1.
Road
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Roads consist of one or two roadways, each with one or more lanes and any associated sidewalks and road verges. Roads that are available for use by the public may be referred to as parkways, avenues, freeways, interstates, highways, or primary, secondary, and tertiary local roads. In urban areas roads may diverge through a city or village and be named as streets, serving a function as urban space easement. Modern roads are normally smoothed, paved, or otherwise prepared to allow easy travel, historically many roads were simply recognizable routes without any formal construction or maintenance. In the United Kingdom there is ambiguity between the terms highway and road. The Highway code details rules for road users and this includes footpaths, bridleways and cycle tracks, and also road and driveways on private land and many car parks. Vehicle Excise Duty, a use tax, is payable on some vehicles used on the public road. The definition of a road depends on the definition of a highway, in the United States, laws distinguish between public roads, which are open to public use, and private roads, which are privately controlled. The assertion that the first pathways were the trails made by animals has not been universally accepted, others believe that some roads originated from following animal trails. The Icknield Way is given as an example of type of road origination. By about 10,000 BC, rough roads/pathways were used by human travelers, the worlds oldest known paved road was constructed in Egypt some time between 2600 and 2200 BC. Stone-paved streets are found in the city of Ur in the Middle East dating back to 4000 BC, corduroy roads are found dating to 4000 BC in Glastonbury, England. The Sweet Track, a timber causeway in England, is one of the oldest engineered roads discovered. Built in winter 3807 BC or spring 3806 BC, tree-ring dating enabled very precise dating and it was claimed to be the oldest road in the world until the 2009 discovery of a 6, 000-year-old trackway in Plumstead, London. Brick-paved streets were used in India as early as 3000 BC, in 500 BC, Darius I the Great started an extensive road system for Persia, including the Royal Road, which was one of the finest highways of its time. The road remained in use after Roman times, a hybrid of road transport and ship transport beginning in about 1740 is the horse-drawn boat in which the horse follows a cleared path along the river bank. From about 312 BC, the Roman Empire built straight strong stone Roman roads throughout Europe and North Africa, at its peak the Roman Empire was connected by 29 major roads moving out from Rome and covering 78,000 kilometers or 52,964 Roman miles of paved roads. In the 8th century AD, many roads were built throughout the Arab Empire, the most sophisticated roads were those in Baghdad, which were paved with tar
2.
Canadian Pacific Railway
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The Canadian Pacific Railway, also known formerly as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railroad incorporated in 1881. The railroad is owned by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a restructuring in 2001. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, it owns approximately 20,000 kilometres of track all across Canada and into the United States, stretching from Montreal to Vancouver, and as far north as Edmonton. Its rail network also serves Minneapolis-St. Paul, Milwaukee, Detroit, Chicago, the railway was originally built between Eastern Canada and British Columbia between 1881 and 1885, fulfilling a promise extended to British Columbia when it entered Confederation in 1871. It was Canadas first transcontinental railway, but no longer reaches the Atlantic coast, the CPR became one of the largest and most powerful companies in Canada, a position it held as late as 1975. Its primary passenger services were eliminated in 1986, after being assumed by Via Rail Canada in 1978, a beaver was chosen as the railways logo because it is the national symbol of Canada and was seen as representing the hardworking character of the company. The company acquired two American lines in 2009, the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad and the Iowa, Chicago, the trackage of the ICE was at one time part of CP subsidiary Soo Line and predecessor line The Milwaukee Road. It is publicly traded on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CP and its U. S. headquarters are in Minneapolis. The creation of the Canadian Pacific Railway was a task undertaken for a combination of reasons by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald. He was helped by Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt, who was the owner of the North Western Coal and his company went through several name changes during the process of the construction of the railway. British Columbia, a sea voyage away from the East Coast, had insisted upon a land transport link to the East as a condition for joining Confederation. The government however proposed to build a railway linking the Pacific province to the Eastern provinces within 10 years of 20 July 1871, Macdonald saw it as essential to the creation of a unified Canadian nation that would stretch across the continent. Moreover, manufacturing interests in Quebec and Ontario wanted access to raw materials, the first obstacle to its construction was political. The logical route went through the American Midwest and the city of Chicago, to ensure this routing, the government offered huge incentives including vast grants of land in the West. Because of this scandal, the Conservative Party was removed from office in 1873, surveying was carried out during the first years of a number of alternative routes in this virgin territory followed by construction of a telegraph along the lines that had been agreed upon. The Thunder Bay section linking Lake Superior to Winnipeg was commenced in 1875, by 1880, around 1,000 kilometres was nearly complete, mainly across the troublesome Canadian Shield terrain, with trains running on only 500 kilometres of track. With Macdonalds return to power on 16 October 1878, an aggressive construction policy was adopted. Macdonald confirmed that Port Moody would be the terminus of the transcontinental railway, in 1879, the federal government floated bonds in London and called for tenders to construct the 206 km section of the railway from Yale, British Columbia, to Savonas Ferry, on Kamloops Lake
3.
