Highway 5 is a 543-kilometre (337 mi) north–south route in southern British Columbia, Canada. Highway 5 connects the southern Trans-Canada route (Highway 1) with the northern Trans-Canada/Yellowhead route (Highway 16), providing the shortest land connection between Vancouver, British Columbia, and Edmonton, Alberta. Despite the entire route being signed as part of the Yellowhead Highway, the portion of Highway 5 south of Kamloops is also known as the Coquihalla Highway, while the northern portion is known as the Southern Yellowhead Highway. The Coquihalla section was a toll road until 2008.

Although the Yellowhead Highway system is considered part of the Trans-Canada Highway, Highway 5 is not represented with a Trans-Canada marker. Regardless, Highway 5 is designated as a core route of Canada's National Highway System (NHS).

Between Hope and Kamloops, Highway 5 is known as the "Coquihalla Highway" (colloquially "the Coq", pronounced "coke"). It is a 186-kilometre (116 mi) freeway, varying between four and six lanes with a speed limit of 120 kilometres per hour (75 miles per hour) for most of its length. The Coquihalla approximately traces through the Cascade Mountains the route of the former Kettle Valley Railway, which existed between 1912 and 1958. It is so named because near Hope, it generally follows the Coquihalla River, for about 60 kilometres (37 mi), and uses the Coquihalla Pass. The pass is named Kwʼikwʼiya꞉la in the Halq̓eméylem language used by the Stó꞉lō, which means "stingy container" and refers specifically to a fishing rock near the mouth of what is now known as the Coquihalla River. According to Stó꞉lō oral history, the skw'exweq (water babies, underwater people) who inhabit a pool close to the rock would swim out and pull the salmon off the spears, allowing only certain fisherman to catch the salmon." Many place names along the route use names of characters from works by William Shakespeare that originated during the construction of the nearby Kettle Valley Railway.

Highway 5 begins south at the junction with the Crowsnest Highway (Highway 3) at uninhabited Othello, seven kilometres (4.3 mi) east of Hope (named after a nearby siding on the Kettle Valley Railway, which used many Shakespearean names). Exit numbers on the Coquihalla are a continuation of those on Highway 1 west of Hope, as it is an extension of the freeway that starts in Horseshoe Bay. 35 kilometres (22 mi) north of Othello, after passing through five interchanges, Highway 5 reaches the landmark Great Bear snow shed. The location of the former toll booth is thirteen kilometres (8.1 mi) north of the snow shed, passing through another interchange and the 1,244-metre (4,081 ft) Coquihalla Pass. Highway 5 is the only highway in British Columbia to have had tolls; a typical passenger vehicle toll was $10. Now free to drive, at the Coquihalla Lakes junction, the highway crosses from the Fraser Valley Regional District into the Thompson-Nicola Regional District. 61 kilometres (38 mi) and five interchanges north of the former toll plaza. The Coquihalla Highway then enters the city of Merritt, which is accessed by two interchanges, both of which also provide access to Highway 5A, Highway 97C, and Highway 8.

The section of highway, between Merritt and Kamloops, is 72 kilometres (45 mi) long. After exiting Merritt, the highway climbs up a long, steep hill toward another high point, the Surrey Lake Summit. It passes through three interchanges along this section. A diamond interchange at Exit 336 provides an important turnoff to Logan Lake on Highway 97D and Lac le Jeune. Shortly after the junction, the highway descends into the city of Kamloops, where it meets Highways 1 and 97 at a trumpet interchange; it marks the northern terminus of the "Coquihalla Highway" designation.

Highway 5 continues east for twelve kilometres (7.5 mi), concurrently with Highways 1 and 97, through Kamloops. This stretch of road, which carries 97 South and 5 North on the same lanes (and vice versa), is the only wrong-way concurrency in British Columbia. This section is mostly an urban freeway with a speed limit of 100 km/h (62 mph). It passes through five interchanges, connecting to the core area of Kamloops, before the concurrency splits and Highway 5 exits off the road to the north in a complex five-way interchange.

After separating from Highways 1 and 97, Highway 5 proceeds north for approximately 19 kilometres (12 mi). For most of this section, it is a four-lane divided highway with several signalized intersections and a speed limit of 80 km/h (50 mph). After leaving the concurrency it immediately crosses the South Thompson River and enters a First Nations Reserve, temporarily leaving Kamloops city limits. A particularly important intersection is the signal lights at Halston Drive, which is one of only two access points to the north half of Kamloops. Highway 5 re-enters the city at the Rayleigh community, where it passes two busy at-grade, but not signalized intersections; traffic volumes steadily decrease as it gets farther from the core area of Kamloops. Heffley Creek indicates the northern boundary of Kamloops; the exit to Sun Peaks resort is at the same turnoff. Traffic volumes thin out at that exit, and shortly afterward Highway 5 narrows to a two-lane undivided road.

The "Southern Yellowhead Highway" is the northern section of Highway 5. This section is 314 kilometres (195 mi) long. It is largely a two-lane, undivided highway, with some rare three- or four-lane sections for passing, although work has been constantly underway (especially in the Heffley Creek–Clearwater section) to create more passing opportunities. The speed limit is 100 km/h (62 mph) for the most part except in towns, where it can drop as low as 50 km/h (31 mph). Traffic volume on this section of highway is low compared to the Coquihalla and Kamloops sections of Highway 5. In its whole length there is only one traffic signal, which is in the town of Valemount. Services for drivers are provided in the major towns.