Trent Wilkie
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
St. Albert Gazette
Alberta is asking drivers whether speed limits on rural divided highways should be raised to 120 kilometres per hour, a proposal that has drawn strong support in early responses but warnings from safety advocates about the risks of faster travel.
Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen said the move is aimed at rural drivers, noting the province has already taken steps to reduce commute times in urban centres.
“We’ve been slashing commute times for Albertans in our urban centres, but we wanted to do something in rural Alberta,” Dreeshen told CBC News earlier this month. “That’s why we’re looking at our four-lane or divided highways all across the province.”
Premier Danielle Smith has also backed the review. “If the QEII has been built and rated for 120 km/h, why aren’t we letting people drive 120 km/h?” she said.
The online survey, which runs until Dec. 12, asks which highways should be included and whether commercial trucks should be subject to the same limits. Early responses show 72 per cent of participants support raising the limit and 96 per cent favour keeping heavy trucks in the right lane except when passing.
A pilot project is planned for spring 2026 on a section of Highway 2 before a wider rollout is considered. Highways under review include the QEII, Trans-Canada, Yellowhead, Highway 3, Highway 4, Highway 43 and Highway 63.
A Transportation and Economic Corridors spokesperson said the survey is designed to capture genuine input.
“Alberta’s government launched this survey to hear directly from Albertans on whether they support increasing speed limits on rural divided highways. We want to modernize our highway network responsibly — using real data and public feedback,” the spokesperson said.
“Once the survey closes, we will release results publicly. Our goal is transparency, and Albertans deserve to see what their neighbours think. While personal identifiers are not collected, we do have tools in place to ensure data quality, including internal measures that help detect mass submissions or bad-faith interference. We will also filter out duplicates and out of province submissions. The survey was built to capture genuine input, and the overwhelming majority of respondents have engaged in good faith.
“At the end of the day, this consultation is about listening to Albertans. We trust Albertans to share their views honestly, and we will continue to design policy with them.”
Safety advocates warn higher speeds increase crash severity. Jeff Kasbrick, spokesperson for the Alberta Motor Association, said: “Physics doesn’t change. The higher the speed, the more severe the outcome when crashes occur. It’s that simple.”
Andrew Murie, CEO of MADD Canada, added: “Higher speeds give drivers less time to react.”
According to the province’s 2023 Traffic Collision Statistics Summary, unsafe speed was a factor in 10,076 collisions, resulting in 2,107 injuries and 103 fatalities.
British Columbia raised speed limits on 1,300 kilometres of rural highways to 120 km/h in 2014, but a 2018 review found fatal crashes more than doubled on those roads, prompting the province to roll back many of the changes.
Insurance experts say higher limits could lead to more severe crashes and eventually higher premiums.
“If it’s any factor that attributes to increased frequency of claims or severity of claims, it’s ultimately going to have a price adjustment passed on to the consumer,” said Matt Dillon, executive vice-president at Surex. “If this was to have a direct correlation, I think then, yes, it could have an impact on increased premiums for consumers.”
Albertans can take part in the survey at: www.alberta.ca/speed-limit-survey.
