Since 1977, Canadian speed limits have been posted in kilometres per hour (km/h). They were previously in miles per hour (mph) when Canada used the English system of measurement. A sign reads "MAXIMUM XX", such as "MAXIMUM 80" for 80 km/h. A minimum speed sign reads "XX MINIMUM", such as "60 MINIMUM" for 60 km/h. Typical speed limits are:
Note that where more than one limit is given per road, it usually indicates a difference between provinces; however, within provinces, different roads of the same classification have different speed limits. For example, in Alberta and Nova Scotia[1] some freeways have a limit of 100 km/h (62 mph), while others have a speed limit of 110 km/h (68 mph). The general speed limit on rural highways in Prince Edward Island is 80 km/h (50 mph), except on the Trans Canada Highway where the maximum can range up to 90 km/h (56 mph).[2] In Ontario, all freeways have a maximum speed limit of 100 km/h except for a few rare cases where it's 80 km/h-90 km/h, although they generally operate at much higher speeds with very little enforcement. Speed limits are generally lower in Ontario and Quebec on comparable roads than in other Canadian provinces. Examples of this disparity include rural two-lane highways in Ontario which have a standard speed limit of 80 km/h, while comparable roads in other provinces have standard speed limits of 90–100 km/h. In rural western Ontario, however, some two-lane roads have speed limits of 90 km/h.
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 1309 km and unrealistically high for 208 km. The reports recommended to increase speed limits for multi-lane limited-access highways constructed to high design standards from 110 km/h to 120 km/h.[3] 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 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.
In Ontario speeding fines double in areas identified as "Community Safety Zones" as well as "school zones".
In Ontario of September 2007, drivers caught speeding 50 km/h over the posted speed limit face a $2,000-$10,000 fine, 7 day vehicle impound, 7 day licence suspension, and 6 demerit points.
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