Ontario, Canada, will develop a standardized curriculum for truck driver training after an audit by the Auditor General of Ontario uncovered serious shortcomings among driving schools that were not delivering the full 103.5 hours of legally required training. The province announced the plan on September 21, 2026. The required training duration itself remains unchanged; the government acknowledges that its delivery fell short.
What the audit uncovered
Auditor General Shelley Spence published the special report “Large Commercial Truck Driver Licensing” in May 2026. An undercover check of six training providers found that two delivered only 59.5 and 81 of the required 103.5 hours of instruction. Some students had never practiced left turns at major intersections, reverse parking, or emergency stops. In addition, six unregistered schools were found booking driving tests and issuing certificates without authorization. The report also concluded that there was no established process for sharing inspection findings between the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security, which certifies driving schools.
Rapid growth, price pressure and unfair competition
The number of certified driving schools in Ontario grew from about 98 in 2019 to 283 in 2022. The Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario (TTSAO), which represents roughly fifty compliant schools, lost three member schools this year to cheaper competitors. One driving school in Ottawa advertised Class A licence training for C$5,500, while renting a truck alone costs about C$3,000 a month. TTSAO chair Ken Adams said: “There is no possible way that if you’re doing things the right way, you can run a business like that and run a training school and train people properly.” He is calling for specialized investigators who know what to look for and look beyond paper records. Tej Dulat of the Canada Truck Operators Association (CTOA) notes that both drivers and the carriers that hire them are victims of substandard training.
Proposed measures and timeline
Ontario will consult stakeholders over the coming months on a new curriculum, with implementation targeted for early 2027. Proposed topics include human trafficking awareness, fatigue management, mental health and driver stress, and sharing the road with heavy vehicles. A six-month waiting period between obtaining a G licence and attempting the Class A test is also under consideration. Adams wants the ministry to expand its undercover checks, which are already used to verify air brake instruction. Dulat has proposed that instructors wear a body camera to verify lesson hours. TTSAO and CTOA cautiously support the plan but see it as a first step, not yet a solution. Adams: “This didn’t happen overnight. It’s not going to be fixed overnight.”
Context
According to Transport Canada, collisions involving commercial vehicles (trucks and buses, excluding school buses) accounted for about 8 percent of all collisions on Canadian roads in 2012-2021, but for about 20 percent of all traffic deaths. In 2021, 343 people died in collisions involving trucks and buses, compared with 400 in 2012. Of fatal collisions involving commercial vehicles, 58 percent involved a tractor-trailer combination. Of those killed in these collisions in 2012-2021, 70 percent were occupants of a vehicle other than the commercial vehicle.
Source: Inside the audit that pushed Ontario to overhaul truck training, September 23, 2026
Additional research: Large Commercial Truck Driver Licensing – Auditor General of Ontario, May 12, 2026; Ontario Auditor General Releases Four Special Reports (press release), May 12, 2026; Commercial vehicle collisions in Canada, 2012-2021 – Transport Canada
