Quebec tightens rules for Ontario-trained truck drivers with less experience

Quebec announces two new measures to curb dangerous trucking, particularly with regard to inadequately trained Ontario drivers.

Starting this Thursday, Ontario truck drivers with less than two years of experience who wish to move to Quebec and exchange their Ontario licence for a Quebec Class 1 licence will be required to pass the driving exams administered by the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ).

If they fail this exam twice, they will then be required to complete mandatory training before obtaining their licence. This training recently became mandatory in Quebec for anyone wishing to obtain a Class 1 licence authorizing them to drive a heavy truck.

The decision was made following a report last May by Ontario’s Auditor General, Shelly Spence, which highlighted serious shortcomings in trucking training and oversight in that province. Spence had also cited Quebec’s stricter rules as a model to follow.

In addition, the issue of temporary workers will be addressed by a working group whose objective, according to the press release issued by the SAAQ, will be to “strengthen road safety requirements related to driving by temporary foreign workers” in order, it is said, “to increase the number of workers who adopt safe driving practices.”

These measures are in addition to others, such as the mandatory training introduced last December, which followed two fatal accidents involving heavy trucks. Tanya and Elliot Lalonde lost their lives on Aug. 27, 2025, on Highway 30 in Boucherville, when their car was struck by a heavy truck. Madeline J. Darby died in similar circumstances on July 15, 2025, in L’Ange-Gardien.

These two deaths prompted the Quebec government to ask the chief coroner to launch a public inquiry. The inquiry, whose hearings began at the end of last March and will continue through November, is presided over by Coroner Dave Kimpton.

‘A positive step’

André Durocher, director, CAA-Québec Foundation for Road Safety, said the new requirements which came into effect Thursday were a progress.

“I think when you look at what happened in the past two years, we saw there was a lot of tragedies involving heavy vehicles,” Durocher said. “It’s a good positive step forward in the right direction.”

Benoit Therrien, founder of Truck Stop Quebec, agreed with Durocher that the changes will help to make Quebec roads safer.

“It’s not like 10,000 people coming next month for that, but it’s a good beginning for us,” Therrien said.

More needs to be done

The new requirement for only addresses drivers with less than two years of experience who trained in Ontario and seek to settle in Quebec. Experts say beyond those changes more measures are needed.

“The changes that are proposed right now will prohibit these people from being established in Quebec if they don’t have the proper qualifications,” Durocher explained. “But with that being said, it will not prohibit an Ontario driver that is unqualified to make a delivery in Quebec.”

Pierre Yergeau, director of Formation Nord Sud, shares Durocher’s concern.

“Truckers who already have Ontario licenses will continue to come into Quebec to transport materials, they will continue to be on our roads, and Americans will also continue to be on our roads,” Yergeau said.

Stéphane Emond, owner of the driving school Centre de formation routier de Montréal, agreed that the province should go further in tightening its rules beyond the two-year limit for re-taking the exam.

“Even if (someone has a licence for) three, five years, it doesn’t mean that he’s been driving for three, five years,” Emond said. “He could have his driver’s license, nobody reevaluated the person.”

“Anybody that drives a truck that has not been evaluated properly is potential danger (it’s) as simple as that,” he added.

Emond would also like drivers who don’t pass the exam on their first attempt to take the full training rather than being given a second attempt.

“Having a truck and a driver that doesn’t have experience, this is where it’s dangerous because if the brakes are not working properly or if, obviously, he doesn’t know how to drive and he doesn’t know all the surrounding, that becomes a big issue for anybody on the road,” he continued. 

Highway patrolling needed

In addition to the licence and exam requirements the province has implemented additional measures in the past several months. In particular, Quebec announced last October that highway patrol officers will now be equipped with service weapons and, in February, began a redeployment of personnel, including the opening of a secure checkpoint in Sainte-Luce, in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, managed in collaboration with the Sûreté du Québec (SQ).

Highway patrol officers also conduct ad hoc operations in collaboration with the SQ, particularly near the border with Ontario.

Last June, a zero-tolerance policy for alcohol was implemented for drivers of heavy vehicles who are in the learner stage (probationary and learner’s permits), regardless of their age.

Emond said since the highway patrolling resumed there have been fewer trucks in poor conditions on the roads.

“They do a pretty good job at making sure that every truck is actually safe,” he said. “They need a weapon on them because  you just don’t know what the driver is and you don’t know if the driver has stolen goods in the back and they’re exposed to a lot of danger. I’m so happy that this finally came through.”

Beyond safety

There is also concern that the new heavy truck driving requirement does not address the “Driver Inc.” issue where companies incorrectly classify drivers as independent contractors to save money. 

“The drivers that operate under the driving system, not only are they exploited, but they’re also not paying taxes to PELPA, pay for our healthcare system, unemployment, insurance, etc.,” Durocher said. “It becomes unfair competitions for those companies who operate legitimately.”

Therrien said many such practices came out of Brampton, Ontario and more needs to be done to curb the practices.

“This is the centre of the problem,” Therrien said. “We need more secure drivers. We need more secure people. And we need less accidents on the road.”

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews