Ontario Region (ONT)

Overview

Ontario is home to some of Canada’s largest transportation hubs, facilitating the transportation of people and goods throughout the country via an integrated multi-modal network.

The Region is home to four National Airport System airports (Toronto, Ottawa, London and Thunder Bay). Pearson is Canada’s largest airport and is one of the busiest hubs in North America, with 312,000 tonnes of cargo and 47 million passengers per year, with this number expected to increase to 50 million passengers by the end of 2019.

Ontario also has a large, sophisticated marine industry, driven by freight cargo traffic throughout the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway system, facilitating trade to 50+ countries. The Port of Hamilton is the busiest Canadian Great Lakes Port, with over 700 vessels visiting per year.

The Region has two Class I freight railroads that operates over 8,600 km of track, as well as two passenger rail operations (VIA Rail, Amtrack). Union Station in Toronto is Canada’s largest commuter hub, with over 200,000 passengers passing through per day. The station is serviced by VIA Rail, Amtrack, Metrolinx and the Toronto Transit Commission. Metrolinx operates the busiest commuter rail service in Canada with plans to dramatically expand the reach and capacity of the network.

The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) is a critical connector for intermodal shipments and handles the majority of transportation volumes in Ontario, with a network that includes:

  • Canada’s busiest highway corridor (Highway 401 and connecting highways); and
  • Canada’s four busiest land border crossings.
tamara-rudge.jpg

Tamara Rudge

Regional Director General, Ontario Region

Bio

Tamara Rudge was appointed Transport Canada’s Regional Director General for Ontario Region in October 2017, after becoming the Region’s Executive Regional Director in June 2015.

Before this in Ottawa, Tamara served as the Director of Ports Policy for two years. She joined Transport Canada in 2009 as a senior policy advisor in the Deputy Minister’s Office taking on further responsibilities as the Executive Director to the Deputy Minister.

Tamara started her career in the public service in 2002 at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. She later spent time at the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization as a trade analyst in Rome, Italy. Tamara holds a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics from the University of Saskatchewan, and a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Business from the University of Manitoba.

Employee count: 449

Offices: 11

  • Regional Headquarters in Toronto, ON
  • 10 other offices throughout ON:
    • Hamilton
    • Pearson Airport
    • St. Catharines
    • Niagara-on-the-Lake
    • Ottawa
    • Sarnia
    • Thunder Bay
    • Pickering
    • Kingston
    • Sudbury

Transport Canada owned assets:

  • >
  • 6 ports:
    • Burlington
    • Owen Sound
    • Pelee Island Scudder Warf
    • South Baymouth Wharf
    • Tobermory
    • Walpole
  • The Pickering Lands site (8,700 acres of land for potential airport).