Red Seal designation could transform Canada’s trucking industry and attract next generation of drivers

Trucking is and always has been a significant part of the Canadian supply chain. According to Transport Canada, 46 per cent of freight is moved by truck, followed by 21 per cent marine, 11.6 per cent by air, 10.5 per cent rail and 10.8 per cent by alternative modes.

Because of its importance to the overall supply chain across North America, efforts to improve the trucking industry from a safety, sustainability, and efficiency standpoint are always front of mind. As is attracting the next generation of trucking and logistics professionals to continue these efforts.

Brad Beerling is the vice-chair of the board for the Alberta Motor Transport Association and logistics manager with Meridian Manufacturing, and he believes one of the most important steps the industry could take to attract more workers is to designate truck driving as a trade.

Beerling said there is support for driver training, particularly for offering truck drivers Red Seal designation.

“The Alberta government is providing a lot of support in that way as well,” he said during a CITT – Canada’s Logistics Association event in Lethbridge. “They’ve actually changed the way people get their driver’s license, moved away from the MELT program and opening a pathway, which will eventually lead its way into a Red Seal designation for drivers in 2028.”

Beerling said one of the benefits of establishing truck driving with a Red Seal designation is that training would be elevated, which in turn would result in safer roads and a more efficient supply chain.

He also believes a Red Seal designation would help attract new workers.

“Young people don’t aspire to get into the logistics business,” said Beerling. “Not many kids today say, ‘I want to grow up and be a truck driver.’ And to take it even further, a lot of you folks—you guys have kids—and the majority of parents will say, ‘Why would I want my kid to drive a truck? It’s not a recognized trade. It’s not skilled labour.’”

A Red Seal designation, Beerling said, would elevate the industry—an industry he feels can offer a high-quality life.

“When we look at logistics, trucking is a big supporter of [the industry],” he said. “We will need truck drivers; there’s no doubt about it, there’s going to be a need. And it’s time to elevate it and make it a Red Seal trade.”

Attracting more women into the trucking and logistics sector has also been high on the industry’s priority list for several years—another area where Red Seal designation could entice greater interest.

Marcel Pouliot, western business manager with the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada (PMTC), said there was a 100 per cent increase in the number of female drivers in the U.S. over the last five years, and the same thing is happening in Canada.

“We talk about supply chains—it’s not just targeting trucking—there are lots of places in supply chains for a whole bunch of different skills, and women are attracted to it,” he said.

“There are lots of places in supply chains for a whole bunch of different skills, and women are attracted to it.”

– Marcel Pouliot, western business manager, PMTC

Some of the misconceptions, or historical impediments, that have kept some women away from the industry are no longer the case. As Pouliot pointed out, truck drivers don’t have to be the prototypical strong male who needs to be shifting gears and loading and unloading heavy freight.

“Ninety-three per cent of all the trucks being bought by PMTC members have automated transmissions, so they’re not shifting. And trucks today are designed for anyone from a size of five foot three to six foot nine. So physical strength, your size, is absolutely no longer required,” he said. “The supply chain does a lot more work today. There are a lot more jobs where you just drive the truck as opposed to driving somewhere and working hard to unload it. So that is one of the things that our members are trying to do—to separate the driving skill side of things from the manual labour side.”

Misclassification of drivers has become a growing concern for many in the supply chain, from trucking companies and associations to shippers and retailers.

Whether it’s alternative hiring practices or the infamous Driver Inc. model, the misclassification issue is basically when a driver is hired as an independent contractor, where the carrier does not deduct the proper taxes or provide any kind of training or safety measures for the driver.

“The carrier that’s been paying that person as a contractor is typically not paying the employer’s portion of the taxes on that, or the CPP, because they paid them as a contractor,” explained Beerling. “They’ve actually been able to save some money because the individual is paying the money themselves. They’re probably saving about 30 per cent.”

Because the carrier is saving money by paying the driver as an independent contractor, they are able to drive down the freight rates.

