Question Period Note: WAGE THEFT AND MISCLASSIFICATION OF EMPLOYEES IN THE TRUCKING INDUSTRY

A recent Globe and Mail report alleges widespread wage theft and worker misclassification in Canada’s trucking industry, with about 70% of long‑haul drivers reporting unpaid wages, illegal deductions, and safety risks linked to weak enforcement and penalties.The road transportation industry has more than 8,000 federally regulated employers, and 260,000 employees. According to Labour Force Survey data, there are approximately 31,800 incorporated self-employed truck drivers without employees in the federally regulated road transportation industry.

Wage theft and worker misclassification are illegal, and our government will not tolerate employers who exploit truck drivers.

Preventing misclassification—including in the road transportation sector—remains a top priority, as it harms workers, creates unfair competition, and undermines confidence in the labour market.

A dedicated team of inspectors is conducting outreach, inspections, and enforcement, with 1,490 inspections and education sessions completed to date to address non-compliance including enforcement actions like Administrative Monetary Penalties (AMPs).

Our Government is taking coordinated action with federal and provincial partners—including at weigh stations and ports—and has strengthened information sharing with the Canada Revenue Agency and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

Building on commitments made in the 2025 Fall Economic Statement and reinforced in Budget 2025, the Government of Canada is moving forward with measures to increase penalties for wage theft and expand the public naming of non-compliant federally regulated employers.

IF PRESSED: Monetary Complaints and Wage Recovery in Road Transportation

The Canada Labour Code has been strengthened to explicitly prohibit misclassification and give enforcement officials stronger tools.

Approximately 50% of monetary complaints received by the Labour Program originate from the road transport sector.

The number of complaints received is on the rise and inspectors are working diligently to address these allegations of non-compliance as quickly as possible.

Between April 1, 2024, and February 9, 2026, the Labour Program issued over 983 payment orders, totalling more than $5.9 million in unpaid wages and related amounts.

IF PRESSED: Government Investments

In the 2022 Fall Economic Statement, the Government invested $26.3 million over five years to address worker misclassification in federally regulated trucking.

A dedicated inspection team conducts outreach, education, inspections, and enforcement.

Collaboration with provinces and federal partners has expanded through joint operations at weigh stations and ports, with participation from the Canada Revenue Agency and Workers’ Compensation Boards.

Information‑sharing agreements with the CRA and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program further strengthen targeted, coordinated enforcement.

IF PRESSED: Government Enforcement related to Misclassification

The Code is clear: worker misclassification is illegal. All workers are presumed to be employees unless proven otherwise. This puts responsibility on employers while preserving the status of true independent contractors.

Relating to misclassification, over the past two years, the Government has:

Inspected more than 890 employers

Delivered over 590 outreach and education sessions

Issued penalties and other enforcement measures to employers who failed to follow the Canada Labour Code

As of February 9, 2026, enforcement actions related to misclassification include:

30 Administrative Monetary Penalties

38 Compliance Orders

Public naming of 3 non‑compliant employers

In addition, a large, coordinated inspection blitz brought together Labour Standards and Health and Safety Inspectors in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area in Ontario from December 1-5, 2025.

The blitz resulted in 188 misclassification inspections and 165 health and safety inspection and inspectors currently addressing and correcting the violations found.

Due to the success of the December blitz, planning has begun for a similar operation in the Montreal area for Spring 2026.

The road transportation industry has more than 8,000 federally regulated employers and 260,000 employees. Precise national statistics are limited. However, according to Labour Force Survey data, there are approximately 31,800 incorporated self-employed truck drivers without employees in the federally regulated road transportation industry.

Stakeholders, notably the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA), identify the incorporated driver model as a significant concern. Under this model, drivers incorporate themselves and offer their driving services as an independent contractor to road transport carriers. These drivers typically operate the transport carriers’ vehicles and exercise little to no control over their work.

By not treating these workers as employees, employers are not providing them with entitlements under the Canada Labour Code (Code), such as overtime pay, annual vacations, general holidays, or rights on termination of employment. These workers may also not receive proper occupational health and safety protections, such as critical safety training and the right to refuse dangerous work, which can also impact the safety of Canadian road networks. Furthermore, misclassification disproportionately affects workers that are vulnerable and from marginalized groups.

As of January 1, 2021, new provisions (section 167.1) of the Code prevent employers from intentionally misclassifying employees to deprive them of their labour standards.

During 2021 and 2022, the Labour Program ran a pilot project to assess understanding of misclassification, promote the new measures and inspect workplaces. The pilot uncovered high levels of non-compliance (60%) in the Ontario Region.

In the 2022 Fall Economic Statement, the Government announced $26.3 million over five years, starting in 2023-2024 for the Labour Program to take stronger, proactive action against non-compliant employers in the road transportation industry who misclassify employees.

Starting in 2023, a dedicated team of inspectors is active in the field, educating, building awareness, and conducting inspections on the issue of misclassification while moving along the compliance continuum process to enforce the provisions of the Code.

On June 20, 2024, further amendments to the Code expanded protections for misclassification to include industrial relations (Part I) and occupational health and safety (Part II). The changes also strengthened prohibitions against misclassification and added a presumption that all workers, including gig workers, are employees unless proven otherwise. If a worker’s employee status is contested, the burden of proof is on the employer to prove they are not an employee.

In March 2025, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and Labour Program, ESDC signed an Information Sharing Arrangement (ISA) to facilitate inspections and enforcement in the federally regulated road transportation sector, as directed in Budget 2024. Since this time, the Labour Program has been sending information to CRA about employers determined or alleged to be misclassifying employees.

Following an announcement in Budget 2025, amendments to the Income Tax Act and the Excise Tax Act were introduced under the Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1 that will allow the CRA to share information with the ESDC for the purpose of addressing worker misclassification. CRA and the Labour Program will revise the current ISA, which allows Labour Program to share information with CRA, to enable bilateral information sharing once the amendments come into force.

In October 2025, the Labour Program and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program Branch (TFWPB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to share data and address non-compliance while better targeting enforcement activities, particularly in the trucking industry. Under this agreement, the Labour Program and the TFWPB will share information about complaints and investigations, particularly related to employers who are found to have violated relevant legislation and regulations and/or who have a high number of pending complaints.

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