Saying that Quebec doesn't do its road system logically is a matter of perspective. If compared to the rest of the country, indeed it is. But if you compare it with the US interstate system, then it's probably the one that makes the most sense. When most of the network was built in the 1960's, anticipating a lot of visitors from the US for Montreal's 1967 world fair, the government opted for a system modeled on the interstate system. That means main express ways with controlled access are numbered 1-100 and 400 +, with even numbers for east-west roads and odd numbers for north-south roads. It also uses the same kind of red and blue shield sign for them, keeping the white and green trans canada sign next to them to indicate you are on a trans canada highway.
But Quebec is just one province, not the same as doing that on a national scale. Quebec's system is akin to the New York State Thruway system, with the order reversed.
The Lake Superior Route of the TCH is entirely part of the mainline route of the TCH and is entirely in ON 17. You see, ON 17 and ON 417 form the TCH Mainline in Ontario.
Absolutely I drove all the way through Lake Superior provincial park and then finally reaching Manitoba and Saskatchewan and very boring but sort of nice at the same time all the way to Golden BC
@@MrWhatisalthough, highway 11 does have the advantage of much higher fuel efficiency given how much flatter the terrain of it is, if you’re in a truck or towing something like a boat you can save a good amount of money by using 11 over 17. But obviously 17 is much more scenic.
If you compare Canadian, American, Chinese and Russian highways, what about Germany's highways and autobahns? Autobahn/Bundesautobahn: 13 183 km Bendesstraßen: approx. 40K km
Still blows my mind that the two halves of our nation are held together with a dinky single-lane connection in either direction in 2023... Perhaps twinning this should be SOMEONE'S legacy project...
Quebec's highway numbering system is based on the US interstate highway numbering system, using the St-Lawrence as the East-West reference. Even the Quebec highway markers bear a striking resemblance to the US interstate highway markers. This is why highway 85 changes to highway 20 in Rivière-Du-Loup. 85 is perpendicular to the St-Lawrence while 20 is parallel to the St-Lawrence.
The major North-South hwys in bc (Routes 101, 99-93) are a continued pattern of the federal hwys in the US. Most meet at the border and follow the same geographic positions, starting off the coast from route 101, some ending in Mexico!
Technically speaking highway 1 doesn't go through the center of Vancouver, it just touches the edge of it along the Vancouver/Burnaby Border. That being said the entire Metro Vancouver region is one giant urban sprawl and the highway does go through the center of that (although mostly through the centers of Burnaby, and Langley
The reason the Transcanada was built was because as late as the 1960's, it was easier for Canadians living in southern Ontario and Quebec to cross into the US at Windsor-Detroit, and drive the US 10 or US 2 route to Washington and then north into British Columbia. Prior to the Covid Political Cytokine Storm, Canadians might take this route, Interstate 90, to use the cheaper American gasoline.
It is still easier and shorter to go to the States and use their highway, however I would rather take the trans-canada to see the places along the way in canada
I have to admit I knew every part he talked about but I'm a geography and map nerd. I've travelled about 75% of it, haven't done the Newfoundland part or the northern section of the west.
I blocked the 17 for a few hours just west of Marathon a couple years ago when I fell asleep driving and went left of center and hit an oncoming semi. The rescue workers were amazing, super nice and got me cut out of my car in no time and the ambulance driver that took me back to Marathon... That dude could wheel an ambulance! I've since driven from Sault Ste Marie to Thunder Bay successfully a few times, LOL. Some of the prettiest scenery I've ever seen. I want to do the northern route some day yet. And that new bridge outside Nipgon is pretty nice IMO.
@@PatricenotPatrick Thanks! I tell people my guardian angels were working overtime that day and airbags, lots and lots of airbags. The Honda engineers who designed the Accord I was driving that day did a fine job too! :-)
I travelled from St John's 0 mile to Sudbury. I took the ferry and travelled through NS, NB and QC. It took me 3 days and really enjoyed the driving. NS and NB has the best stretch of the highway. Wish to explore further West on this high way one day. Thanks for the awesome video.
