a people many times as numerous. Upon a 

 family of four persons in Canada rests the 

 enormous responsibility of building and main- 

 taining one mile of roadway and upon five 

 average families the construction and mainten- 

 ance of a mile of main market highway. 



Again, the peculiarity of Canadian conditions 

 creates the necessity for the maintenance of so 

 many types of roads to accommodate the various 

 methods of travel. Whilst the older settled 

 cities and towns and the areas about them are 

 most modern in every respect and their lines of 

 communication as up to date as engineering can 

 effect, there are many areas that hr.vc but 

 recently emerged from the pioneering stages, and 

 still other districts that are only being opened 

 up to colonization and that must be served by 

 roads of some kind. 



The Penetration of New Areas 



The prime consideration in roadbuilding in 

 Canada is possibly to enable the farmer to reach 

 the markets with his product as conveniently 

 and economically as possible, and this has first 

 consideration in the drawing up of national 

 programs. A second requirement is to maintain 

 good means of communication between the 

 larger centres and to adequately serve and 

 further encourage motor tourist traffic, which is 

 rapidly increasing every year and has become a 

 not insignificant asset in Dominion revenue. 

 Each year the increase in the settlement and 

 cultivation of farm lands makes necessary the 

 penetration of new colonization areas, which can 

 only be effected by the construction of roads 

 which will permit new settlers to get into them 

 with the least degree of trouble and inconveni- 

 ence. 



Canada is rapidly gaining a reputation 

 abroad for good roads, consequent upon a 

 Dominion-wide policy of co-ordinated effort, due 

 to the foresight of Dominion and provincial 

 governments and their co-operation in construc- 

 tion and maintenance. The Canada Highways 

 Act of 1919 was a recognition of the important 

 part played in the development of national 

 prosperity by good roads and elicited the co- 

 operation of all sections of the Dominion in 

 maintaining a high standard. The bill made the 

 sum of $20,000,000 available during the follow- 

 ing five years, to be divided among the provinces 

 on the basis of population, with the expenditure 

 of proportionate amounts by these provinces to 

 a total of $30,000,000. 



18,000 Miles of Main Roads 



That the provinces are not limiting their 

 expenditures to those amounts necessary to 

 obtain the Federal grants is very apparent. 

 In the five-year period after the passing of the 

 Act, it was estimated that Ontario would spend 

 $60,000,000 on its highways, and this sum will 

 undoubtedly be reached. Quebec's highways 



prior to 1912 had cost $40,000,000 in the work 

 done upon them, and since that time $30,000,000 

 has been expended. This year the province will 

 spend $7,500,000 upon provincial roads, by far 

 the largest amount spent in years, due to the 

 inclusion in the program of amounts for coloniz- 

 ation roads into newly opened areas in Northern 

 Quebec. 



At the present time there are 18,000 miles 

 of main roads in the various provinces and 

 networks of communications branching off from 

 them to serve the rural areas. In addition to 

 the maintenance of these, new roads are being 

 constructed each year. These serve to join up 

 the provincial centres, and it is now the aim of 

 the various governments to join up the provincial 

 systems and provide a main highway across 

 Canada from coast to coast, an undertaking not 

 difficult of accomplishment and the accomplish- 

 ment of which may be soon expected. 



Excellent motor roads join up all the principal 

 civic centres and the avenues to the international 

 boundary are maintained at a fine standard. 

 Last year half a million motor tourists visited 

 Canada from the United States alone, staying 

 for various periods from one day to six months, 

 and it is stated that the number of visitors 

 staying for over one month has doubled within 

 the past few years. In many cases the upkeep 

 of such highways as Toronto-Hamilton, Ottawa- 

 Montreal, Montreal-Quebec is paid for by the 

 tourist traffic upon them, and the completion 

 this year of the roadway of the Grand Circle 

 Motor Tour, running from California in the 

 south to Alberta in the north, linking ten 

 national parks, and constituting the finest scenic 

 motor tour on the continent, is expected to bring 

 the Dominion an unprecedented volume of 

 motor traffic. 



The Result of Good Highways 



The importance every section of the Canadian 

 people attach to the possession of good roads 

 was evidenced at the last good roads convention 

 held in Victoria, B.C., which drew from Atlantic 

 to Pacific cabinet ministers, members of parlia- 

 ment, provincial and civic engineers and promi- 

 nent business men from all sections of the 

 Dominion, as well as attracting representatives 

 of many states of the Union for the exchange of 

 views and experiences. It marked the half-way 

 house in the progress effected since the passing 

 of the Canada Highways Act and formed a 

 point of retrospect as well as prospect. To date 

 204 agreements for Federal aid have been 

 authorized for 5,125 miles of provincial road at 

 an estimated cost of $29,461,515. The total 

 amount of provincial expenditures audited with 

 respect to this work is $15,974,591, and the total 

 amounts of payments made with respect thereto 

 is $5,179,275. The total mileage of completed 

 Federal aid work to the time was 1,400 miles 

 and the mileage under construction 2,397 miles. 



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