We want to start out that the highway numbering, as well as exit numbering, is done on a province-by-province basis. (see Trans-Canada route map with cities)
We include Exit numbers on our route itineraries wherever they are assigned, though many parts of the highway are not “controlled” and may therefore have cross streets that do not have an exit number.
British Columbia
Highway 1 in the Lower Mainland & Fraser Valley
There is no exit numbering on Vancouver Island between Victoria and Nanaimo, and along Highway 19 between Victoria and the Swartz Bay ferry terminal there.
From the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal, the exits are numbered based on kilometres east of the ferry terminal to Hope (km 170).
Highway 5 Coquihalla
The highway numbering continues up the Coquihalla to Kamloops (Summit Dr km 370 and Highway 5 N to Jasper km 347).
Highway 1 Kamloops to Alberta
This area is largely uncontrolled with many streets and roadways crossing. The only two numbered junctions in this segment are Highway 97 to Vernon (km 399) and Golden’s Upper Donald Road (km 780). We hope that as the Kamloops to Alberta Highway #1 upgrading continues more numbered interchanges/junctions are added and so-labelled.
Alberta
Highway 1 from Banff National Park to Calgary
Highway #1 has exists numbered bases on distance in kilometres form the AB/BC border in Banff National Park. Major junctions are Highway 40 to Kananaskis (exit 118), Calgary’s Stoney Trail west (Exit 177).
Stoney Trail 201 (Calgary Bypass)
Stoney Trail was completed in stages and was completed with the “West” segment between the Trans-Canada #1 and Highway #8 to Bragg Creek. Stoney Trail has exit numbers starting at 1 at Mackenzie Lake/ Cranston in the city’s Southeast (SE) quadrant, and working its way clockwise around the city, roughly based on the kilometres to the junction/exit. Highway #8 to Bragg Creek is Exit 28, Trans-Canada west to Banff is Exit 36. Highway 2 to Edmonton is Exit 60, Highway 1 east to Medicine Hat is Exit 78, and Highway 2 south to Lethbridge is Exit 101.
Driving Tip: Stoney Trail is a longer way to cross the city than 16th Avenue (Highway 1, east-west) or the Deerfoot (Highway 2, north-south) but during rush hours in the morning (7-8:30 am) and in the afternoon (4:00 to 5:30 pm) the Stoney Trail Calgary Bypass saves time and has less stop and go traffic, and is also the recommended route for truckers who gas up east of the city (in Strathmore) or west of the city at the Petro-Canada at Highway 22 (just west of the Cochrane exit for westbound truckers) or at Highway 40 for eastbound truckers.
Highway 1 Calgary to Saskatchewan border
This portion of the Trans-Canada Highway has a lot of level intersections for various farm routes (north-south roads are called Range Roads and east-west roads are called township roads) which have un-numbered exits.
Saskatchewan and Manitoba
Highway #1 through these provinces is “twinned” though mostly with level crossing / intersections in most places. These intersections are not numbered in these two provinces, which also have Bypass routes around their major cities of Regina, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg, Manitoba. The original route of the Trans-Canada already bypasses the secondary cities of Swift Current, SK, Moose Jaw, SK, Brandon, NB, and Portage la Prairie, MB.
Ontario
Highway 17
Highway 17 in Ontario crosses through some of the most rugged wilderness in Canada through the Canadian Shield between the MB/ON border until it reaches the Ottawa River valley just west of Mattawa. There are no numbered intersections or junctions along Highway 17. There are fast bypasses around the major communities along the way: Kenora, Thunder Bay, Sault Ste Marie, Sudbury, and North Bay.
Highway 417
Highway 17 is “twinned” as it approaches Ottawa near Arnprior, and is upgraded to the controlled intersection Highway 417 (also called “the Queensway” through Ottawa). The exits are numbered east to west roughly in the kilometres from the ON/QU border, so the numbers don’t need changing when 417 is continued further west. Highway 17 Hawkesbury (Exit 9), Nicholas Street (Exit 118), Highway 416 to Prescott (Exit 131), Kanata Terry Fox Dr (Exit 140), Highway 7 to Carleton Place (Exit 145), Arnprior Campbell Dr (Exit 187)
Quebec
The Trans-Canada Routes across Quebec are numbered roughly by the kilometres west of the Ontario-Quebec border. AutoRoute (highway, in French) 40 runs though Montreal and then on the north shore of the St Lawrence to Quebec City (and just past it), while AutoRoute 20 goes through Montreal and then along the southern shore of the St Lawrence to Riviere du Loup, and AutoRoute 85 runs from the Quebec-New Brunswick border north to Riviere du Loup (some remaining un-twinned segments are still numbered as Route 185).
