I feel I need to clarify some of mg's statements about the Trans Canada Highway. Having driven the 7000+ km from one end of the country to the other on the Trans Canada Highway (with a cat in the back seat for the better part of it) I feel I know a little more of it than just "the 401" (which refers to the southern-Ontario section of the highway.
The Trans Canada Highway takes many numbers/names throughout its length, first of all. From the Victoria to the Ontario border it's labelled (and known as) Highway #1. Once you get into Ontario it's Highway 17. You wouldn't drive down to Toronto if you actually wanted to get anywhere in a sensible amount of time - it's actually quite a detour to go that far south. The sensible route goes Sault Ste. Marie - Ottawa - Montreal and onward. I don't remember the designation in Quebec and the Maritimes but it has no number at all here in Newfoundland! It's just called "the TCH".
Anyway, name or no name, it's not as great as it sounds. Substantial portions of it are a single lane in each direction, no median between the lanes. The traffic is very heavy, since it is the main route across the country, and you're often trapped in heavy traffic behind semi-trailers limited to 90 km/h, waiting for the slightest opportunity to pass. Through the Rockies the driving is both scary and breathtaking at the same time. There are still about 400-500 km of undivided highway in Saskatchewan/Manitoba, and a whole bunch of the section in Ontario is undivided. Quebecers drive like maniacs on their (thankfully divided and well-maintained) portion of the highway. Portions of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are still two-lane, undivided, and the better part of the 1000 km of Newfoundland Trans-Canada highway is also two-lane, undivided. And in Newfoundland there's the added bonus of having to watch out for the island's 200,000 moose, lest one should take the roof of your car (and your head) off by wandering out onto the road at the wrong time.
You really can't appreciate the astounding size of this country unless you've driven it end-to-end. It's ridiculous.
