Last Updated: August 22 2026
When a municipality is sued, does the Municipal Act define “highway” to include signage and lighting, not just the road surface?
In Ontario, the Municipal Act, 2001 defines “highway” broadly as a common and public highway and includes structures forming part of it, and courts also treat a municipality’s “repair” duty as covering key safety infrastructure such as signage and illumination, not just the driving surface. In Azzeh v. Legendre, 2017 ONCA 385, the court reasoned that alleged failures to have adequate signs and lighting at an intersection fall within maintenance and repair concerns, consistent with the Supreme Court’s approach in Ontario (Minister of Highways) v. Jennings, 1966 CanLII 11 (SCC). If you are dealing with a roadway injury or municipal liability issue across Ontario, Olson Craig Legal can help you understand how these definitions may apply and what evidence to gather; call (226) 886-2001 to speak with a Lawyer & Paralegal team for clear next steps.
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Defining Roadways Per the Municipal Act, 2001
The interpretation of a roadway as a "highway" per the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, Chapter 25, is crucial for understanding municipal liability concerns. Laypeople will often confuse the term "highway" as meaning a major expressway such as the 400 series highways throughout Ontario; however, the term "highway", when used in law, refers to almost all roads, streets, cul-de-sacs, etc. Furthermore, the legal definition of a roadway involves much more than just the driving surface and includes other infrastructure elements including signage, lighting, among other things. Municipal Act, 2001, explicitly defines a highway as:
Note: Please contact Olson Craig Legal by phone at: (226) 886-2001 to discuss any specific questions that you may have.
Interpretation
1 (1) In this Act,
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"highway” means a common and public highway and includes any bridge, trestle, viaduct or other structure forming part of the highway and, except as otherwise provided, includes a portion of a highway;
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Furthermore, the definition of roadway involves much more than just consideration for the nature of the type of road whereas the roadway surface is just one aspect of the infrastructural elements that the law deems as consisting the overall roadway. Additional infrastructure elements include signs, lighting, etc. The interpretation of roadway as including infrastructural elements beyond just the roadway surface was addressed within Azzeh v. Legendre, 2017 ONCA 385, where it was said:
[55] I would respectfully disagree that Bayden's claim does not include maintenance or repair issues. In Ontario (Minister of Highways) v. Jennings, 1966 CanLII 11 (SCC), [1966] S.C.R. 532, [1966] S.C.J. No. 31, the Supreme Court held that a municipality's duty of repair includes erecting and maintaining proper signs. Bayden's statement of claim against the city includes claims of failure or neglect to have adequate signs and lighting at the intersection; failure to warn motorists of the lack of illumination; and a claim that the city "allowed the area to become an area of danger when they could have prevented same by the exercise of reasonable care and diligence, including modifications to the road and/or signs and/or lights". Just as the alleged failure to have proper signage is considered a repair issue, as it was in Jennings, so too it seems to me is a failure to have proper illumination. Thus, the claims against the city include claims for failing to keep the intersection in a reasonable state of repair.
Conclusion
In summary, interpreting a roadway as a "highway" under the Municipal Act, 2001, involves understanding the expanded responsibilities that municipalities hold, including maintenance of the signage and lighting that forms elements of the overall roadway infrastructure. Municipalities, in addition to duties to keep the roadway surface in a proper state of repair, are also required to maintain the other elemental aspects of the roadway including the signage and lighting, among other things.
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