Highway 71 (Ontario)

Highway 71
Highway 71 highlighted in red
Route information
Length:	194.1 km (120.6 mi)
Existed:	September 1, 1937 – present
Major junctions
South end:	US 53 / US 71 at International Falls, MN
	Highway 11 east in Fort Frances 35.9 km (22.3 mi) concurrency  Highway 11 west near Chapple
North end:	Highway 17 near Kenora
Location
Major cities:	Fort Frances, Emo, Sioux Narrows, Kenora
Highway system
Ontario provincial highways List 400-series Former Current highways ←  Highway 69   Highway 72  → Former highways ←  Highway 70

King's Highway 71, commonly referred to as Highway 71, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The 194-kilometre-long (121 mi) route travels concurrently with Highway 11 for 40 kilometres (25 mi) from the Fort Frances-International Falls International Bridge in Fort Frances, where it continues south as US Route 53 (US 53) and US Route 71 (US 71) in Minnesota. At Chapple, Highway 11 continues west while Highway 71 branches north and travels 154 kilometres (96 mi) to a junction with Highway 17 just east of Kenora. Highway 71 is part of the Trans-Canada Highway for its entire length.

The current routing of Highway 71 was created out of a route renumbering that took place on April 1, 1960, to extend Highway 11 from Thunder Bay to Rainy River. The portion of the highway that is concurrent with Highway 11 follows the Cloverleaf Trail, which was constructed by the end of 1880s and improved over the next several decades. The portion between Highway 11 and Highway 17 follows the Heenan Highway, which was constructed to connect the Rainy River region with Kenora and the remainder of Ontario's road network; before its opening the area was accessible only via the United States. Both highways were incorporated into the provincial highway system in 1937 following the merger of the Department of Highways (DHO) and the Department of Northern Development.