Ontario Region

Ontario is Canada’s most populous province, home to approximately 38.9% of Canada’s population (2023). Roughly half of the population lives in the Greater Toronto Area, which is forecasted to grow to over 10.5 million residents by 2046. Ontario also houses Canada’s largest economy and 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 Pearson, Ottawa, London, and Thunder Bay). Toronto Pearson is Canada’s largest airport and one of the busiest hubs in North America, with 423,851 tons of cargo in 2022 and 44.8 million passengers in 2023. Ottawa and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport are among the country’s nine busiest airports, with over 4 million and 2 million passengers respectively.

Ontario’s aerospace industry accounts for 75% of Canadian aerospace products exported across six continents, positioning these companies as globally recognized and reputed for quality, value, performance and reliability.

Some large-scale air operators with Ontario-based operations include Porter Airlines- the third largest domestic carrier by fleet size, Canadian North- offering services to Canada’s northern provinces and territories, and Cargojet - operating cargo services internationally as well as aircraft charters.

Ontario also has a large, sophisticated marine industry, driven by cargo traffic throughout the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway system. The Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System moves cargo within North America, and internationally, facilitating trade to over 50 countries. If the Great Lakes region were a country, it would rank as the world’s fourth largest economy. The Seaway is a fundamental component of Ontario’s marine transportation network, with approximately 4000 vessel transits per year moving more than 37.5 million tonnes of cargo. The system primarily moves bulk cargo with dry bulk and grain accounting for over half of the total tonnage moved on the Seaway in 2023. The Seaway is a binational entity operated jointly by the Canadian St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation and American Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation.

Ontario also has four Canada Port Authorities including the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA). HOPA administers port operations at the ports of Hamilton and Oshawa. The Port of Hamilton is the busiest Canadian port on the Great Lakes, typically seeing 600-650 vessel calls per year with approximately 10 million tonnes of cargo transiting the port annually.

The Ontario Region has two Class I freight railroads (Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City) that operates over 8,600 kilometres of track, as well as two passenger rail operations (VIA Rail, Amtrak). Union Station in Toronto is Canada’s largest commuter hub, with over 300,000 travelers passing through per day. The station is serviced by VIA Rail, Amtrak, 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.  As part of the GO expansion plans, Metrolinx undertook the Union Station Enhancement project. This project entailed the design and construction of transit infrastructure and various upgrades that will accommodate their expanded GO rail service, such as creating a network that has the capacity to deliver two-way, all-day service every 15 minutes.

The Union Pearson (UP) Express operates out of Union Station, connecting passengers to Toronto Pearson.  

The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area is a critical connector for intermodal shipments and handles most transportation volumes in Ontario, with a network that includes: 

  • Canada’s busiest highway corridor (Highway 401 and connecting highways). From Google: Highway 401 where it passes through Toronto is the busiest highway in North America in addition to being one of the top ten busiest and widest highways in the world.; and 

  • Canada’s four busiest land border crossings with the U.S. (approximately 58% of all truck border crossing and 61% of trade value by road to the United States (U.S)). 

Duwayne Williams

Duwayne Williams

Regional Director General, Ontario Region

Bio

Regional Director General, Ontario Region: Duwayne Williams

Number of employees: 408

Offices: 11

  • Regional Headquarters in Toronto, Ontario 

  • 10 offices throughout Ontario, located in: 

    • Hamilton; 

    • Kingston; 

    • Niagara-on-the-Lake; 

    • Ottawa  (regional office); 

    • Pearson Airport; 

    • St. Catharines; 

    • Sarnia; 

    • Sudbuy (co-located with Measurement Canada)

    • Thunder Bay (Civil Aviation); and

    • Thunder Bay (Marine)

Transport Canada Owned Assets:

  • 5 port facilities:
    • Owen Sound;
    • Pelee Island Scudder Warf;
    • South Baymouth;
    • Tobermory; and
    • Walpole.
  • The Pickering Lands site (8,700 acres of lands in the northeast area of the Greater Toronto Area that has previously been set aside for potential airport development).  In January 2025, the Government announced that the Pickering Lands will not be used for a future airport site and Transport Canada intends to transfer the high conservation value lands within the overall footprint to Parks Canada. The Government also announced that a formal consultation process will be launched on the future uses of the Pickering Lands. Transport Canada will continue to manage these lands until the path forward is finalized.