Tolls on bridges and highways are often presented as pragmatic tools of modern infrastructure finance. They provide a clear user-pay model, in which those who drive the road or cross the bridge contribute directly to its upkeep. Yet beneath the tidy arithmetic lies a deeper inequity. Tolling is inherently regressive, disproportionately affecting those least able to shoulder the burden, while leaving the wealthy relatively untouched. In the Canadian context, with a geography that frequently demands travel over water or long stretches of road, tolls create a system where access is rationed by income rather than need.

The Confederation Bridge linking Prince Edward Island to the mainland is an instructive example. Until this summer, Islanders and visitors alike were charged more than $50 per vehicle for the right to leave the province. For many families and small businesses, this was not a casual expense but a recurring cost that shaped economic opportunity and even the rhythm of daily life. Following recent political attention, the toll has been reduced to $20, but the principle remains unchanged. Crossing a bridge that connects one part of the country to another still requires a fee that weighs more heavily on working families than on tourists or affluent professionals. It is not simply a question of price but of fairness in access to mobility. 

Ontario’s Highway 407 tells a similar story, albeit in a different register. Originally built as a public project, the highway was privatized under a 99-year lease in the late 1990s. Since then, tolls have risen sharply, far outpacing inflation, with profits flowing to private shareholders rather than to the public purse. The highway’s users include commuters with little choice but to pay for faster access into Toronto. For higher-income households, the fee is a convenience. For those on modest wages, it can become a recurring penalty that extracts a significant portion of their income simply to get to work on time. The toll structure reinforces a two-tier mobility system, in which efficiency is a privilege purchased rather than a public good ensured. 

Beyond inequity, tolling is also an inefficient means of raising revenue. Collection and enforcement systems consume a substantial share of funds, with studies showing that administrative costs can swallow up to a third of toll revenues. The very act of charging per crossing introduces distortions, encouraging some drivers to divert onto untolled secondary routes, which increases congestion and emissions elsewhere. The costs, both financial and social, ripple outward in ways rarely accounted for in the fiscal logic of tolling schemes. 

If the objective is to ensure that those who benefit from road systems pay a fair share, there are more equitable instruments available. A progressive licensing system that levies higher annual fees on luxury or high-value vehicles would generate steady, predictable revenue without punishing those who rely on basic mobility. Such a measure would align responsibility with capacity to pay, ensuring that the wealthiest drivers contribute more to infrastructure upkeep. At the same time, it would leave ordinary workers and families free from the arbitrary impositions of per-trip tolls.

Canada’s transportation network binds communities, sustains commerce, and enables social life. It should not be carved into segments where access is contingent on one’s bank account. Tolls, whether on bridges or highways, undermine the principle of equitable mobility. A system of progressive licensing fees offers a better path, one that respects both fairness and fiscal responsibility. The country requires infrastructure policies that do not merely balance budgets, but also balance justice.

Sources
• Global News. “Confederation Bridge tolls lowered.” July 28, 2025. https://globalnews.ca/news/11314912/confederation-bridge-tolls-lowered
• Government of Canada. “Canada’s new government cuts transportation costs in Atlantic Canada.” July 28, 2025. https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2025/07/28/canada-s-new-government-cuts-transportation-costs-in-atlantic-canada
• Wikipedia. “Ontario Highway 407.” Accessed August 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontario_Highway_407
• Institute for Research on Poverty (University of Wisconsin). “Equity Implications of Tolling.” Working Paper 1378-10. https://www.irp.wisc.edu/publications/dps/pdfs/dp137810.pdf