are typically relatively nearby. As directional signs typically only contain the first one or two primary destinations, traffic needs to rely on the regional focal points to see the general bearing of the route. Primary destinations that are not on the designated road are shown in brackets as in the image below: North America Canada Canada lacks a coherently signed national highway system—even for the Trans-Canada Highway routes—and there is no mutual agreement for designating control cities across provincial boundaries. Control cities are particularly necessary for highways that do not follow strict linear directions. Ontario's Queen Elizabeth Way, for example, wraps around the western end of Lake Ontario, with segments proceeding both east and west at different points. Compass directions are not used and the control cities of Toronto and (for the opposite direction) Hamilton/Niagara/Fort Erie are the only bearings provided. Each of the 400-series highways uses control cities, but the common Ontario practice is to use smaller, closer urban centres as alternatives to out-of-province cities. For example, on Highway 401, Cornwall displaces Montreal as eastbound control city for most of the St. Lawrence valley. Windsor, London, Toronto, Kingston, Cornwall, and (briefly) Montreal are control cities while larger cities such as Oshawa and Mississauga are omitted due to their proximity to Toronto. The pattern of control city signage is sometimes inconsistent in Ontario. For example; while Barrie and Newmarket are signed as control cities for Highways 400 and 404 respectively, on exit signage along Highway 401, London and Kingston are not shown as control cities on signage along these highways as they approach Highway 401. Along Highway 400, the control cities of Toronto, Barrie, Parry Sound, and Sudbury are consistently signed along its southern section, but Barrie and Parry Sound are omitted in its northern section: eg; northbound, the control city changes to Sudbury even before the highway reaches Parry Sound, while Toronto is signed in two different sections southbound. The Ministère des Transports du Québec typically uses large urban centres as control cities, even if they are far away and/or outside the province. For example, signs in Montreal, Quebec, indicate control cities as far as Toronto and Ottawa on major Autoroutes 20 and 40 respectively. New York City and Vermont are used as control cities for Autoroutes 15 and 35 respectively. This may cause confusion to motorists unfamiliar with this convention, as the control cities change at the continuations