TORONTO — The Ontario government has released a plan to accelerate the completion of construction on the all-seasons roads to the Ring of Fire five years ahead of schedule.
Construction is now planned to start in June with roads beginning to open in November 2030, a release notes.
The following projects fall under the plan:
- The Webequie Supply Road is scheduled to start construction in June 2026 and open by November 2030, four years ahead of schedule.
- The Marten Falls Community Access Road is scheduled to start construction in August 2026 and open by November 2031, four years ahead of schedule.
- Upgrades to the Anaconda and Painter Lake Roads are scheduled to open by November 2030, two years ahead of schedule.
- The Northern Road Link is scheduled to start construction in spring 2028 and open by November 2031, five years ahead of schedule.
These four road segments will connect First Nations to the provincial highway network, improve access to goods and services and provide reliable access to the area that is critical to the development of the Ring of Fire, the release adds.
Ontario’s region is located approximately 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay and covers about 8,000 square kilometres. It “represents enormous economic potential due to its vast supply of critical minerals,” the province notes.
Next steps include the province making investments for early construction works, detailed design and contract administration and a construction delivery model.
The government also announced it has signed new economic partnerships with Marten Falls First Nation and Webequie First Nation, which will help pave the way for advanced exploration activities.
However, while the province is moving at an accelerated pace on these projects, it is urging the federal government to match or exceed its $1 billion investment in Ring of Fire infrastructure and enable further acceleration of construction on the roads by providing a streamlined permit and authorized approval approach.
This announcement comes after the province announced in September 2025 an investment of , a road infrastructure project in Greenstone that will be the gateway to the Ring of Fire.
