Three surfaces, one climate that punishes two of them.

Poured concrete — the one to think hardest about

Concrete is strong in compression and weak in tension, and it is a single continuous slab. When the ground beneath it moves — which on GTA clay it does, every winter — the slab cannot flex. It cracks.

Control joints are cut to decide where those cracks happen, which manages appearance but does not prevent movement.

Concrete is also the most vulnerable of the three to de-icing salt, which causes surface scaling that cannot be repaired invisibly.

And repairs are effectively impossible to blend. A patched concrete driveway looks patched permanently. It is expensive, it is beautiful when new, and in this climate it carries the most risk.

Asphalt — flexible and forgiving

Asphalt is a flexible pavement. It accommodates small amounts of ground movement without cracking, which suits clay subgrade and freeze-thaw well.

It is the cheapest of the three at $4 to $7 per square foot, it installs in one to three days, and it is easy and inexpensive to maintain.

The trade-offs: it needs sealing every three to four years, it fades from black to grey, and every repair leaves a visible seam.

Interlock — many small units instead of one big one

Interlock handles ground movement best of the three because it is not a continuous surface. Individual pavers can move fractionally without anything cracking, and the joints absorb it.

It resists salt scaling far better than poured concrete, and repairs are genuinely invisible because the original pavers get reused.

The trade-offs: it costs $16 to $25 per square foot, it takes five to eight days, and joint sand needs redoing every five to ten years.

The summary

Asphalt if budget matters most, or you may move within a decade.

Interlock if you are staying long term, want invisible repairs, or need permeable paving for compliance.

Concrete if you specifically want that look and accept that it will crack somewhere and that repairs will be visible.

And the rule that outranks all three: any of them on a properly built base outperforms any of them on a bad one.