By: Jag Dhatt
Ontario is moving ahead with a new standardized entry-level training program for commercial truck drivers following concerns raised by the province’s Auditor General about inconsistent training and inadequate oversight at some truck-driving schools.
Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said the new curriculum is being developed in response to recommendations from Auditor General Shelley Spence’s special report examining Ontario’s commercial driver training and licensing system.
“The new curriculum would require more than 103 hours of training before a driver can obtain a Class A licence,” Sarkaria said. Additional subjects being considered include fatigue management, northern, rural and remote driving, human trafficking awareness and mandatory air brake training. The new curriculum is expected to come into effect next year.
The move follows an audit that found serious inconsistencies in the way mandatory entry-level training was being delivered. Ontario currently requires Class A applicants to complete at least 103.5 hours of training before taking the road test, but the Auditor General found that some private career colleges were not providing all of the required training or teaching important driving skills.
As part of the audit, undercover investigators visited two private career colleges offering commercial driver training. Both fell short of the required 103.5 hours, while some students were not taught fundamental skills such as making left turns at major intersections, emergency stopping and reverse parking.
The audit also found that the province had not inspected 54 of the 216 career colleges offering the training. Spence said the lack of oversight created a risk that unqualified drivers could end up operating commercial vehicles on Ontario roads.
Sarkaria said the standardized curriculum is intended to address those inconsistencies by ensuring training providers across the province follow the same requirements.
“What this will do is it will standardize each curriculum, and it will standardize each school to training the exact same way,” he said. “This allows us to have a higher standard across the province.”
The announcement has received support from organizations representing truck-driving schools and the trucking industry. Ken Adams, chairman of the Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario, said consistent training is essential to improving road safety.
“Quality training saves lives,” Adams said. “Standardized curriculum is an important step toward ensuring every new commercial driver receives the knowledge, skills, and professionalism necessary to operate safely on Ontario’s roads.”
Ontario is also introducing several other measures aimed at improving commercial driver safety. Beginning January 1, 2027, drivers will face a new six-month experience requirement before attempting a Class A road test. The province has also added transportation enforcement officers, increased oversight of commercial driver testing and training schools, and announced additional enforcement measures in northern Ontario.
Northern communities and trucking organizations have long called for stronger commercial driver training, particularly along major northern transportation corridors.
The province says it will work with trucking industry representatives, career colleges and other experts to develop the final curriculum. The effectiveness of the changes, however, will depend not only on what is included in the new curriculum, but also on how consistently training providers are monitored and the rules are enforced.
Ontario expects implementation of the new standardized training requirements to begin in 2027.