Trans Canada Trail
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The Trans Canada Trail, being promoted since 2016 as The Great Trail, is the worlds longest network of recreational trails. When fully connected, the Trail will stretch 24,000 kilometres from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic oceans, just over 21,000 kilometres of the trail have been completed as of November 2016 and are usable, making the entire project approximately 90% complete. Two hundred forty gaps totalling 6,200 kilometres must be bridged in order to achieve a fully connected trail, the Trans Canada Trail has given itself until its 25th anniversary and Canadas 150th anniversary in 2017 to reach this objective. The creation of the Trail was born of Canadas 125th anniversary celebrations in 1992 and it has its counterparts in such other greenway routes as the 12 EuroVelo routes, the UKs National Cycle Network, and the United States Numbered Bicycle Routes network. To date it has been funded largely by Canadian federal and provincial governments, with significant contributions from corporate, the first province to have completed its designated section of the trail was Prince Edward Island. The network of the Trans Canada Trail is made up of more than 400 community trails, the Trans Canada Trail supports and is made up of greenways. Moreover, considerable parts of the Trail are repurposed defunct rail lines donated to provincial governments by CP, thousands of Canadians, community partner organizations, corporations, local businesses and all levels of government are involved in developing and maintaining these trails. The Trans Canada Trail does not own or operate any trail, as an ensemble, the Trans Canada Trail might be one of the largest volunteer projects ever undertaken in Canada. The main section runs along the areas of Canada connecting most of Canadas major cities. There is also a northern arm which runs through Alberta to Edmonton. The Trail is multi-use and depending on the section may allow hikers, bicyclists, horseback riders, mile zero of the Trail is located outside the Railway Coastal Museum in St. Johns, Newfoundland. The Trail Eastern Terminus starts in St. Johns where it is known as the Grand Concourse Trail it passes by St. Johns Harbour travelling south crossing Route 2 into Kilbride then through Bowring Park. Continuing north-west through Mount Pearl then Donovans crossing Route 1 into Paradise passing Neils Pond then several others as it makes its way through Woodstock, the route then turns south-west passing through Chamberlains, Manuels, Talcville and Foxtrap where it crosses Route 60. The Trail continues through Conception Bay South where the trail is known as Newfoundland Trailway Park, continuing south-west, the route passes through Riverdale and Hopewell, Indian Pond, Duffs then enters the east side of Holyrood Bay. The trail passes through Briens as it enters Hollyrood, the route again crosses Route 60 then the North Arm River then travels north through Burnt Stump. The route travels south west passing Woodsford then passes through Briens Gullies before then crossing Route 1 again, the route then passes through Brigus Junction, Mahers, then Ocean Pond then a mostly treed area before entering Whitbourne and crossing Route 80. Continuing the route crosses Route 100 then enters Placentia Junction before turning north passing over Coles Pond. Crossing Route 120, The next major location is Tickle Harbour Station where it again touches Route 1, the route continues as it enters Goobies, then Northern Blight, then crosses Route 1 as it enters Clarenville
4.
