[cf100clunk]

Taking a look at our big map of Canada, we can see that the Canadian side of the Great Lakes waterway from Thunder Bay, Ontario on Lake Superior to-and-from the Gulf Of St. Lawrence where it meets the Atlantic Ocean is a massive shipping corridor with many ports, highways, and railways in between. The land area north and west of Thunder Bay represents a difficult challenge to road and rail construction due to its location upon the Canadian Shield of mostly igneous rock. Nevertheless, those were built there and are heavily used. The Trans-Canada Highway needs to be twinned from Thunder Bay north and west to the Manitoba border as it is a choke point for trucking, but the cost and difficulty has put off politicians for many decades. From the Manitoba border west through to British Columbia's seaports the railways and highways have undergone regular improvements and are a breeze to travel quickly upon. Yes, Canada is massive, but the long straightaways in many areas allow for sustained high speeds. There are plenty of jokes about setting the cruise control in eastern Manitoba and waking up half-way through Alberta.

Having said all that, the more optimal transportation routes and corridors in Canada have traditionally been North-South in several places due to the interconnectivity of Canada's economy with that of the U.S.A., which is undergoing tremendous strain these days.