“It’s a huge problem this industry has. It’s always been there, but it’s getting worse now,” said Beerling. “What’s even more alarming is that a lot of immigrant drivers are being taken advantage of because they’re being hired and they’re told they have to form a numbered company to work for these organizations. And they don’t have the proper coverage.”

Pouliot said the PMTC endorses the government establishing a North American—or at minimum Canadian-wide—federal carrier evaluation rating system, and moving away from provinces each doing it in their own way.

Nothing new to see here

Across North America, there have been efforts to get back to the enforcement of rules and regulations in the trucking sector. In the U.S., for example, many believe the English proficiency regulation, which garnered much attention last year, is a new rule targeting immigrant drivers. But, as Pouliot pointed out, the U.S. has required commercial drivers to have a certain level of English proficiency since the 1960s, and over the years, enforcement had dwindled.

“It was really a safety regulation,” Pouliot said of the implementation of the law. “Because at that time there were carriers from Mexico, and there were a lot of migrants into the United States. [The U.S.] had stopped looking at that, and more recently, they have put forth enforcement and application of it. It’s not a new law, it’s just reinforcing the application of that law.”

Beerling echoed that sentiment, adding that English proficiency is vital when training truck drivers.

“It’s extremely challenging when you get someone on your doorstep for driver training and they can’t understand,” he said. “Trying to teach someone to drive a large vehicle, like a tractor trailer, communication is important. It’s actually nice to see that this is being brought to the forefront. I’m not saying that people can’t drive, but we need to have a little bit better communication before they get on the road.”

Don MacDonald is the co-chair of the Professional Truck Training Alliance of Canada (PTTAC), and he said the Alberta government is also moving to enforce rules that are already in place.

“Alberta Transportation shut down some of what they’re calling ‘bad actors’ in the driving schools and trucking companies that were not operating safely,” he said. “So it’s a big thing, but they’re going out there enforcing something. It’s too bad that it’s taken this to push people’s buttons to do this, but it is a good thing for our industry that they are starting to enforce and target to get rid of some of these bad actors.”

Sustainability

Truck drivers love rolling down the highway in a big diesel engine, but as sustainability, efficiency, and reduced fuel costs and consumption become more in demand across the entire supply chain sector, alternative options become more desirable.

Hydrogen and battery electric are two options the trucking industry has been looking at for some time, but as with any new technology, several factors, like infrastructure, range and reliability come into play.

“We’re looking at alternative fuels. One big thing in Alberta is hydrogen, something that we have, and something that would be a better alternative than what we’re finding out with some of the battery electric options that are out there,” said Beerling. “We have done a lot of research in the battery electric.”

Though hydrogen is a viable alternative for the trucking sector, as Beerling pointed out, if the infrastructure is not there, it doesn’t do much good.

From a supply chain and efficiency perspective, however, hydrogen does offer several advantages.

“One kilogram of hydrogen produces 28 million watts of power. That’s the equivalent of 4.5 liters of diesel in a big truck motor,” said Pouliot. “So, it’s fabulous. Now we could store 70 kilograms of hydrogen on the truck as opposed to 400 liters of diesel, and now you’ve got the range. You’re able to refuel that at about the same speed that you can with a diesel truck.”

Pouliot said the Alberta government and University of Calgary project that within the next 15 to 20 years, Alberta is going to be exporting around $350 billion of hydrogen.

“Two-and-a-half times more than twice what we do with carbon fuels,” he said. “If you think that carbon fuels made us rich, hydrogen is going to make us even richer, but we’re able to do it with the carbon capture.

“The supply chain is very efficient. I believe that in 10 years, the hydrogen fuel cell electric truck is going to be less expensive to operate within the fuel and the supply chain than what we can do with diesel trucks today.”

Pouliot also praises the driving experience of the battery electric truck.

“I love driving trucks. But electric motors are so superior to anything that we’ve ever invented with an internal combustion engine,” he said. “Less parts, way less expensive, no vibration. They’re way better. Talking to any professional driver who’s driven one of the electric tractor trailers that are available today—they’re not in use because they don’t have the range—but they’re fabulous.”