'We are applying vigilant oversight of carriers and driver training schools through inspections, audits and targeted investigations'
Alberta has removed 20 unsafe commercial trucking carriers since October, including the company involved in a fatal crash in Brandon, Man., in May, Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen said in a statement.
"Our government is continuing to take tough enforcement action to improve safety across the trucking industry," Dreeshen said. "We are applying vigilant oversight of carriers and driver training schools through inspections, audits and targeted investigations."
The action targets an industry where regulatory gaps between provinces have let non-compliant carriers keep operating after being shut down elsewhere.
Carrier enforcement numbers
Since October, Alberta has issued 443 administrative penalties and removed 20 unsafe carriers, 13 of which were "chameleon carriers" — companies that avoid oversight by changing names, creating new entities, or relocating across jurisdictions, Dreeshen said.
Over the past year, six carriers have been removed from the International Registration Plan for misrepresenting their jurisdiction. In Alberta alone, 40 additional chameleon carriers have been blocked from obtaining safety fitness certificates through document review.
The province continues to work with federal and provincial partners, including through the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, which is developing a national database to close gaps in interprovincial data sharing.
Conquer Transportation and the Manitoba crash
Among the carriers targeted was Conquer Transportation Inc., which Alberta acted against in June. An investigation found "wilful and sustained non-compliance that posed serious and ongoing risk to the public," and determined the carrier was using chameleon practices to evade enforcement, Dreeshen said. Alberta issued $16,500 in penalties and downgraded the carrier's safety fitness rating to "unsatisfactory," effectively shutting down its operations immediately.
The Conquer Transportation truck was involved in a collision that killed Xiaoyun Zhang, 49, at the intersection of Highway 110 and Richmond Avenue in Brandon on May 27, near her workplace, CBC News reported.
Brijpal Panwar, the driver, was charged with dangerous driving causing death.
The company had registered in Alberta in 2022 under a slightly altered name after Manitoba pulled its safety permit in 2021.
Manitoba Transportation Minister Lisa Naylor told CBC her province has removed the safety fitness certificates of seven trucking companies in recent months but has no way to track whether they resume operations elsewhere. She hopes to discuss a national database with counterparts this fall.
Driver misclassification and training schools
Alberta is also targeting a scheme known as "Drivers Inc.," in which companies hire drivers as independent contractors to avoid payroll taxes and benefits, Dreeshen said. These arrangements often leave drivers without proper training or workplace protections.
A three-day commercial driver status check in May found 20 per cent of 81 drivers stopped were suspected of being misclassified, including several temporary foreign workers.
Alberta has also shut down five fraudulent Class 1 trucking schools and inspected 53 of 56 licensed schools — 95 per cent — since April 1, 2025. The province is working toward Red Seal certification for commercial drivers and a trade designation for the occupation.
