If you’re wondering if getting your local “Worst Roads” nominated can make a difference in your community, look no further than the Township of Assiginack, on Manitoulan Island. With a population of just over 1,000 people, it was hard for the township to get government attention for infrastructure needs.

"It's really, really hard to get help for roads, Brenda Reid, the mayor of the Township of Assiginack, told CBC News.

“It's just something that the provincial government has decided that municipalities have to take care of their own roads.”

In 2006, Cardwell Street, which runs between Manitowaning and Wikwemikong, was named to Ontario's Top 10 Worst Roads. The publicity helped the township get the necessary funding to repair Cardwell Street.

As the CBC article points out, previous winners like Assignack and Algonquin Boulevard in Timmins, one of Ontario's Top 10 Worst Roads of 2015, prove that it’s not just big southern cities that get noticed.

Teresa Di Felice, assistant vice-president of government and community relations for CAA, cautions Ontarians not to settle for poor infrastructure just because they might be used to it.

"I think sometimes there is a difference between municipalities and what people accept as the norm, versus what they want to have attention paid to," she told CBC News.

To nominate your Worst Roads for 2025, click here.

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