CANADA — The Canadian trucking industry’s use of Temporary Foreign Worker permits has quadrupled over the past 14 years, with approvals for long-haul truck driver positions rising from 1,950 in 2010 to more than 8,200 in 2024 — a 320% increase — according to a new Teamsters Canada report released April 17. The union argues the numbers reveal an industry that has chosen to import labor rather than fix the underlying conditions driving domestic drivers away.
Trucking accounts for 35% of Canada’s trade by value. The industry has long cited chronic driver shortages as justification for its reliance on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. But Teamsters Canada President François Laporte said the data tells a different story. “For more than a decade, the industry told governments that there is a driver shortage in Canada. What the data actually shows is that Canadians are not lining up for jobs that don’t pay enough to live on and have seen labor standards eroded year after year,” Laporte said.
A Structural Shift in How the Industry Staffs Itself
The report, based on federal program data obtained through Access-to-Information requests, found that some companies received hundreds of TFW permits over multiple years — a pattern the union says indicates the program has become a permanent staffing strategy rather than a temporary fix. Foreign drivers now make up an estimated 14% of the long-haul workforce nationally. In some prairie provinces, that share exceeds 25%.
The union describes what it calls a “downward spiral” within the industry. Stagnant wages and difficult working conditions discourage Canadians from entering or staying in trucking. Rather than addressing those conditions, employers turn to the TFW program to fill vacancies — reinforcing the cycle. “Don’t blame immigrants,” Laporte said. “Blame the politicians for believing everything companies say, and for allowing the trucking industry to use migrant labor as a substitute for paying far more competitive wages.”
How the Industry Is Treating Foreign Workers
Because TFW permits are tied to a single employer, migrant drivers have little power to push back against poor treatment. The report documented cases of $5,000 recruitment fees charged to workers, unpaid overtime, and drivers sleeping in trucks because employer-provided accommodations failed inspections. Workers are often reluctant to file complaints out of fear of dismissal and deportation.
The findings echo concerns from international organizations. A 2024 report from the United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery described Canada’s TFW program as a “breeding ground” for modern slavery. Amnesty International raised similar concerns in 2025. The union also flagged ongoing misclassification of drivers under schemes such as Driver Inc. as a related concern.
What the Industry Says
Industry associations counter that without foreign labor, freight rates would spike and supply chains would suffer. They are urging the government to speed up recognition of overseas commercial driver licenses and expand the Rural Renewal immigration stream so migrant drivers can transition to permanent residence more quickly.
What Needs to Change
Teamsters Canada is calling on the federal government to reduce closed work permits in trucking, establish a meaningful wage floor, enforce pay rules covering all hours worked, and create clearer pathways to permanent residency for TFWs already in Canada. The union is also pushing for full implementation of Driver Inc. crackdown measures from Budget 2025 and is renewing its call for truck driving to be formally recognized as a skilled trade — a move it says would help raise industry standards across the board.
Ottawa’s 2026-2028 Regulatory Plan already proposes license-suspension authority for repeat TFW program violators and mandatory posting of compliance audits, signaling tighter oversight is coming for fleet operators who have relied heavily on the program.
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