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.
asserted
Shingler → set → 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.
asserted
driver → have → road
She may not have reached her destination without the help of a trucker who shepherded her through the treacherous conditions to safety.
uncertain
who → reach → safety
“It was safe harbour in a terrible storm,” Shingler said, recalling the unknown truck driver who helped her on the icy roadway.
asserted
who → say → 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.
uncertain
boyfriend → let → her
“The conditions were so bad and I had no reception, but the driver made me feel safe,” she said.
asserted
she → have → reception
“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.
asserted
Decades → feel → sector
Recent government audits, roadside inspections and police investigations have uncovered significant shortcomings in how trucks are maintained and drivers are licensed.
asserted
drivers → uncover → shortcomings
Industry representatives say limited commercial truck-driver training and regulatory non-compliance by some operators have raised questions about worker exploitation and public safety.
asserted
training → say → exploitation
“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.
asserted
Adams → see → committee
“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.”
asserted
carriers → see → 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.
asserted
that → reveal → edge
“We’re seeing two industries emerging,” said Jonathan Blackham, director of policy and public affairs with the Canadian Trucking Alliance.
asserted
Blackham → see → Alliance
“One makes investments in their people and equipment and another growing segment has little regard for labour practices, tax compliance, safety and training.”
asserted
segment → make → practices
The consequence for some truckers is a loss of training and support, employment misclassification, unpaid time and pressure to accept unsafe conditions, he said.
asserted
he → accept → conditions
For the public, the situation raises broader safety concerns.
asserted
situation → raise → concerns
“You can’t just throw the keys at somebody and say, ‘Head out in this blizzard for the first time,’” Blackham said.
asserted
Blackham → throw → time
HOW WE GOT HERE
asserted
WE → get → ?
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.
asserted
States → trace → 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.
uncertain
they → follow → what
“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.
uncertain
that → create → drivers
“It led to a cutthroat level of competition, a massive oversupply in the trucking industry,” he said.
asserted
he → lead → industry
“That drove rates trucking companies charged to shippers way down.”
asserted
companies → drive → shippers
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.
asserted
that → say → 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.
uncertain
he → create → driver
“As these firms started disappearing, it started a downward spiral and wages started stagnating and working conditions declined.”
asserted
conditions → start → spiral
FIRST-HAND TRUCKER EXPERIENCE
It’s an evolution Bryon Slade witnessed first hand.
asserted
Slade → ’ → ?
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.
asserted
He → enter → store
The 19-year-old spent years learning the ropes before getting behind the wheel of a big rig.
asserted
old → spend → 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.
asserted
He → serve → runs
It would take years before Slade was allowed to drive a tractor-trailer on a highway.
asserted
Slade → take → highway
“They wouldn’t turn you loose until they were satisfied you could do the job safely and properly,” he said.
uncertain
he → turn → job
“All that started to change when they deregulated the industry.”
asserted
they → start → industry
Slade retired in 2020 from a trucking industry he didn’t recognize.
asserted
he → retire → industry
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.”
asserted
It → say → behaviour
NEW DRIVERS
Industry representatives say stagnant wages, demanding working conditions and long stretches away from home have made trucking less attractive to younger workers.
asserted
trucking → say → workers
They say this has prompted employers to increasingly turn to temporary foreign workers to fill positions.
asserted
this → say → 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.
asserted
number → approve → 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.
asserted
who → allege → conditions
“They turn to vulnerable newcomers,” Monette said.
asserted
Monette → turn → newcomers
…and 28 more, not listed.
The Aporia