Arnprior
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Arnprior is a town in Renfrew County, in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Madawaska River and the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley, Arnprior has experienced significant growth in populations with the widening of the 417 Provincial Highway to four lanes. The Town experienced an increase in population by 8. 5% from 2011 to 2016, the town is a namesake of Arnprior, Scotland, and is known for lumber, hydro power generation, aerospace, farming and its proximity to the National Capital Region. In May 1613 European explorers, led by Samuel de Champlain, first visited the Ottawa River valley, in 1823, a 1, 200-acre surveyed block was ceded to Archibald McNab and given the eponymous name, McNab Township. McNab had approval from the Family Compact to treat the settlers on his land in the feudal manner practiced in Scotland, in 1831 the town was named by the Buchanan Brothers after McNabs ancestral home of Arnprior, Scotland. Tired of the treatment, the settlers revolted and, after a government investigation. Arnprior, Braeside and NcNab township grew as separate communities and boomed when they integrated into eastern Ontarios massive timber industry. The lumber industry maintained a significant position until the closing of the Gillies Mill, one of the most enduring structures of the day was a grist mill built by the Buchanans on the west bank of the Madawaska River. By 1869, Arnprior was an Incorporated Village with a population of 2000 in the Township of McNab and it was on the Brockville and Ottawa Railway at the junction of the Madawaska and Ottawa Rivers. The average price of land $20 to $40, the facility has been bought by Ontario Hydro prior to the restructuring on the bridge and the creation of a new weir to control the river. The building was consumed by fire in 1976, the forests of the period are represented in the Grove which is an excellent example of indigenous forest, grown after a fire in the 18th century. With individual specimens reaching 175 feet, these are the tallest white pines in Ontario, Arnprior was incorporated as a village in 1862. Thirty years later, it was incorporated as a town, on 8 June 1944 a Castle class corvette, HMS Rising Castle, was re-commissioned as HMCS Arnprior until 1946. Arnprior became a name in the numismatic trade. This has a link to a local employer. In 1955 Playtex ordered some silver dollars for their employees and these coins are later found to show only two and one-half water lines instead of four to the right of the canoe. This variety becomes known as the Arnprior dollar, the history of Arnprior is preserved and documented at the Arnprior and District Museum and the Arnprior and District Archives, located next door in the basement of the public library. The sandstone building is the element in local architecture For the past 60 years Arnprior has been a leading contender when drawing new business to Eastern Ontario
5.
Ontario Highway 417
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Kings Highway 417, commonly referred to as Highway 417 and the Queensway through Ottawa, is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. It connects Montreal with Ottawa, and is the backbone of the system in the National Capital Region. Within Ottawa, it part of the Queensway west to Highway 7. Highway 417 extends from the Quebec border to Arnprior, where it continues westward as Highway 17, aside from the urban section through Ottawa, Highway 417 passes through farmland that dominates much of the fertile Ottawa Valley. Within Ottawa, the Queensway was built as part of a plan for the city between 1957 and 1966, and later reconstructed to its present form throughout the 1980s. The eastern section, from Gloucester to the Quebec border, opened in 1975 in preparation for the 1976 Montreal Olympics, sections west of Ottawa have been under construction since the mid-1970s, with the latest section bypassing Arnprior opening on November 29,2012. The freeway has also gradually been extended northwest from Ottawa alongside the old highway to its current terminus in Arnprior, Highway 417 currently has 42 interchanges from the Quebec border to Arnprior, with more planned as the highway is extended westward. Unlike other highways in Ontario and most of North America, exits are numbered from east to west. While a significant portion of Highway 417 is a four lane freeway divided by a grass median. Highway 417 begins at the border between the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, east of which the four lane freeway continues as Autoroute 40, the route proceeds west along the former alignment of Highway 17, which it has served to replace. It passes through a forested and agricultural landscape en route to Ottawa, serving the communities of Hawkesbury, Vankleek Hill, Casselman, Limoges, the route later meets the southern terminus of Highway 34 at Exit 27. At this point, the freeway enters The Nation and diverges from the boundary, after crossing a Via Rail line, the route dips south of Casselman and curves to the west at Exit 66. It roughly parallels the Via Rail line several kilometres north of the freeway, though significant deviations bypass the communities of Benoit and Limoges, the latter is served by Exit 79. Near Limoges is the Larose Forest, a man-made forest planted between 1928 and 1980 over the Bourget Desert, itself created as the result of cutting in the 19th century. At Exit 88, Highway 417 enters the city of Ottawa, though the surroundings remain unchanged until Exit 110, the freeway merges with the Queensway at a large multi-level interchange known locally as the Split, curving to the west and into downtown Ottawa. The interchange also provides access to Aviation Parkway from westbound Highway 417, within Ottawa, the Queensway extends from Orleans in the east and passes just south of downtown through central Ottawa to Kanata in the west. The core section of the Queensway is eight lanes wide, four per carriageway, the freeway is elevated on a berm along some central portions of the route, providing views of downtown and the Gatineau Hills to the north. This section was constructed along a former Canadian National Railway railbed, the route bisects central Ottawa with downtown and the Parliament Buildings lay to the north of the highway and residential neighbourhoods including the Glebe to the south
6.
