Approved Temporary Foreign Worker positions for Canadian truck drivers have more than quadrupled over 14 years, reaching a likely record high in 2024, according to a new report from Teamsters Canada.
The union’s research arm obtained data through an Access to Information request filed with Employment and Social Development Canada. It found that approved positions under the Temporary Foreign Worker program for transport truck drivers rose from roughly 2,000 in 2010 to more than 8,500 in 2024.
“For more than a decade, the industry told governments that there is a driver shortage in Canada,” said François Laporte, president of Teamsters 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 labour standards eroded year after year. Rather than fix any of that, employers are increasingly opting to bring in workers from overseas that they can handcuff.”
Growth outpaces other sectors
While Temporary Foreign Worker approvals have risen across all sectors, the rate of increase for truck drivers outpaced the national average. Truck drivers made up 1.43 per cent of all approved positions in 2010. By 2024, that share had grown to 3.58 per cent. Total approvals across all sectors reached nearly 250,000 in 2024.
British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario had the highest number of approved positions among all provinces. Quebec also saw increases, though at lower volumes than those three provinces.
Large approvals concentrated in some companies
Some individual companies received very high numbers of approved positions in a single year. H&R Transport Ltd. received 220 approved positions across three provinces in 2012 alone, the highest single-year total in the data. The same company received 775 total approved positions between 2010 and 2017. Westcan Bulk Transport Ltd. received 555 total approved positions between 2010 and 2013.
In more recent years, companies such as Light Speed Logistics Inc., Prince Logistic Services and 4Tracks Ltd. each received 100 or more approved positions in a single year.
Working conditions cited as root cause
The report points to Canada’s deregulation of the trucking industry, which began with the 1987 Motor Vehicle Transport Act, as a turning point. The Teamsters say the legislation lowered costs for shippers but contributed to a long decline in working conditions for drivers.
The report notes that Canada allows a maximum daily driving time of 13 hours, compared to 11 hours in the United States. Worker advocates, including a coalition of community organizations in a 2026 report, have called on regulators to set minimum pay rates and ensure all hours worked are compensated.
A 2013 Conference Board of Canada report had forecast a driver shortage and recommended raising wages, improving working conditions, strengthening training and licensing pathways, and recognizing truck driving as a skilled trade. According to Teamsters Canada, those recommendations have largely not been acted upon.
“Don’t blame immigrants,” Laporte said. “Blame the politicians for believing everything companies say, and for allowing the trucking industry to use migrant labour as a substitute for paying far more competitive wages. The solution is to raise standards for everyone, not to punish the people who came to Canada to work.”
International scrutiny of TFW program
In 2024, a United Nations special rapporteur described Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker program as a breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery. Amnesty International published a report in 2025 raising similar concerns. Both organizations highlighted the risks facing workers tied to a single employer through closed work permits.
Teamsters Canada also pointed to the illegal Driver Inc. scheme, in which truck drivers are misclassified as independent contractors, as evidence that competitive pressure in the industry continues to push working conditions downward. The federal government announced measures in Budget 2025 to crack down on the practice.
Union calls for federal action
Teamsters Canada is calling on the federal government to drastically reduce closed permits in trucking, establish a wage floor for drivers, ensure all hours worked are paid, provide pathways to permanent residency for Temporary Foreign Workers already in Canada, fully implement the Driver Inc. crackdown announced in Budget 2025, and recognize truck driving as a skilled trade.
In 2025, the federal government announced a reduction in Temporary Foreign Worker permits. The move drew opposition from employer groups in trucking and food services. The report notes the full effect of that decision on approval numbers has yet to be determined.
The report is based on Labour Market Impact Assessment data obtained through an Access to Information request filed with Employment and Social Development Canada. It covers approved positions under National Occupational Classification code 7511, transport truck drivers, from 2010 to 2024. Data for 2025 was considered incomplete at the time of the request and was excluded from most analyses. The data covers approved positions only and does not reflect the number of workers who were issued permits or who entered Canada.
