This section provides an overview of Canada's transport infrastructure, including air, road, rail, and marine networks, highlighting their roles in connecting the country.
This page is accurate as of July 2025.
Description: Regional Gross Domestic Product Map
The map of Canada shows the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) value of regions across Canada using a colour-coded scale. Regions are divided into urban centres and the rest of each province/territory.
The map shows the National Railway Network as green lines that show over forty-eight thousand kilometres of track across the country. The map of Canada also shows the National Highway System (NHS) as yellow lines that show over thirty-nine thousand kilometres of Canada's most important highways from coast to coast.
Air transportation
Canada is the third largest aerospace sector in the world. The Air Navigation Service (NAV CANADA) manages Canada's 18,000,000 km² of airspace. NAV CANADA is a privately run, not-for-profit corporation that owns and operates Canada's civil air navigation system. It operates air traffic control towers at 42 airports and flight service stations at 55 airports. Canada’s air transportation network includes:
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26 large airports in the National Airports System (NAS)
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18 small airports owned by Transport Canada
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Approximately 1,900 certified and registered airports, including water bases, heliports, and land airports
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Approximately 6,000 aerodromes.
Airports by region (including NAS and TC-owned airports):
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Atlantic corridor: 14 airports
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Central corridor: seven airports
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Northern corridor: 49 airports
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Pacific corridor: approximately 36 airports
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Prairie corridor: five airports.
Road transportation
There are more than 1.13 million two-lane equivalent lane-kilometres of public road in Canada. About 40% of the road network is paved, while 60% is unpaved. Four provinces—Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and Alberta — account for over 75% of the total road length. In 2024, the National Highway System (NHS) included over 39,098 lane-kilometres.
In 2023, 26.3 million road motor vehicles were registered:
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91.7% were vehicles weighing less than 4,500 kilograms (mainly passenger automobiles, pickups, Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV) and minivans)
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5.1% were medium and heavy trucks weighing 4,500 kilograms or more
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3.2% were other vehicles such as buses, motorcycles and mopeds.
Marine transportation
As of December 2023, Canada had:
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560 port facilities
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845 fishing harbours
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106 recreational harbours
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17 major ports that are independently managed by Canada Port Authorities (CPAs)
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34 port facilities owned and operated directly by Transport Canada.
Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River
This marine system covers a large area from its western point at Thunder Bay/Duluth (U.S.) through the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System and ends at the opening of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The System serves 15 major international ports and 50 regional ports that connect to more than 40 provincial or interstate highways and 30 railway lines.
West Coast
The Port of Vancouver and Port of Prince Rupert are the West's two main gateways for international trade, with the Port of Vancouver managing a third of Canada’s goods trade outside of North America. Domestic marine activities also play an important role in British Columbia's economy. There are over 100 ports along the B.C. coast.
Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada has four Canada Port Authorities (CPAs): Halifax, Saint John, Belledune, and St. John’s. Together every year, they handle:
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45 million tonnes of cargo
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700,000 TEUs (Twenty Food Equivalent Units, a standard unit of measurement for cargo shipments)
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$19.7 billion in goods
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3,230 vessel arrivals
The North
Canada's territories cover close to 40% of Canada's area but are home to around 134,000 people greatly dispersed among many small communities that are often separated from each other by hundreds of kilometres of land and water.
Since they are so remote, seasonally operated marine transportation plays a critical role in the resupply of basic necessities sourced from southern Canada.
Resource projects rely on marine transportation to move equipment and supplies from the south and to get their products to southern markets.
Only two deep-water ports serve the North (Churchill, Manitoba and Iqaluit, Nunavut). Many smaller ports support individual communities.
Rail transportation
The Canadian Rail System currently has 48,010 route-kilometres (km) of track, and includes:
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19 intermodal terminals operated by either Canadian National (CN) or Canadian Pacific (CP) to run truck/rail and container intermodal services and
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27 rail border crossings with the U.S.
The rail transportation sector specializes in moving heavy, bulk commodities and containerized traffic over long distances. Its passenger function includes providing commuter, intercity and tourist rail services. VIA Rail transported 4.4 million passengers in 2024.
As of 2022, 79 railways operated in Canada. About half of them operated under federal jurisdiction in 2016, including two major Canadian Class I railways (CN and CPKC) and several U.S. railways.