Liberal Party of Canada
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The Liberal Party of Canada, colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism, and generally sits at the centre of the Canadian political spectrum, the Liberal Party is traditionally positioned to the left of the Conservative Party of Canada and to the right of the New Democratic Party. During the beginning of the 21st century, the party lost a significant amount of support, in the present times, the Liberal party has favoured a variety of big tent policies from both right and left of the political spectrum. It also legalized same-sex marriage and allowed the use of cannabis for medical purposes, during the 2015 election, the Liberal partys proposed policies included, Cut the middle class tax bracket from 22% to 20.88 per $100 to $1. In the 29 years after Canadian confederation, the Liberals were consigned to opposition, with the exception of one stint in government. Alexander Mackenzie was able to lead the party to power for the first time in 1873, Mackenzie subsequently won the 1874 election, and served as Prime Minister for an additional four years. However the party was able to build a solid support base in Ontario. The Liberals would spend the next 18 years in opposition, in their early history, the Liberals were the party of continentalism and opposition to imperialism. The Liberals also became identified with the aspirations of Quebecers as a result of the hostility of French Canadians to the Conservatives. It was not until Wilfrid Laurier became leader that the Liberal Party emerged as a modern party, Laurier was able to capitalize on the Tories alienation of French Canada by offering the Liberals as a credible alternative. Laurier was able to overcome the reputation for anti-clericalism that offended the still-powerful Quebec Roman Catholic Church. In English-speaking Canada, the Liberal Partys support for reciprocity made it popular among farmers, Laurier led the Liberals to power in the 1896 election, and oversaw a government that increased immigration in order to settle Western Canada. Lauriers government created the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta out of the North-West Territories, there was no national membership of the party, an individual became a member by joining a provincial Liberal party. The new organization allowed individuals to join the national Liberal Party for the first time. No national convention was held, however, until 1948, the Liberal Party held only three national conventions prior to the 1950s – in 1893,1919 and 1948). Over time, provincial Liberal parties in most provinces were separated from provincial wings of the federal party, by the 1980s, the National Liberal Federation was officially known as the Liberal Party of Canada. Under Laurier, and his successor William Lyon Mackenzie King, the Liberals promoted Canadian sovereignty, after the King–Byng Affair of 1926, the Liberals argued that the Governor General of Canada should no longer be appointed on the recommendation of the British government. The decisions of the Imperial Conferences were formalized in the Statute of Westminster, which was passed in 1931
7.
Ottawa
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Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It stands on the bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of southern Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, the two form the core of the Ottawa–Gatineau census metropolitan area and the National Capital Region. The 2016 census reported a population of 934,243, making it the fourth-largest city in Canada, the City of Ottawa reported that the city had an estimated population of 960,754 as of December 2015. Founded in 1826 as Bytown, and incorporated as Ottawa in 1855, the city name Ottawa was chosen in reference to the Ottawa River nearby, the name of which is derived from the Algonquin Odawa, meaning to trade. The city is the most educated in Canada, and is home to a number of post-secondary, research, and cultural institutions, including the National Arts Centre, Ottawa also has the highest standard of living in the nation and low unemployment. It ranked second out of 150 worldwide in the Numbeo quality of life index 2014–2015, with the draining of the Champlain Sea around ten thousand years ago the Ottawa Valley became habitable. The area was used for wild harvesting, hunting, fishing, trade, travel. The Ottawa river valley has archaeological sites with arrow heads, pottery, the area has three major rivers that meet, making it an important trade and travel area for thousands of years. The Algonquins called the Ottawa River Kichi Sibi or Kichissippi meaning Great River or Grand River, Étienne Brûlé, the first European to travel up the Ottawa River, passed by Ottawa in 1610 on his way to the Great Lakes. Three years later, Samuel de Champlain wrote about the waterfalls of the area and about his encounters with the Algonquins, the early explorers and traders were later followed by many missionaries. The first maps of the area used the word Ottawa to name the river, philemon Wright, a New Englander, created the first settlement in the area on 7 March 1800 on the north side of the river, across from Ottawa in Hull. He, with five other families and twenty-five labourers, set about to create a community called Wrightsville. Wright pioneered the Ottawa Valley timber trade by transporting timber by river from the Ottawa Valley to Quebec City, the following year, the town would soon be named after British military engineer Colonel John By who was responsible for the entire Rideau Waterway construction project. Colonel By set up military barracks on the site of todays Parliament Hill and he also laid out the streets of the town and created two distinct neighbourhoods named Upper Town west of the canal and Lower Town east of the canal. Similar to its Upper Canada and Lower Canada namesakes, historically Upper Town was predominantly English speaking and Protestant whereas Lower Town was predominantly French, Irish, bytowns population grew to 1,000 as the Rideau Canal was being completed in 1832. In 1855 Bytown was renamed Ottawa and incorporated as a city, William Pittman Lett was installed as the first city clerk guiding it through 36 years of development. On New Years Eve 1857, Queen Victoria, as a symbolic, in reality, Prime Minister John A. Macdonald had assigned this selection process to the Executive Branch of the Government, as previous attempts to arrive at a consensus had ended in deadlock
8.
