Numbered highways in Canada


Numbered highways in Canada are split by province, and a majority are maintained by their province or territory transportation department. With few exceptions, all highways in Canada are numbered. Nonetheless, every province has a number of highways that are better known locally by their name rather than their number. Some highways have additional letters added to their number: A is typically an alternate route, B is typically a business route, and other letters are used for bypass (truck) routes, connector routes, scenic routes, and spur routes. The territory of Nunavut has no highways.

Classifications

This is a breakdown of the classifications of highways in each province, and an example shield of each classification where available.

Trans-Canada


The Trans-Canada Highway crosses all provinces of Canada.

Alberta








All provincial highways in Alberta are 'Primary Highways'. They are divided into two series, and sub-series.
  • 1-216 Series — core highway network
  • *Hwy 1-100 — intercity
  • *Hwy 201, 216 — orbital routes
  • 500-986 Series — local highways
  • *Hwy 500-699 — west-east routes
  • *Hwy 700-899 — south-north routes
  • *900 and X series — potential realignments and extensions

British Columbia




Varying between west-east and south-north routes, route numbers in British Columbia span from 1-118, except for Hwy 395 which is a counterpart of US 395. The 400 series highways were renumbered in 1973.


Manitoba


Provincial Trunk Highways in Manitoba are divided into two series.
  • PTH 1-199 — primary routes
  • *PTH 1-89 — intercity
  • *PTH 100, 101, 110 — loop routes
  • PR 200-699 — secondary routes

New Brunswick



Provincial highways in New Brunswick are divided into three series.
  • Route 1-99 — arterial highways
  • Route 100-199 — collector highways
  • Route 200-999 — local highways

Newfoundland and Labrador


Provincial highways in Newfoundland and Labrador are divided into three series.
  • Main highways
  • *Routes 1, 210, 230, 320, 330, 340, 360, 410, 430, 480, 500, and 510
  • Regional roads are numbered by region
  • *Route 2-203 — Avalon Peninsula
  • *Route 204-205, 230-239 — Bonavista Peninsula
  • *Route 210-222 — Burin Peninsula
  • *Route 301-346 — Kittiwake Coast, Fogo Island, & Twillingate
  • *Route 350-371 — Exploits River Valley & Bay d'Espoir
  • *Route 380-392, 410-419 — Baie Verte
  • *Route 401, 420-438 — Great Northern Peninsula
  • *Route 402-407, 440-490 — Western Newfoundland
  • *Route 500-520 — Labrador
  • Local highways are based on intersecting primary routes and numbered with extension

Nova Scotia



Provincial highways in Nova Scotia are divided into five series.
  • 100 Series — arterial highways
  • Trunk Highways
  • Route 200-399 — collector highways
  • Scenic Routes are unnumbered
  • Local roads are unnumbered

Ontario

Provincial highways in Ontario are divided into four classes:
  • Hwy 2-148, 400-427, QEW — primary highways
  • *Hwy 2-148 — intercity usually with at-grade intersections
  • *400-427 — 400-series freeways and limited-access highways
  • *The Queen Elizabeth Way is a de facto part of the 400-series, and is given a numerical designation of 451 in some documents, although this number is not posted on the road itself
  • Hwy 500-699 — secondary highways
  • Hwy 800-813 — tertiary highways
  • 7000-series — resource & industrial roads or short stubs connecting numbered highways

Prince Edward Island



Provincial highways in Prince Edward Island are divided into three series.
  • Route 1-4 — arterial highways
  • Route 4-26 — collector highways
  • Local highways are numbered by county
  • *Route 101-199 — Prince County
  • *Route 201-299 — Queens County
  • *Route 301-399 — Kings County

Quebec




Provincial highways in Quebec are divided into three classes. Odd numbers generally refer to north-south routes. Even numbers generally refer to east-west routes.
  • Autoroutes — expressways
  • * Route numbers for bypasses and spurs take on a prefix
  • 100-series — primary highways
  • Secondary routes
  • *200-series — south of the Saint Lawrence River
  • *300-series — north of the Saint Lawrence River

Saskatchewan








Provincial highways in Saskatchewan are divided into three series, and sub-series.
  • Hwy 1-99 — primary highways
  • Hwy 100-399 — secondary highways which are spurs of primary highways
  • *Hwy 102-167 — northern routes
  • *Hwy 201-271 — routes to recreational areas
  • *Hwy 301-397 — routes to minor communities
  • Hwy 600-799, 900-999 — minor highways
  • *Hwy 600-699 — south-north highways
  • *Hwy 700-799 — west-east highways
  • *Hwy 900-999 — northern or isolated roads

Northwest Territories

There are currently ten territorial highways in the Northwest Territories. All are named as well as numbered 1-10.
Other roads include the Mackenzie Valley winter road system that extends Northwest Territories Highway 1, the Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road, and the Dettah Ice Road extending from Yellowknife to the community of Dettah.
The now-closed Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road and Tłı̨chǫ winter road systems were replaced by the Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway and the Tłı̨chǫ Highway, respectively.

Nunavut

There are a number of roads and highways in Nunavut; none are yet numbered.

Yukon

There are currently fourteen territorial highways in Yukon. All fourteen are named and numbered 1-11, 14-15, & 37.