Unfortunately, the entire Fraser Canyon section from Hope to Lytton is currently closed due to multiple landslides or mudslides. It's magnificent, can't wait to do that trip again when it reopens.
Most of my life has been about traversing stretches of it across Alberta... Mostly Highway 16 from east of Edmonton to Jasper as well as the Calgary-Banff corridor. I once did a summer road trip in my Smart Fortwo all the way to Portland from Edmonton using Highway 16/1 and then I-5... So much fun!
A great production except for quite a lot of mispronounciations of cities in Atlantic Canada and even of the province of PEI! PLEASE ASK IF YOU'RE NOT SURE! People don't like to hear the name of their hometown butchered by an outsider! 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦
We traversed the Trans Canada Highway from PEI to just into BC before heading south to the United States. That was over 50 years ago. Wish I could do itagain, today.
Being from Toronto, I never really considered highway 7 and 12 highways because they aren't expressways. But it's interesting to see that they are part of TransCanada highway network. I would have considered the most viable route to be the 401 lol
The 401 would make more sense, but even then, the Toronto-Windsor section would still not be the TCH. The piggybacking over sections (not even the whole thing) of provincial highways is stupid. Canada should have a regular federal highway network.
Same in BC. The Coquihalla, a much shorter, freeway alignment between Vancouver and Kamloops, doesn't get the #1 designation despite it being the much higher-quality, more driven route. This is probably because it was built in the 80s, way after the Trans-Canada had originally been established.
Hey there! The TransCanada actually goes through Saint John NB rather than bypassing it. The line is a little off there. Also, the name of the city is Saint John which differentiates it from St.John’s NFLD. People can get confused and end up in the wrong place.
Drove this a couple years ago beautiful but the government’s over the years should be ashamed of themselves , this highway should have been twinned from coast to coat to coast years ago , it’s 2021 and still no plan in place to have the sections not twinned completed
The Trans Canada is a substandard highway. It was substandard when it was built and way substandard now. Much of it is 2 lanes. If one was driving across the country it's cheaper and faster to take I-90 across. Granted there are some very scenic stretches like western Ontario, Alberta, and BC, but I found myself disappointed and saying to myself, is this the best they could do? AB has a modern stretch as does BC west of Kamloops.
It's a bit much to compare the highways in Canada with those in the US. It has 10 times the population, with 10 times the GDP. It's like standing in downtown Thunder Bay and wondering where all the skyscrapers are.
the reason it was built that way is because, in school in the 70;s we were taught buy the 21 century we would have flying cars. so why spend a lot of money on something that will not be used in the near future.
@@hhiippiittyyNo. Fuck that. Upgrade the Trans-Canada to full freeway status. Make it the Canadian equivalent of the US Interstate. Let's be able to drive from Vancouver to Halifax on a good freeway.
What a clusterfück of naming. Seems they wanted to make it seem like more than it is. Here, I'll fix it. Route 1 runs across the whole country. And the spurs get name like 101...
Ontario-7 is very busy, I have been stuck in traffic a few times, as 401 to 115 to 7 is the quickest way to Ottawa from Toronto and 12 to 7 is for other areas such as Western Canada, and the Barrie-Newmarket area. Also Ontario highways do not use Trans Canada Shields for its numbers, they put a blank Trans Canada one underneath the Crown. Also that 85 section in the 39 km section is known as 185 as it is not divided.
@@Scientician.BovineUniversity It's more direct, but since the TCH follows the 417 already, why even have it? Why not stay on the 400 to Toronto and then follow the 401 east? A national highway should connect a country's most important cities.
At the 40sec mark he uses a picture taken at exit 21 on highway 104 West in New Glasgow NS. As a Nova Scotian who travels that highway regularly, I find that pretty neat!
Good video. Not many people think of the oddities of the Trans-Canada's odd designation. Two things you got wrong though: Quebec and Ontario put the numbers in provincial shields, not TCH shields. Also, the 17,041 km number for freeways is wrong as it's only 4000 at most.
I expect that the reason it doesn't go to Toronto and Windsor is that the TCH is a route designated for federal funding. There is enough traffic between Montreal/Toronto/London/Windsor that there is no need for federal subsidies.
