Northern Ontario’s Rally for Safer Highways: January 24, 2026.
Across Northern Ontario, residents are coming together on January 24, 2026, to demand safer highways stronger infrastructure, and government attention to the unique challenges in the North. These rallies, organized by community members and organizations with support from municipalities across the North, are a response to the decades of underinvestment that continue to cost lives, jobs, and economic opportunity.
Why We're Rallying:
Northern highways are lifelines for our communities. They connect families, provide access to health care, and transport goods from our mines, forests, and local businesses to markets across the province - and the world.
Yet many roads in the North remain in poor conditions:
- One-lane roads with no shoulders
- Inadequate winter maintenance, leaving snow and ice on our roads
- Unsafe commercial drivers obtaining licenses through fraudulent training
- Understaffed OPP unable to survey truck inspection stations
This isn’t just an inconvenience; it is a public safety concern. Accidents, delays, and limited access for emergency services happen too often, highlighting the urgent need for investment in infrastructure. The provincial government has made promises about northern economic development, but without safe and reliable roads, these promises cannot be realized.
What we’ve been doing:
Guy Bourgouin, MPP for Mushkegowuk-James Bay, along with NDP colleagues across Northern Ontario have been raising these issues directly with the government, highlighting the structural problems facing northern roads.
Northern NDP MPPs have released the Northern Highway Safety Plan, developed in collaboration with the trucking industry, snow-plow operators, and community members. From this plan, we have proposed multiple private members’ bills, offering the Conservative government concrete solutions to make our roads safe.
Last fall, MPP Bourgouin introduced Bill 49, Northern Highway 11 and 17 Safety Act, 2025 and Bill 79, Chad's Law (Enforcing Safer Passing), 2025. The Conservative government voted against both measures and has failed to table any alternative proposals.
In 2026, we continue fighting for safer roads, recognizing the economic impact of poor infrastructure on mining, forestry, and other resource industries, but also the human cost of preventable collisions.
Why your Voice Matters
The rallies on January 24, aren’t just a show of frustration, they are call to action. By working together, residents from communities across the North are sending a clear message to Queen’s Park: Northern Ontario deserves attention, investment, and respect.
Rally Locations: January 24, 2026 10:00 AM
Kapuskasing:
Riverside Park
McPherson Ave, Kapuskasing
Hearst:
Heritage Sawmill Marketplace
830 Front Street, Hearst
Smooth Rock Falls:
Motel Moose
226 ON-11, Smooth Rock Falls
Fauquier-Strickland:
The Former Den Restaurant
Highway 11
Cochrane:
WaterFront Pavillion
226 5th St, Cochrane
Temiskaming Shores:
Ali's Grill and Bar Parking Lot
998006 Highway 11, Temiskaming Shores
Latchford:
Latchford Municipal Office
10 Main St, Latchford
Other Northern Communities: Locations are still being confirmed.Please check your local municipal websites for updates closer to the rally date.
Bring your friends, your signs, and your voices. Together we can make the government pay attention to the North.