Ford promises to build four-lane Highway 7 between Kitchener and Guelph

Hwy 7: A political promise that keeps coming back Doug Ford vowed to build a new expanded Hwy 7 at a campaign stop on Wednesday – but the promise is far from new. Jeff Pickel reports.

Progressive Conservative leader Doug Ford says his government will build a new four-lane Highway 7 connecting Kitchener and Guelph if his party is re-elected in the upcoming election.

Ford made the announcement Thursday at a campaign stop in Kitchener, promising if returned to power, his government would finally build the long-awaited expansion of one of the region’s main connectors.

“Yes to a four-lane highway between Kitchener and Guelph,” Ford said. “Yes to a new bridge over the Grand River, we’re saying yes to building Highway 7 and connecting Highway 7 to Conestoga Parkway. Because local families and workers have heard ‘no’ for far too long.”

The promise is not a new one. The plan, as it’s stood since 2007, is to build a new four-lane highway just north of the current Highway 7 route. Specifics of the plan, like when construction will start or how much it will cost, have not been hashed out.

“We are going to look out for a fair and transparent bid and as soon as that happens I’ll be the first to tell you how much that costs,” Ford said.

For many in the region, promises of a new Highway 7 ring hollow. The idea has been around for at least three decades and gathered momentum again in 2007.

“Times have changed, now it’s time to change Highway 7,” Liberal Minister of Transportation Donna Cansfield said in 2007.

Since then there has been incremental progress, most notably the completion of the new Victoria Street Bridge in 2018.

In 2020, the PCs officially committed funding, but no specifics as to timeline were given.

“Our government is moving ahead with a clear commitment of a new highway 7 between Kitchener and Guelph,” Mike Harris Jr., MPP for Kitchener-Conestoga said at the time.