AutoRoute 20
Numbering begins when Highway 401 (which is NOT the Trans-Canada!) in Ontario crosses into Quebec. Key numbered interchanges are AutoRoute 40 north to Ottawa-Gatineau and AutoRoute 30 Montreal Bypass (Exit 29), Pierre Trudeau Airport in Dorval (Exit 56), AutoRoute 13 to Mirabel Airport (Exit 60), AutoRoute 15 to St Jerome (exit 68), AutoRoute 30 Brossard (Exit 75), AutoRoute 73 Pierre Laport Bridge to Quebec City Levis (Exit 312). Route 132 Riviere du Loup (Exit 542). East of Riviere du Loup the highway continues as Route 132 along the south shore of the Gulf of St Lawrence, bending around the extremities of the Gaspe Peninsula and ending near Pointe-a-la-Croix on the scenic Bay de Challeur (across from Campbellton, New Brunswick)
AutoRoute 40
This route begins at the Ontario-Quebec border as a continuation of Highway 17/417. Key numbered junctions include AutoRoute 20/30 (Exit 32), AutoRoute 13 to Trudeau Airport and Mirabel Airport (Exit 60), AutoRoute 15 to Lake Champlain, New York (Exit 66), AutoRoute 15 to St Jerome and Mirabel Airport (Exit 70), AutoRoute 25/20 to Tunnel Louis-Hippolyte-Lafontaine, Trois Rivieres (Exit 210), AutoRoute 73/20 to Peirre Laporte Bridge and Levis (Exit 305), Quebec City centre-ville (Exit 139), Montmorency Falls and Ile d’Orleans (Exit 325) and continues from there along the north shore of the Gulf of St Lawrence as Route 138 to Blanc-Sabion on the Quebec-Newfoundland and Labrador border (and a ferry between the mainland and the island of Newfoundland).
AutoRoute 30
AutoRoute 30 is the Montreal South Bypass (a toll route). The Exit numnbering begins a the junction with AutoRoute 40 to Highway 417. The important junctions are AutoRoute 20 to Highway 401 (Exit 5), AutoRoute 15 to I-87 in New York (exit 55), AutoRoute 10 to Montreal (Exit 67). AutoRoute 20 to Montreal/Quebec City (Exit 83) and continues to Sorel-Tracy (Exit 431) and continues with un-numbered intersections to the St Lawrence River at Becancour.
AutoRoute 85
AutoRoute 85 is numbered east to west from the New Brunswick-Quebec border to Riviere du Loup. Between Exits 47 and 89 the highway reverts to old Highway 185 until Phase III of twinning is completed. At Exit 100 it joins AutoRoute 20 to Quebec City.
New Brunswick
Highway 2
Highway 2 has junctions numbered from the Quebec-New Brunswick border. Key junctions are Route 95 connecting to I-95 in Maine (Exit 187), Route 3 to St Stephen (Exit 258), Highway 8 Fredericton (Exit 280), Route 7 to Saint John (Exit 294), Route 10 to Sussex (Exit 365), Route 10 Moncton (Exit 467), Route 16 to Confederation Bridge to PEI (Exit 513) and continues as Highway 104 in Nova Scotia
PEI
This stretch of the Trans-Canada meanders from the Confederation Bridgeto the provincial capital at Charlottetown, and on to the Northumberland Ferry at Wood Islands. There are no numbered exits and junctions in PEI.
Nova Scotia
Highway 104
Highway 104 runs from the New Brunswick-Nova Scotia border to the Canso Causeway which connects Cape Breton to the mainland. Exits are numbered but not in relation to the kilometres from the NB border. Key intersections are Trunk 6 Amherst (Exit 3), Highway 102 to Halifax (Exit 15), Highway 106 to the Pictou and the Northumberland Ferry (Exit 22), Port Hastings roundabout (Exit 41)
Highway 105 (Cape Breton)
Highway 105 runs from the Canso Causeway, which connects Cape Breton to the mainland, to the Newfoundland Ferry at North Sydney. The exit numbering starts from the Port Hastings roundabout (Exit 1), Trunk 19 to Cabot Trail via Cheticamp (Exit 7), Englishtown Route 19 to Cabot Trail (Exit 12), Highway 125 to Sydney, Louisbourg (Exit 20)
Newfoundland
Highway 1
Highway 1 in Newfoundland travels around the west, north and east edges of the island of Newfoundland through rugged wilderness that is the northern extension of the Appalachian Mountains. There are numbered intersections / junctions along Highway 1, but they have no connection to the distance travelled from the Channel Port-aux-Basques at Newfoundland Ferry (Exit 1). Other key numbered exits are Stephenville (Exit 2), Deer Lake and Route 430 to St Anthony (Exit 16), Route 320 to Gambo (exit 24), Whitbourne Route 100 (Exit 28), St John’s Highway 2 (Exit 41), Route 30 Logy Bay Rd (Exit 50).
Other Trans-Canada Highway Routes
Southern Route (#7, 15 ,69) in Ontario, the Northern Route (#11) in Ontario, the Yellowhead Route #16 across Manitoba, Saskatchewqan, Alberta, and BC, and the Crowsnest Route #3 in Alberta and Britisch Columbia DO NOT number their exits, since they serve lower population densities and carry lower traffic volumes, with mostly at-grade intersections.
