Resources > Entry-Level Driver Training Is Changing Province by Province

Red Semi Truck Driving Down Winter Canadian Highway | Credit: Magnific

Why the rules are changing now

Mandatory entry-level training (MELT) spread across Canada after the 2018 Humboldt Broncos tragedy, and a national standard, National Safety Code Standard 16, now sets a minimum benchmark for Class 1 drivers. Provinces, however, have adopted it at different speeds and in different ways. An MNP report for the Insurance Bureau of Canada found that entry-level programs in many provinces and territories do not fully prepare drivers to operate a heavy truck in all conditions, and that onboarding and mentorship need to follow the classroom and in-cab hours.

Recent audits have sharpened the pressure. Ontario’s auditor general sent undercover students to six truck-driver training schools in May. Two of the schools delivered just 59.5 and 81 hours of instruction, well below the required minimum of 103.5 hours, according to the Canadian Press. The Canadian Trucking Alliance says the industry is splitting in two: carriers that invest in their people and equipment, and a growing segment that cuts corners on training and safety.

The result is a patchwork. A driver trained in one province can face different expectations in another, and any carrier that hires, dispatches or operates across provincial lines needs to know where those differences sit.

Province-by-province comparison

Dates and hours as of November 5, 2026. Confirm current requirements with your provincial regulator.

Quebec: mandatory 125-hour training is in effect

Quebec’s mandatory training for new Class 1 drivers took effect on December 15, 2025. Anyone who wants a heavy-vehicle licence must now complete either the SAAQ-recognized Class 1 Road Safety Education Program or the vocational diploma in truck transport. The new program totals 125 hours: 75 hours of theory and 50 hours behind the wheel. Drivers who already hold a valid Class 1 licence are not required to take it.

Quebec has since added a second layer for drivers coming from elsewhere. Ontario drivers with less than 24 months of Class 1 experience must now pass a practical exam to exchange their licence, and those who fail twice must complete mandatory training. The SAAQ has described the measure as temporary, though no end date was given. Quebec also introduced zero tolerance for alcohol for all learner heavy-vehicle drivers on June 15, 2026.

For carriers running Ontario–Quebec lanes, these rules affect recruiting timelines and dispatch decisions, so they are worth planning around now.

Ontario: a standardized curriculum is coming

Ontario announced on September 21, 2026 that it will introduce a standardized entry-level curriculum for Class A drivers, months after the auditor general found the province was not effectively monitoring training and licensing. Organizations that provide truck driver training will be required to follow it. The curriculum will include more than 103 hours of training, and the province says it will develop it with industry, career colleges and other experts. It is expected to come into effect next year.

Today, Ontario’s entry-level standard is 103.5 hours: 36.5 in class, 17 in the yard and 50 behind the wheel. Law firm Miller Thomson notes that this is the lowest requirement among provinces with mandatory training. The government is also considering additional instruction on subjects such as fatigue management and driving in northern and remote areas.

Industry reaction is cautiously positive. Some voices point out that Ontario already has standardized training in the form of MELT, and say the real gains will come from updated content and more hands-on, in-cab time. The Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario says about 5,000 new commercial drivers entered Ontario roads last year, and that some schools are not delivering the required training.

Alberta: an apprenticeship-style licence

Alberta moved away from its 113-hour MELT program on April 1, 2025, replacing it with the Class 1 Learning Pathway. The province describes the pathway as a flexible, apprentice-style approach that supports new drivers beyond the day they earn a licence. The full pathway includes up to 133 hours of instruction, including air brake training, compared with 113 hours under the former program. It is delivered in tiers, and the province has signalled that it is working toward Red Seal certification down the road.

Alberta fine-tuned the structure on September 1, 2026, moving seven hours into the Core Learning program while keeping total hours and fees the same.

For hiring, one detail matters. Drivers who move to Alberta with a Class 1-equivalent licence from an eligible Canadian jurisdiction can generally obtain an Alberta licence without completing the pathway. Drivers with fewer than 12 months of experience, however, must complete it from the beginning.

Manitoba: training is in place, enforcement is tightening

Manitoba has had mandatory entry-level training since 2019, at 121.5 hours: 40.5 in class, 40 in the yard and 41 in the cab. Its recent story is about enforcement. The Canadian Press reports that Manitoba has strengthened enforcement measures against unsafe carriers and companies that try to evade regulatory oversight.

The Manitoba Trucking Association notes that roadside blitzes in late 2025 brought together the RCMP, Manitoba Motor Carrier Enforcement, Employment and Social Development Canada and the Workers Compensation Board. After a fatal crash in Brandon in 2026, the association and the Canadian Trucking Alliance renewed their calls for stronger interprovincial data sharing and a national carrier registry.

For Manitoba carriers, the message is that training is not the finish line. Enforcement is looking at who is operating, how drivers are classified and whether carriers are meeting their obligations.

Nova Scotia: committed, details still to come

Nova Scotia has committed to introducing mandatory entry-level training, though we could not find a confirmed start date or final hours. The province previously said it was consulting on how the program might work, and the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association has pressed for an official implementation date under National Safety Code Standard 16.
Atlantic carriers should watch for announcements and consider building training expectations into hiring now, rather than waiting for the rules to land.

What this means for your carrier

Whether you operate in one province or several, a few practices hold up everywhere:

• Verify, don’t assume. A training certificate is only as reliable as the school behind it. Confirm the hours and competencies of new hires, particularly those trained at schools that have come under scrutiny.
• Know the transfer rules. Quebec’s test for Ontario drivers and Alberta’s 12-month threshold show that experience can determine what a new hire needs before driving for you.
• Add onboarding and mentorship. Entry-level training is a floor, not a ceiling. Pairing new drivers with experienced mentors addresses the gap the MNP report identified.
• Keep records audit-ready. Store training certificates, licence class, road-test results and renewal dates where you can retrieve them quickly.
• Talk to your insurer. Insurers review a driver’s training, hours behind the wheel and claims history when pricing commercial truck coverage.
• Plan for lead time. New requirements can add weeks to recruiting and onboarding, especially for cross-province hiring.

How technology can help

Training requirements are one more item to track alongside licences, medicals, hours of service and dangerous goods paperwork. A transportation management system can reduce that burden by keeping driver and carrier documents in one place. When evaluating a TMS, ask whether it can:

• Store training certificates, licence details and other driver documents centrally
• Flag upcoming expiry dates before they become compliance problems
• Limit who can view or edit sensitive records with role-based permissions
• Produce records quickly when an auditor, insurer or customer asks

For carriers hauling dangerous goods, a focused tool such as Nutech Comply, which is built to simplify Transportation of Dangerous Goods requirements and documentation, adds another layer of confidence at pick-up and drop-off.

Sources

• Canadian Press: Canada’s trucking industry racked by non-compliance, training and safety concerns (Nov. 1, 2026)
• Canadian Press: Ontario to standardize truck driver training (Sept. 21, 2026)
• CTV News: Truck drivers in Ontario to meet new training requirements
• SAAQ: Mandatory Class 1 training
• Miller Thomson: Quebec’s new truck licence transfer rules
• Government of Alberta: Class 1 Learning Pathway
• J. J. Keller: MELT by province
• Manitoba Trucking Association via Trucknews: Driver Inc. is more than a payroll issue
• Trucknews: APTA seeks consistent training as MELT rolls into Atlantic Canada
• Insurance Bureau of Canada: Insurance industry welcomes government crackdown on fraud in commercial trucking