Canada's trucking industry at a crossroads as safety and compliance concerns grow

In the depths of winter more than 20 years ago, Kate Shingler set off on the Plaster Rock Highway, a remote two-lane route cutting east-west through the dense wilderness of central New Brunswick.

It was 2005 and so snowy and slippery that the young driver behind the wheel of a Toyota Tercel had to pull over on the side of the road. She may not have reached her destination without the help of a trucker who shepherded her through the treacherous conditions to safety.

"It was safe harbour in a terrible storm," Shingler said, recalling the unknown truck driver who helped her on the icy roadway.

He let her use his radio and carefully drove her in the cab of his 18-wheeler up the highway until her boyfriend — now her husband — could pick her up.

"The conditions were so bad and I had no reception, but the driver made me feel safe," she said. "I felt like truck drivers were the best drivers on the roads."

THE 21-YEAR TRANSITION 

Canada's trucking industry has changed in the years since Shingler made that wintry drive in 2005. 

Decades of deregulation, intensifying competition and uneven government oversight have reshaped the sector.

Recent government audits, roadside inspections and police investigations have uncovered significant shortcomings in how trucks are maintained and drivers are licensed.

Industry representatives say limited commercial truck-driver training and regulatory non-compliance by some operators have raised questions about worker exploitation and public safety. 

"I've seen a great decline in the quality and the treatment of drivers," Ken Adams, chairman of the Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario, told a House of Commons standing committee last October.  

"We've seen carriers buy or influence schools to fast-track them through bare-bones programs, undermine the provincial licensing standards and shift the training liability away from these carriers."

A review of the trucking industry by The Canadian Press reveals a sector increasingly divided between companies that invest in properly trained drivers and safe equipment, and those that cut corners to gain a competitive edge.

"We're seeing two industries emerging," said Jonathan Blackham, director of policy and public affairs with the Canadian Trucking Alliance. 

"One makes investments in their people and equipment and another growing segment has little regard for labour practices, tax compliance, safety and training."

The consequence for some truckers is a loss of training and support, employment misclassification, unpaid time and pressure to accept unsafe conditions, he said. 

For the public, the situation raises broader safety concerns.

"You can't just throw the keys at somebody and say, 'Head out in this blizzard for the first time,'" Blackham said. 

HOW WE GOT HERE

The transformation of Canada's trucking industry can be traced back to the '80s when the United States reduced its trucking regulations to boost competition and lower freight rates.

Canada followed with similar reforms in 1987, easing restrictions on who could operate a trucking company, where they could transport freight and in some cases, what they could charge. 

"It created a situation where anybody with a truck could start a trucking company," said Christopher Monette, director of public affairs for Teamsters Canada, a trade union that represents thousands of truck drivers.

"It led to a cutthroat level of competition, a massive oversupply in the trucking industry," he said. "That drove rates trucking companies charged to shippers way down."

Monette said older, established carriers — often the companies that paid workers top dollar and invested heavily in driver training, safety and maintenance — were slowly driven out of business. 

"These were the firms that created this image of truckers as knights of the highway, professional drivers you could drive behind in a snowstorm, truckers who might stop on the side of the road to help out a stranded driver," he said. 

"As these firms started disappearing, it started a downward spiral and wages started stagnating and working conditions declined."

FIRST-HAND TRUCKER EXPERIENCE

It's an evolution Bryon Slade witnessed first hand. 

He entered the trucking industry in 1976, following in the footsteps of his dad, a delivery driver for the now-defunct Canadian department store Simpsons. 

The 19-year-old spent years learning the ropes before getting behind the wheel of a big rig. 

He served as a dock worker loading and unloading freight, moved on to shunting trucks short distances around a yard and eventually drove small trucks on city runs.

It would take years before Slade was allowed to drive a tractor-trailer on a highway.

"They wouldn't turn you loose until they were satisfied you could do the job safely and properly," he said. "All that started to change when they deregulated the industry."

