and highway safety. In addition, it was responsible for the Ontario Highway Transport Board.
In May 1971, the Department of Transport and the Department of Highways were amalgamated to form the Department of Transportation and Communications. The new department was presided over by the Charles MacNaughton, who had been both the Minister of Highways and the Minister of Transport prior to the amalgamation. The department was renamed the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in 1972 as part of a government wide reorganization.
In September 1987, the responsibilities for communications were transferred to the Ministry of Culture and Communications, and the ministry was renamed the Ministry of Transportation.
Administration
The MTO is in charge of various aspects of transportation in Ontario, including the establishment and maintenance of the provincial highway system, the registration of vehicles and licensing of drivers, and the policing of provincial roads, enforced by the Ontario Provincial Police and the ministry's in-house enforcement program (Commercial vehicle enforcement).
Metrolinx is responsible for the planning and management of the GO Transit network in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, as well as public transit projects including the Presto card system, the Union Pearson Express, and the Ontario Line.[9] Founded in 2006 as a procurement agency for municipal transit systems in the province, it has grown to encompass approximately $30 billion in transport construction projects as of 2020.[10]
The Owen Sound Transportation Company (OSTC) was acquired by the province in 1973, and operates four ferries offering freight and passenger service.[11] Based out of Owen Sound, the OSTC was founded as a private company in 1921.[11] The largest ferry operated by the OSTC is the MS Chi-Cheemaun, which operates between Tobermory on the Bruce Peninsula and South Baymouth on Manitoulin Island.[12]
The operations division of the MTO is responsible for the maintenance, operations, and management of provincial highways in Ontario. It is divided into five regions.[16]
Maintenance work is performed in two different ways:
In Maintenance Outsource areas, where MTO staff monitor the road conditions and hire contractors on an as-need basis.
In Area Maintenance Contract areas, where one contractor is awarded a contract area and performs all maintenance work except for rehabilitation and new construction.
A list of Area Maintenance contractors currently under contract with the MTO includes:[17]
The 407 ETR Concession Company operates and maintains the stretch of Highway 407 from Burlington to Brougham under a lease from the Government of Ontario until the year 2098
The 407 East Development Group (407 EDG) maintains stretch of Highway 407 from 407 ETR to Harmony Road and Highway 412
Blackbird Infrastructure Group maintains stretch of Highway 407 from Harmony Road to Highway 115 and Highway 418
Area term contracts (ATCs) are the latest maintenance and construction alternative being reviewed by the MTO. ATCs, if they are approved for tender, will cover all maintenance operations now performed by AMC contractors, but will also include annual pavement maintenance and replacement work, bridge rehabilitation, minor capital construction programs and corridor management.
Transportation enforcement
While policing on most MTO-managed roads is provided by the Ontario Provincial Police, highway safety enforcement is also provided by MTO Transportation Enforcement Officers.
Ministry of Transportation Enforcement Officers (TEOs) enforce a variety of provincial highway safety legislation specific to operators of commercial vehicles. Driver hours of service, cargo securement, dangerous goods transportation, weights and dimensions, and vehicle maintenance and roadworthiness are the predominant focus of TEO inspection activities. Ontario's Highway Traffic Act, the Towing and Storage Safety and Enforcement Act, the Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act, and the Dangerous Goods Transportation Act are core pieces of legislation from which TEOs derive their enforcement authorities. TEOs conduct commercial vehicle inspections using a standardized procedure established by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA).
Transportation Enforcement Officers inspect commercial vehicles, their loads, and driver's qualifications and documentation. They collect evidence, issue provincial offence notices or summons to court for violations, and testify in court.
Transportation Enforcement Officer deployment ranges from highway patrol and Truck Inspection Station (TIS) duties, audits of commercial vehicle operators, inspection and monitoring of bus and motor-coach operators, and the licensing and monitoring of Motor Vehicle Inspection Stations. Blitz-style joint force operations are periodically conducted in concert with provincial and municipal police.
Although many Transportation Enforcement Officers are licensed vehicle mechanics, most are not. TEOs hail from various backgrounds including driver licensing examination, automobile repair, commercial truck driving and other law enforcement services.
Separate Ministers of Transport held office during this time: Matthew Dymond (April 28 to December 22, 1958) John Yaremko (December 22, 1958 to November 21, 1960) Leslie Rowntree (November 21, 1960 to October 25, 1962) James Auld (October 25, 1962 to August 14, 1963) Irwin Haskett (August 14, 1963 to March 1, 1971)
Associate Minister of Transportation (GTA) is Kinga Surma from June 20, 2019 to June 18, 2021 and Stan Cho from June 18 2021 to June 24, 2022 (and simply Associate Minister of Transportation until September 4, 2023)
↑ Maier, Hanna (2007-10-09). "Chapter2". Long-Life Concrete Pavements in Europe and Canada. Federal Highway Administration. Archived from the original on 2010-05-27. Retrieved 2025-10-15. The key high-volume highways in Ontario are the 400-series highways in the southern part of the province. The most important of these is the 401, the busiest highway in North America, with average annual daily traffic (AADT) of more than 425,000vehicles in 2004 and daily traffic sometimes exceeding 500,000vehicles.
Shragge, John; Bagnato, Sharon (1984). From Footpaths to Freeways. Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Historical Committee. ISBN0-7743-9388-2.
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