Ontario – The Ontario government is moving forward with building Highway 413 by completing 90 per cent of the preliminary design work, which gives greater certainty on the preferred alignment of the highway. The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) has refined its Focused Analysis Area (FAA), a zone around the preferred route to reflect which lands are not likely to be needed to build the highway, which, pending consultation, allows the ministry to begin releasing land back to its owners and bringing them clarity and certainty. This allows municipalities to process development applications for these parcels of land. Although MTO will still review and comment on these applications, Highway 413 is not expected to affect these lands.
Public Review and Stakeholder Engagement
The draft FAA for Highway 413 reflects the current preliminary design and includes measures designed to protect environmentally sensitive areas while ensuring appropriate land protection for the transportation corridor and related infrastructure, including smooth connections to the existing 400 series highway network.
A 30-day consultation for input on the proposed refinements to the FAA and Narrow Area of Interest (NAI) is posted on the Environmental Registry of Ontario. Members of the public can submit comments on the draft FAA before January 8, 2025. MTO will review all feedback before publishing a finalized FAA in 2025.
Northwest GTA Transmission Corridor
While MTO has undertaken design work on Highway 413, the Ministry of Energy and Electrification and Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) have advanced planning work on the Northwest Greater Toronto Area (NGTA) Transmission Corridor and are making refinements to the Narrowed Area of Interest (NAI). The NAI is a corridor of land identified and protected by the ministry and IESO for future linear electricity transmission infrastructure to support growth in the region. The proposed lands for release that are no longer needed for the highway, are also not required for electricity transmission.
Future design and planning work may result in further refinements to the FAA or NAI.
Releasing Lands
At the current stage of preliminary design, MTO expects to fully remove 113 properties and partially remove 57 other properties from the list of properties under consideration for the highway design. The ministry will begin releasing the remaining properties not required for Highway 413 or the Northwest Greater Toronto Area Transmission Corridor in 2025. A revised map of the area is available on Highway 413.
Stakeholders
During the public comment period on the FAA and until the preliminary design of Highway 413 is complete, MTO will continue to conduct engagement sessions to gather input from municipalities, Indigenous communities and other key stakeholders to ensure ongoing collaboration and transparency.
Development Applications
MTO will continue to review development applications in the Highway 413 study area.