Canada Highways Act

The Canada Highways Act was a 1919 Act of the Dominion Parliament of Canada. The act established a fund to support the construction of provincial highways as part of the post-World War I reconstruction program of Robert Borden's Union government.

In the mid-nineteenth century, the primary modes of transportation were rail and waterways, and authority over them was granted to the federal government under Canada's Constitution; roads were thought of as a local concern and were delegated to the provinces. As the automobile rose in prominence in the early 20th century, organizations such as the Good Roads Movement and local motor clubs put pressure on governments to provide improved roads. Several provinces established their own highway authorities to coordinate the development of regional road networks. The federal government's first effort to fund highway construction came with the Railway Grade Crossing Fund in 1907.

Robert Borden's Conservative government first proposed a federal assistance program for provincial road construction in 1913, but the program was rejected by the Liberal-dominated Senate over opposition to acting in an area of provincial jurisdiction. Interest in road funding was put aside during the First World War, however automobile interest groups (including the 1915 establishment of the Canadian Automobile Association) maintained pressure on the federal government. Following the war, Borden's Union government established a reconstruction program including the Canada Highways Act, which passed in 1919.

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