The Alberta government has cracked down on several trucking schools and companies in a push for safer roads.
What happened: On October 3, 2025, authorities ordered five truck driver training schools in Alberta to close. They also handed out 39 disciplinary letters, dished out over $100,000 in penalties, revoked 12 instructor licenses, and gave out four warning letters to driver examiners.
- Thirteen trucking companies have been banned from the roads due to unsafe equipment or poor safety records.
- Out of those, seven were "chameleon" carriers—companies changing names or moving operations around to dodge trucking rules.
More details: The government is also going after what's called the "Drivers Inc." scheme. That’s where trucking firms mark drivers as independent contractors instead of employees, dodging payroll taxes and benefits, and skipping some training and oversight.
A check on commercial driver classifications back in July 2025 found that about 20% of the 195 drivers stopped were suspected of being misclassified, including several temp foreign workers, according to Alberta.ca.
What they're saying: Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen said, "Our families’ safety won’t be put at risk by reckless operators who ignore the rules." He stressed that Alberta truckers are among the most trusted in Canada and shouldn’t be let down by a few bad actors.
Officials have not named the schools and companies being penalized, but work is underway to tighten oversight and introduce stricter standards for companies and training schools in the province.