Kanata, Ontario
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Kanata is one of the largest suburbs of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Located about 22 km west-southwest of the downtown, Kanata had a population of 80,781 as of 2011 and is growing rapidly. Before it was amalgamated into Ottawa in 2001, it was one of the fastest growing cities in Canada, located just to the west of the National Capital Commission Greenbelt, it is one of the largest of several communities that surround central Ottawa. It is a community and an important hi-tech centre. The area that is today Kanata was originally part of the Township of March, one site dating from this era is Pinheys Point. It remained mainly agricultural until the 1960s when it became the site of heavy development, modern Kanata is largely the creation of Bill Teron, a developer and urban planner who purchased over 1,200 hectares of rural land and set about building a model community. Unlike other suburbs, Kanata was designed to have a mix of densities and it contained large amounts of open space, and was to be surrounded by a greenbelt. A reflection of the garden city movement, the area was divided into a series of communities, each of which was intended to have its own commercial centres and these include Beaverbrook, Glen Cairn, Bridlewood, Katimavik, Hazeldean, Morgans Grant, and Kanata Lakes. The first street to be built was Tiffany Crescent in 1964, the community grew rapidly due to the influx of hi-tech workers looking to capitalize on the new economical cityscape. The Province of Ontario incorporated Kanata as a city in 1978 out of the Township of March, and portions of the Township of Goulbourn and the Township of Nepean. On September 20,1998, the city of Kanata dedicated a cenotaph in Village Green Memorial Park dedicated to those who served their country in war and it remained a city until 2001, when the province created a new City of Ottawa that included the City of Kanata. As of the 2006 census, the population of Kanata had increased to 85,000, the city became an important hi-tech centre. DEC was one of the technology companies in Kanata. The DEC campus has been successively Digital, Compaq, and HP, nortel Networks and the former Bell-Northern Research had a major campus of buildings just outside the Kanata boundary to the east. The hi-tech industry is clustered along March Road, in the Kanata North Business Park and Kanata Research Park, and along Eagleson Road, in the Kanata South Business Park. Situated in the Ottawa Valley, Kanata is located about 22 km west-southwest of Downtown Ottawa along Highway 417 at a latitude of 45°18 North and its northern end is just to the west of the Ottawa River. To the east, Kanata is separated from the former City of Nepean by the National Capital Commissions Greenbelt, the community of Bells Corners borders the inner side of the Greenbelt. To the south of Kanata is Stittsville, Ontario, further to the south of Kanata is the former village of Richmond, Ontario, which pre-dated what is now the City of Ottawa
9.
