CALEDON — Construction on Highway 413 north of Toronto will begin within days, Premier Doug Ford said Wednesday.
But Ford and Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria refused to say when the highway will be completed and how much it will cost taxpayers.
"We'll continue to work with those in the industry to accelerate it and get it done as quickly as possible," Sarkaria said at a news conference outside a highway truck inspection station in Caledon, Ont.
The proposed 52-kilometre highway will connect Highway 400 in Vaughan, Ont., with Highway 401 in Mississauga.
The province has awarded two contracts to begin the work, one to Fermar Paving for an embankment at the Highway 401 and Highway 407 interchange and the second one to Pave-Al to resurface Highway 10 in Caledon, Ont.
Ford is big on building highways.
He said traffic costs the Ontario economy some $56 billion annually. He has also said large construction projects will be one of the weapons used in the ongoing Canada-U.S. trade war.
"It will keep drivers moving and keep our economy going," Ford said. "No matter what President Trump sends our way, construction alone will keep 6,000 workers on the job and will add a billion dollars to Ontario's GDP every single year."
The controversial project brought a handful of protesters to the announcement, some with signs that read, "Don't pave the Greenbelt."
Environmentalists have criticized the project as it will carve through prime farmland and put several endangered species at risk.
"Once again the premier is using tariff talk to justify wasting billions of taxpayer dollars on a highway that won’t solve gridlock, while failing to provide any clear timeline or budget for this reckless and costly plan," said Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner.
"This ill-advised project will only fuel more sprawl and pollution, while destroying the wetlands that protect us from flooding and the farmland that feeds us."
NDP Leader Marit Stiles said instead of looking at solutions that bring "immediate relief" — such as removing tolls for trucks on Highway 407 — Ford "is focused on a project that has no timeline, no price tag, and no plans to get people out of traffic."
“Ontarians are stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic and need solutions that get them home to their loved ones now, not decades from now," she said.
Ford said Wednesday he would not be removing tolls for trucks on Highway 407.
The lack of transparency on large infrastructure projects such as Highway 413 is unacceptable, said Andrea Hazell, the Liberal critic for transportation.
"Without clear cost estimates, timelines, or proof the contracts were awarded fairly, the public cannot assess the value of this project," she said.
"Transparency matters, and Ontarians deserve to know the full implications of Highway 413 before billions more are sunk into another Ford project that risks leaving commuters in the same gridlock and taxpayers footing an even bigger bill."
The Ford government passed legislation last year that allowed for an accelerated version of an environmental assessment to be completed on the Highway 413 project.
It also designated that highway, along with the proposed Bradford Bypass and the Garden City Skyway bridge expansion, as priority projects to speed up their construction.
The legislation also facilitates construction 24 hours a day, streamlines utility relocations, introduces new penalties for obstructing access for field investigations or damaging equipment and accelerates access to property and property acquisitions.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 27, 2025.
Liam Casey, The Canadian Press
