Ontario Highway 12

Highway 12
Highway 12 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Ministry of Transportation of Ontario
Length	145.1 km[1] (90.2 mi)
Existed	January 14, 1922[2]–present
Major junctions
South end	Gatineau hydro corridor south of Brooklin
Major intersections	Highway 407 (South of Brooklin)  Highway 7 – Brooklin  Highway 7A  Highway 7 – Sunderland  Highway 48 (near Beaverton)  Highway 11 – Orillia  Highway 400 – Coldwater
West end	Highway 93 – Midland
Location
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Major cities	Orillia, Whitby
Towns	Blackwater, Sunderland, Waubaushene, Midland
Highway system
Ontario provincial highways Current Former 400-series
← Highway 11 → Highway 15
Former provincial highways Highway 14  →

King's Highway 12, commonly referred to as Highway 12 and historically known as the Whitby and Sturgeon Bay Road, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The highway connects the eastern end of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) with Kawartha Lakes (via Highway 7), Orillia and Midland before ending at Highway 93. It forms the Central Ontario Route of the Trans-Canada Highway system from north of Sunderland (Highway 7) to Coldwater (Highway 400). Highway 12 connects several small towns along its 146 km (91 mi) route, and bypasses a short distance from many others. It is signed as a north–south route between Whitby and Orillia, and as an east–west route from there to Midland. The rural portions of the highway feature a posted speed limit of 80 km/h (50 mph), often dropping to 50 km/h (31 mph) through built-up areas. The entire route is patrolled by the Ontario Provincial Police.

Highway 12 was first established in early 1922 between Highway 2 in Whitby and Lindsay. The section running east from Sunderland became part of Highway 7 before route numbering was introduced in 1925. Highway 12 was then routed through Beaverton and around the eastern and northern shores of Lake Simcoe to Orillia and later to Midland; Beaverton was bypassed during the 1960s. The section south of Highway 7 in Brooklin was transferred to municipal government in mid-1997 and is now designated as Durham Regional Highway 12 north of Regional Road 28 (Rossland Road). A majority of Highway 12 follows the historic Whitby and Sturgeon Bay Road, constructed in the mid-1800s to connect Whitby and Penetanguishene, both important naval ports of the time.