Greenbelt (Ottawa)
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The Greenbelt is a 203.5 square kilometres crescent of land within the present-day boundaries of the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, in which real estate development is strictly controlled. It begins at Shirleys Bay in the west and extends to Greens Creek in the east,149.5 square kilometres of the greenbelt is owned and managed by the National Capital Commission and the rest is held by other federal government departments and private interests. The greenbelt was proposed by Jacques Gréber in 1950 as part of his plan for Ottawa. Its original purpose included the prevention of urban sprawl, as well as to open space for the future development of farms, natural areas. At the time, the greenbelt was intended to circumscribe an area large enough for the accommodation of some 500,000 persons, the inner limit was chosen by considering what area could be economically provided with municipal services. As a result, the Greenbelt no longer surrounds Ottawa, today, land cover within the current Greenbelt comprises mainly forest, wetland, and fields - all with mixed use for recreation, conservation, farming, research, forestry. It also includes limited urban development, including government buildings and the Ottawa/Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, to date, the Ottawa Greenbelt is among the largest urban parks in the world. The Greenbelts success in curbing urban sprawl is difficult to measure because it is not known what the city would have looked like without it, as Ottawa had a population of 859,704 in 2005, it has clearly grown beyond what Gréber planned that the greenbelt should hold. Greenbelt detractors commonly reference the city of Kanata, which lies just to the west of the greenbelt. Proponents, however, point out that Kanata was planned as a separate, other areas of major development beyond the greenbelt are historical towns in their own right which grew outside the planning area of Ottawa. Half a century later, it is hard to know whether the greenbelt delayed the popularity of these towns as bedroom communities, more recently, Barrhaven in the southwest and new developments in the southeast are developing quickly beyond the greenbelt. The City of Ottawa is undergoing an Official Plan Review which, among other things, all views expressed in White Paper are those of the City of Ottawa and not those of the National Capital Commission which owns and operates the Greenbelt. The City of Ottawa has identified more than 13,700 acres of the Greenbelt, worth about $1.6 billion, that could be developed, then Environment Minister Jim Prentice, opposed development in what he considered an important part of the citys heritage. Prentice vowed to fight any such move, 45°28′00″N 75°34′35″W Hornets Nest soccer fields –11 soccer fields and an air-supported dome for indoor soccer. 45°26′35″N 75°34′35″W Pine View Golf Course – 36-hole public golf course 45°25′50″N 75°35′50″W Mer Bleue Conservation Area –33 km² sphagnum peat bog. There are some 20 km of walking trails, including a 1.2 km boardwalk, stunted black spruce, tamarack, together with bog rosemary, blueberry, and cottongrass, are some of the unusual species that have adapted to the acidic waters of the bog. The Mer Bleue bog got its name from the morning fogs that make it appear as a blue sea. 45°24′00″N 75°30′00″W Pine Grove Forest –12 km² of mixed-use forest for hiking, wildlife reserve, and forestry
10.
Ontario Highway 7
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Kings Highway 7, commonly referred to as Highway 7 and historically as the Northern Highway, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. At its peak, Highway 7 measured 716 km in length, Highway 7 was first designated in 1920 between Sarnia and Guelph and extended to Brampton the following year. Between 1927 and 1932, the more than doubled in length as it was gradually extended eastward to Perth. In the early 1960s, that section of Highway 15 was renumbered as Highway 7, in that same decade, the Conestoga Parkway and Peterborough Bypass were constructed. During the 1970s and 1980s, many sections of Highway 7 were widened from the two lane cross-section to four or six lanes. Within York Region, the route was upgraded to an expressway in preparation for the construction of Highway 407. Soon thereafter, that new tollway would act as justification for transferring the section of Highway 7 through the Greater Toronto Area to regional governments. In the west, the construction of Highway 402 between Sarnia and London provided an alternative to Highway 7, resulting in the transfer of the section west of Highway 4. A third transfer took place in Peterborough, briefly separating the route into three segments, but has since been rectified by renumbering a section of Highway 7A. From 2007 to 2012, the section of Highway 7 between Carleton Place and Ottawa has been widened to a divided freeway, in addition, work is underway to extend the Conestoga Parkway to New Hamburg as well as to build a new freeway between Kitchener and Guelph. The western segment of Highway 7 travels from Elginfield in Middlesex County in the southwest to the Halton - Peel border at Norval near Brampton, a distance of 152.6 kilometres. A23.4 km portion of this segment, from Waterloo Regional Road 51 south of Baden to Highway 85 in Kitchener is a freeway, plans to build a freeway bypass of Highway 7 from Kitchener to Guelph are currently underway. At one point Highway 7 travelled as far west as Sarnia, at Highway 40, Highway 7 ended and the much shorter than today Highway 402 continued westwards to the Bluewater Bridge at the American border. Highway 402 was completed between Sarnia and Highway 401 in 1982, resulting in the redundancy of Highway 7 west of London as traffic shifted to the high-speed alternate. Nonetheless, Highway 7 remained provincially maintained until the segment west of Highway 4 was transferred to county jurisdiction on January 1,1998, the former highway now known as Lambton County Road 22 and Middlesex County Road 22. Though the highway changes direction several times between Elginfield and Kitchener, it is straight and two lanes wide, except east of New Hamburg where it widens to four lanes. Proceeding east-northeast through farmland, the highway the southern terminus of Highway 23 just 1.2 kilometres later, southeast of St. Marys, Highway 7 curves northeast into Perth County until it reaches downtown Stratford, where it meets Highway 8. The two highways travel east concurrently for 45.1 kilometres, passing through the town of Shakespeare as it travels in a line through farmland