Between those, basically, ON 401 and QC A-20 are the routes between Windsor and Quebec City and they both form the "Quebec City-Windsor Corridor Freeway (I made up that name and it's just a made-up name for those two forming a heavily traveled freeway in one.)".
Plus, A-20 bypasses Quebec City and crosses through it's neighbor aka Levis. A-40 crosses Quebec City and ends in the east of the city near the St. Lawrence River at an interchange with Routes 138 and 168.
Bullshit. Just make the TCH the Canadian equivalent of the US Interstate already. We should be able to drive from Vancouver to Sydney, Nova Scotia; from Prince Rupert to Edmonton to Regina to Winnipeg, on a freeway.
We took a two week road trip from Quebec City to Niagara Falls in 2019 and had such a great time, only down side of Road tripping in Canada is the speed limit!
Technically the Trans Canada Hwy does not pass through the center of the City of Vancouver, but through the Metro Vancouver Region instead 😌 in actuality this hwy barely enters the north-eastern corner of the City.
Yeah, it always amazes me that the TCH is designated to be as long as possible for pedantic reasons by including islands in BC, but the true definition of a highway designation--a single number--is seen as unimportant.
I drove the transcanada hwy from Montreal to Calgary TWICE. The longest and most boring part of it was going through Ontario. I've drive the Yellowhead and Hwy 1 from Calgary to Sicamous (i was headed to the okanagan). Before the Kickinghorse pass was constructed near Golden, BC the road was single lane and pretty dangerous through the mountains. Now its a double lane hwy and really fast. :)
Funny enough how there is no official confirmation of 17000 km of Expressways and they are usually mentioned as Highways in various sources. Also, if you watch the dashcam video of the Trans Canada trip, half of the way is a single lane both ways road with traffic lights, passing through many cities and villages. Also on so-called Expressways there are many turns and intersections with the field roads.
Question: when I was in Quebec I was told the TCH wasn’t numbered. It overlaps with 85 but isn’t 85. There is no number. That’s what Montrealers said 🤷🏾♀️
Quebec's highway numbering system mimics the US Interstate numbering system. Assigning the TCH a custom number would break the highway numbering scheme. Highways parallel to the St-Lawrence are even-numbered while highways perpendicular to the St-Lawrence are odd-numbered. Even Quebec's highway identification badges are a close copy of the US interstate badges. This is why you have Quebec highways changing numbers at certain spots such as 20/85 at Rivière-Du-Loup and 10/55 at Sherbrooke. The same highway is literally changing its orientation and needs to change its number so that it remains easy to find on a map.
@@Milnoc I get that. But I was more surprised that it is numbered in other provinces. Since it’s a trans national highway and not a QC route, the numbering shouldn’t be affected. No biggie just a lil quirk I found traveling across provinces over the year.
FYI, according to The Daily Guadian Russia has 85,500km of railway system vs 48,000km only in Canada. No one asked your opinion how to develop their country. Why showing soldiers and tanks while you are talking about roads comparison!?
3:23 ok, I lived in BC the first 25 years of my life, and I never knew that as Graham Island. I've only ever referred to the island group as Haidi Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlottes). What's more, that red line in your map seems to not just be on Graham Island, but Moresby Island below it. In fact, these islands are all pretty close together (I'm guessing there's bridges), which I'm guessing is why most people that aren't local just refer to the group.
There’s also the southern route trans-Canada route thru Alberta and B.C. - Highway 3 that starts at Medicine Hat and ends at Hope. I thought that was a federal highway.
If you plan to travel east to Ontario, beware of multiple Moose crossings and oncoming vehicle on the single lane TransCanada highway. The TC highway from Kenora to Barrie takes about 2-3 days to cross. You will be surrounded by huge Boreal Forest and Scattered Lakes so visibility is limited. Take your time, check out Kakabeka Falls, visit the Terry Fox memorial, and enjoy the trip!!
Your continued use of the phrase "mighty US" caused me to abandon watching only a few moments in. It gives the impression that we should all bow down to the US, promoting an insulting arrogance. Since your header says this is about the Trans Canada Highway, maybe you should focus on that. 1:12 in and I'm out of here.
