MONTR\u00c9AL \u2014 Quebec trucking industry actors are praising the provincial government’s decision to tighten rules for Ontario truck drivers in an effort to curb dangerous driving. <\/p>\n
As of Thursday, truck drivers from Ontario with less than two years experience on the road who want to move to Quebec will have to pass a driving exam with Quebec’s auto insurance board to transfer their heavy vehicle licence.<\/p>\n
If they fail this exam twice, they will have to complete mandatory training to receive authorization to drive heavy trucks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis measure is a first safeguard to protect our businesses, our drivers and all road users,” said said Marc Cadieux, CEO of the Quebec trucking association. “Our industry\u2019s safety requirements must remain an absolute priority, without exception or compromise.”<\/p>\n
Jacques Ladouceur of the Teamsters Canada, a union representing tens of thousands of heavy vehicle drivers, also expressed support for the new measure. He added that trucking companies have a responsibility to conduct thorough checks of their drivers\u2019 abilities. <\/p>\n
\u201cA driving test is the least we can do,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you\u2019re letting someone drive your vehicle, you want to make sure they know how to. It isn\u2019t written on anyone\u2019s face that they have the capacity and competencies to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new measure follows a report in May by Ontario’s auditor general, who highlighted serious shortcomings in training and oversight in the province’s trucking sector and cited Quebec’s stricter rules as a model to follow.<\/p>\n
In a written response to Quebec\u2019s announcement, a spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Transportation said that \u201cOntario\u2019s testing and training system is rigorous and ensures drivers have the skills, experience, and knowledge needed to keep our roads safe.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cOur government has zero tolerance for bad actors in the trucking industry who put public safety at risk, and we are continuing to take action to protect\u202fOntario\u2019s roads, strengthen the trucking sector, and hold unsafe and non-compliant operators accountable,\u201d they added. <\/p>\n
According to Quebec auto insurance board spokesperson Simon-Pierre Poulin, it’s easier to get a driver\u2019s permit in Ontario and transfer it than to get one in Quebec. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a measure that won\u2019t completely change the road safety record, but it\u2019s something we can put into place right now and that can protect us against potential fraud if someone wants to take a shortcut through Ontario,\u201d he said in a phone interview.<\/p>\n
He says the measure announced Thursday will only be in place until Ontario addresses the concerns raised by their auditor general. <\/p>\n
\u201cIdeally, we won\u2019t keep this measure active for a long time, because Ontario will do its homework,\u201d he said, adding that he is confident that the Ontario government was taking the issue seriously. \u201cIn the meantime, our duty is to protect Quebec roads, and that\u2019s what we\u2019re going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Poulin, between 300 and 400 drivers transfer their trucking permit from Ontario to Quebec each year. It’s unclear how many of these have less than two years experience. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a signal we\u2019re sending also,\u201d he said. \u201cBut if we want to improve our road safety record, it\u2019s clear that this measure alone won\u2019t completely change it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alongside this new evaluation measure, the Quebec government also announced that a committee had been created to find ways to tighten road safety requirements for temporary foreign workers in the province\u2019s trucking industry. <\/p>\n
A transport department spokesperson said the committee, which is made up of ministry representatives and trucking industry actors, will aim to ensure drivers holding international permits develop safe driving practices in Quebec, especially in challenging winter conditions. <\/p>\n
The provincial government introduced other measures to increase trucking safety following two fatal accidents in Quebec involving heavy trucks in the summer of 2025, including a public coroner\u2019s inquiry, the arming of highway patrol officers, <\/b>and zero alcohol tolerance for new drivers of heavy vehicles. <\/p>\n
While trucking is by nature interprovincial, Poulin believes changes made in Quebec can encourage other provinces to impose more restrictive measures. He called on Ottawa to crack down on what he called a \u201cdrivers inc.\u201d scheme, in which companies employ drivers as independent contractors to avoid certain fees.<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 9, 2026.<\/p>\n
— With files from Pierre Saint-Arnaud<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MONTR\u00c9AL \u2014 Quebec trucking industry actors are praising the provincial government’s decision to tighten rules for Ontario truck drivers in an effort to curb dangerous driving. As of Thursday, truck drivers from Ontario with less than two years experience on the road who want to move to Quebec will have to pass a driving exam […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":522,"featured_media":6463,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"guid":"d4380716-16b9-43f1-a738-4a9cd35419e3","source":"The Canadian Press","byline":"Marieke Glorieux-Stryckman","published":"2026-07-09 10:34:01","updated":"2026-07-09 14:37:16","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[638,1481,1277,1292,1323],"tags":[],"region":[1280,1299,1300,1295],"class_list":["post-6462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-insurance","category-national","category-politics","category-transport","region-canada","region-ontario","region-ottawa","region-quebec"],"blocksy_meta":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/6462\/trucking-industry-actors-applaud-stricter-rules-for-ontario-drivers-in-quebec\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Trucking industry actors applaud stricter rules for Ontario drivers in Quebec","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/6462\/trucking-industry-actors-applaud-stricter-rules-for-ontario-drivers-in-quebec\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/6462\/trucking-industry-actors-applaud-stricter-rules-for-ontario-drivers-in-quebec\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/inwheels-165c66d0a0f91fc963a4ea1e1cb8cacbb80db42a8afbbc533246ebc2cda93bc5.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/inwheels-165c66d0a0f91fc963a4ea1e1cb8cacbb80db42a8afbbc533246ebc2cda93bc5.jpg"},"articleSection":"business","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Canadian Press"}],"creator":["The Canadian Press"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iNwheels","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2026-07-09T17:34:01Z","datePublished":"2026-07-09T17:34:01Z","dateModified":"2026-07-09T21:46:59Z"},"rendered":"