Residents and municipalities in Durham have welcomed the meeting of their long-standing demand for the removal of the toll on Highway 407 East.
The only remaining toll on a provincial highway in Ontario will be removed from June 1, in keeping with the electoral promise made by Premier Doug Ford. The other promise was the GO train extension to Bowmanville.
Ontario also proposes to permanently cut the gasoline and fuel tax rates, which would save households, on average, about $115 per year going forward.
Some residents and municipalities have been campaigning for the removal of the toll.
Now that Ford is in, will 407E toll go, Bowmanville train come?
The Town of Whitby, which has been in the forefront of the campaign, along with Ajax and Clarington, has welcomed yesterday’s announcement.
Advantages
The toll elimination will apply to the stretch of Highway 407 East between Brock Road and Highway 35/115. According to Whitby, this move is expected to save daily commuters thousands of dollars each year, ease traffic congestion on local roads—particularly in the rapidly growing Brooklin area—and significantly reduce travel times.
Town officials say the impact will go beyond commuting benefits. As Whitby continues to experience strong residential and employment growth, free access to the 407 East is expected to spur investment, support economic development along the highway corridor, and strengthen connections between key employment hubs in Durham Region and the Greater Toronto Area.
The Ontario government also emphasized the broader cost-saving and transportation benefits as part of its plan to support families and local businesses.
“As part of its plan to protect Ontario, the government is continuing to lower costs for hard-working families, support local businesses, and put more money back into people’s pockets,” a government statement read. “The proposed removal of tolls from the provincially owned Highway 407 East is expected to save daily commuters an estimated $7,200 annually.”
Whitby Council has long supported the removal of tolls and has passed several motions to this effect this April as well as December and March 2024.
“The removal of tolls from Hwy. 407 East is something Whitby Council has advocated strongly for,” said Mayor Elizabeth Roy. “I want to thank the provincial government for honoring their commitment and working with municipalities to provide real financial relief to Whitby commuters, improve traffic flow in our fast-growing community, and make it easier and more cost-effective for people and goods to move throughout the region.”
The legislation to permanently eliminate these tolls follows previous provincial moves to remove tolls from Highways 412 and 418 and recently passed legislation banning new tolls on any public roadway in Ontario.
This section of Highway 407 East is the last remaining provincially owned tolled highway in the province. The toll removal will complement the government’s ongoing efforts to cut fuel taxes—estimated to save households about $115 annually—and fight gridlock across the region.
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