Slade retired in 2020 from a trucking industry he didn't recognize.

He said new drivers lacked training, trucks weren't properly maintained, and road safety had deteriorated with more distracted and dangerous driving behaviour. 

"It wasn't fun driving anymore." 

NEW DRIVERS

Industry representatives say stagnant wages, demanding working conditions and long stretches away from home have made trucking less attractive to younger workers. 

They say this has prompted employers to increasingly turn to temporary foreign workers to fill positions. 

The number of truck-driver positions approved through the federal temporary foreign worker program rose more than five-fold between 2018 and 2024 — to 8,101 from 1,584 — before dropping in 2025.

Labour advocates allege some trucking companies favour temporary foreign workers and recent immigrants who are more likely to accept lower pay and less likely to speak out against poor working conditions.

"They turn to vulnerable newcomers," Monette said. "They turn to people who might be afraid to speak out, to turn to a union, or to go to the labour board with safety concerns."

He said newcomers are also particularly vulnerable to being misclassified as independent contractors rather than employees.

Under the so-called Driver Inc. model, some trucking companies reduce labour costs by treating drivers as independent contractors. This avoids responsibilities such as employer payroll contributions and benefits they would otherwise be required to provide. 

While hiring legitimate independent contractors is legal, misclassifying employees as contractors to avoid employment obligations goes against federal labour law. 

"It reduces their workforce costs by 20 to 30 per cent compared with an employer that's following the rules," Monette said. 

THE TRAINING GAP 

Training standards and enforcement have also come under scrutiny.

A report by Ontario's auditor general in May found serious gaps in the training provided by some private career colleges.

The auditor general's office sent undercover students to six truck-driver training schools and found that two delivered just 59.5 and 81 hours of instruction, well below the required minimum of 103.5 hours.

Two students were also not taught essential driving manoeuvres, including left turns at major intersections, reverse parking and emergency stopping.

The report came after 24 criminal charges were laid against eight people in January after an Ontario Provincial Police investigation into alleged fraudulent commercial driving exams in Kingston, Ont., and the Toronto area.

Police said bribes were allegedly exchanged for favourable treatment during road tests.

Kim Richardson, senior adviser with the Professional Truck Training Alliance of Canada, said the problem isn't necessarily a lack of training standards but a failure to ensure schools follow them.

"The problem is compliance, regulation and enforcement," he said. 

Richardson said penalties are often too small to discourage repeat violations, allowing some companies to treat fines as a business expense.

"If the fines are just the cost of doing business, we're in trouble." 

THE FIX

Trucking experts say critical fixes to address the industry's problems include improving driver training, strengthening enforcement and recognizing truck driving as a skilled profession.

Some provinces are already taking steps in that direction. 

In September, Ontario announced plans to introduce a standardized curriculum for entry-level truck drivers, with additional instruction under consideration on subjects such as fatigue management and driving in northern and remote areas.

Quebec introduced mandatory training for new truck drivers in December 2025, while Alberta adopted an apprenticeship-style licensing system that requires additional training before drivers can operate outside the province.

Nova Scotia has committed to introducing mandatory entry-level training, while Manitoba has strengthened enforcement measures targeting unsafe carriers and companies attempting to evade regulatory oversight.

INDUSTRY RECOMMENDATIONS

Industry observers welcome these efforts but say more needs to be done.

"You don't need to invent new laws or pass new legislation to make an impact in this industry," Monette said. "Once you start enforcing the law as it's written, you can have a huge impact."

Blackham said if trucking companies are not held responsible for how they train and treat workers, the operators following the rules are at a disadvantage. 

"We want the trucking industry to compete on a level playing field," Blackham said. 

Ultimately, Richardson said restoring professionalism and rebuilding public confidence in the trucking industry will require recognizing commercial truck driving as a skilled trade. 

He said the training and qualifications need to reflect the responsibility of operating some of the largest vehicles on Canadian roads.

"Let's legitimize the profession of these highway pilots."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2026.

By Brett Bundale | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.