Alberta has issued more than 440 administrative penalties and removed 20 commercial carriers from the province’s roads since October as the government increases enforcement of trucking companies, driver training schools and commercial drivers.

Transportation and Economic Corridors Minister Devin Dreeshen said Aug. 6 the province is using inspections, audits and targeted investigations to identify unsafe carriers and problems within the commercial trucking industry.

“Since October, we’ve issued 443 administrative penalties and eliminated 20 unsafe carriers from Alberta’s roads, 13 of which were ‘chameleon carriers’ — companies that try to avoid regulatory oversight by changing names, creating new entities or relocating operations across jurisdictions,” Dreeshen said.

Six carriers have also been removed from the International Registration Plan during the past year for misrepresenting their jurisdiction, according to the province.

The latest figures represent an increase from Alberta’s enforcement campaign announced last fall, when the province reported removing 13 commercial carriers from the road, including seven identified as chameleon carriers.

Dreeshen said Alberta has prevented another 40 suspected chameleon carriers from obtaining safety fitness certificates through reviews of company documentation.

The term describes trucking businesses that attempt to leave a poor safety or enforcement history behind by closing, changing ownership or company names or establishing another operation in a different jurisdiction.

The province says gaps in information sharing between jurisdictions can make those companies difficult to identify.

The Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators is working on a national database intended to improve information sharing and make it more difficult for problem carriers to move between provinces without their history following them.

One of Alberta’s recent enforcement actions involved Conquer Transportation Inc.

Dreeshen said the province took action against the company in June following a fatal collision in Manitoba. An Alberta investigation subsequently identified what the government described as wilful and sustained non-compliance as well as chameleon carrier practices.

The company received $16,500 in administrative penalties and had its Safety Fitness Rating downgraded to Unsatisfactory, effectively preventing it from continuing to operate.

Reporting following the Manitoba collision indicated Conquer Transportation Inc. had links to a company previously operating in Manitoba before resurfacing under a different corporate structure in Alberta.

The provincial crackdown comes as serious and fatal collisions involving commercial trucks continue to draw public attention in Alberta.

On April 21, 2026, Westlock RCMP responded to a head-on collision between a semi-truck and an SUV on Highway 44 north of Highway 651.

The 36-year-old Westlock County man driving the SUV was ejected and pronounced dead at the scene. The 53-year-old semi driver was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. RCMP said the investigation remained ongoing.

Several other serious collisions involving semi-trucks occurred during 2025.

On Sept. 23, Brooks RCMP responded to a multi-vehicle collision at Highway 1 and Highway 36. Police said a northbound semi on Highway 36 entered the intersection and collided with a westbound Chevrolet Equinox before striking three additional vehicles.

The 62-year-old Calgary man driving the Equinox was taken to hospital where he later died. The semi driver suffered minor injuries.

Six days earlier, on Sept. 17, Airdrie Rural RCMP responded to a fatal two-vehicle collision at Highway 566 and Highway 9 near Kathryn involving a Dodge Ram pickup and a southbound semi-truck. The pickup caught fire following the collision. The semi driver was not injured.

In another incident near Mundare on July 23, 2025, a pickup and semi collided at Highway 16 and Highway 855. The 17-year-old Mundare girl driving the pickup was pronounced dead at the scene while the semi driver suffered minor injuries.

The Mundare collision later contributed to renewed calls for safety improvements at the Highway 16 and Highway 855 intersection. The province has since examined measures including lighting, signage, access management and longer-term design changes.

Provost RCMP have also responded to incidents involving commercial trucks, including a semi rollover on Range Road 14 between Township Roads 382 and 384 that required the road to be closed while emergency crews cleared the scene.

The circumstances of each collision differ and RCMP have not suggested the crashes collectively resulted from inadequate commercial driver training or unsafe carriers. However, the number and severity of incidents involving large commercial vehicles continue to place trucking safety under public attention.

Alberta is also focusing enforcement on what is commonly called the “Drivers Inc.” model.

Under the arrangement, companies classify drivers as independent contractors rather than employees, which can allow employers to avoid payroll taxes and employment benefits.

The province says improperly classified drivers can also receive less training and oversight.

During a three-day commercial driver status check in May, 20 per cent of the 81 drivers stopped were suspected of being misclassified, Dreeshen said. Several were temporary foreign workers.

The issue is not new. During a similar enforcement operation in July 2025, the province said 20 per cent of 195 drivers checked were suspected of being misclassified.

Driver training schools have also been targeted.

Dreeshen said five fraudulent Class 1 training schools have now been shut down. Since April 1, 2025, provincial inspectors have visited 53 of Alberta’s 56 licensed Class 1 driver training schools, representing about 95 per cent of the industry.

Alberta is also working with other provinces toward Red Seal certification for commercial drivers and has begun work toward recognizing commercial driving as a designated trade.

The province has said stronger occupational standards could increase the amount and consistency of training required before drivers enter the commercial trucking industry. Earlier proposals contemplated significantly more in-truck training than the national mandatory entry-level training minimum.

Dreeshen said enforcement will continue against carriers, training schools and drivers that fail to meet provincial standards.

“We will continue to work with industry partners to build on this progress and ensure that only safe, qualified drivers, carriers and training schools operate in the province’s trucking sector,” he said.