Like any other undertaking in a country as large and diverse as Canada, a national transportation strategy must incorporate national, provincial and territorial perspectives. It must:  identify a strategic transportation network on the national level and link rural, remote, and northern communities and industries to that network;
enable the movement of people and goods in densely populated and high volume provinces and territories, as well as in rural and remote areas; respect jurisdictions' priorities and be sufficiently flexible to respond to the needs of the provinces and territories; enable all provinces and territories to increase their contribution to Canada's export-led growth; strengthen partnerships involving governments; and factor in the significant role played by the private sector. An integrated, multi-modal, national network includes the most strategic elements of Canada's transportation system, now and in the future. The table in Appendix 1 outlines criteria for identifying the strategic components of a multi-modal national transportation system in Canada. Maps 1-6 illustrate this network. | 