As I learned during the Covid shutdowns of 2020-21, If I am not mistaken there are only 3 roads in total that connect Manitoba and Ontario, and only the T-Can and Ontario Province Route 312 are paved. The T-Can is the main route, and only real way thru from one province to the other for most drivers. Provincial Road 312 connects to some cottages on the ON side of the line, but is not in the best of shape and I do not believe there is a way from there to connect to the main T-Can route. (The only other route x the provincial line is on the Shoal Lake Indian Reservation further south, which is not paved and dead ends when the peninsula it is on ends at one of the parts of the Lake in the Woods. ) Canada is a very spread out country with some really think connections between its areas
Since the growth of both countries is stunted by a border, Canada and America should unify. Just think of the number of Canadains who have gone to America to seek their fame and wealth and have achieved their dreams. The reverse has not happened.
You would think Canada would take more pride in their one major highway. I drove it, and it’s a total embarrassment. I avoid at all costs and go through the US. It needs to be upgraded with proper rest stops and divided sections. Where has our vision and pride of country gone ?
America's interstate highway system is far superior to Canadas small network of roads. When truck drivers are criss cross the continent, they prefer driving on American highways.
Many Canadians still think that they still need an old foreign king hovering over them who lives on a little island on the far side of the Atlantic ocean.
Kelowna BC is named Kalowna on the map but the most glaring error is Sault St Marie being called Sault St Catherine Which company published this need to take a Canadian Geography Course
Also "Graham Island" is Haida Gwaii and that is not how Nanaimo is pronounced. Having covered most of this on my motorcycle for national highway it is an embarrassment.
@@thomascragg783I had to look that one up because I was surprised as well. Haida Gwaii is the name of the group of islands (when I was growing up it was the Queen Charlotte Islands, just to emphasize its multiple). If you zoom in on Google maps, the large North island is Graham. But I think the highway isn't isolated to that island, and I'd bet only locals refer to the individual islands since they're so close I think there are bridges between them
I drove from Halifax to Vancouver once and from Toronto (where I live) to Calgary 5 times it was a nice experience passing by all the different routes... Tip, North of Ontario (after Thunder Bay until the border with Manitoba) and the Calgary to Vancouver are amazing. So beautiful! everything else just boring lol. Anyway, you got good videos man. Really like them. Keep it up
It can be scary when you're not familiar with its design and you take one of those short exits at night for the first time, not realising it ain't a normal off-ramp! GUESS HOW I LEARNED THIS! 😂
If you think ON 11 in Northern Ontario sucks, ON 17 is way cooler on the Lake Superior Route and Georgian Bay Route. Also, the entirety of ON 17 is the TCH Mainline, but please count the 417 and combine them as the TCH Mainline in Ontario.
Since there's no Hwy 1 in Ontario, do you remember Hwy 2 is mostly replaced by the 401 for most of it's length? However, the 401 bypasses Hwy 2 between Woodstock and Eastern Toronto while Hwy 2 was parallel by the 403, QEW and the Gardiner Expressway.
@@ALuimes, I said about ON 2, even though it's not part of the TCH Network. I'm sorry. I don't know why Ontario doesn't have a Hwy 1, but starts with Hwy 2.
what one is the real mile 0 n Canadas weird, has mile makers even a town called 100 mile house at a 100 mile marker but uses kilometers lol ohh Canada is all mixed up like this with everything too from weight to distance lol.
I would love to spend aboot a month driving the Trans-Canada! I am saving my loonies to make it happen eh!!!! I would start in Newfie-land, eh? I would drive oot through Nova Scotia and PEI into New Brunswick, then into Quebec. After stocking up on bags of milk and poutine and viande fumee and steamies I would head through Ottawa (O Canada!) and then Toronto and then oot into the centre of Canada! I would see moose and beavers and all the colours of the leaves eh!!! Great RU-vid video thank you for telling us all aboot the Trans-Canada!!! See you in Victoria Island, BC!!!!
8:54 I can't tell if this was a reference to the time that something actually happened to that bridge. Canada was literally separated by road for a little bit.
