By Stephen Laskowski
As Canada continues to champion freer internal trade, one would expect the trucking sector – the pulse of our economy’s circulatory system – to be a model of regulatory fairness and efficiency; ready to help propel Canadian businesses to the next level.
Sadly, this is not the case; but rather, a growing and persistent distortion of trucking is eroding the foundation of this vital industry – the so-called Driver Inc. scheme.
At its core, Driver Inc. is a tax-evasion scheme masquerading as entrepreneurship. Truck drivers, working under conditions indistinguishable from traditional employment, are encouraged or pressured by trucking companies to incorporate themselves and operate as “independent contractors.” On paper, it’s sold as a path to self-employment and tax advantages. In practice, it warps the competitive landscape of Canadian trucking, allowing companies to sidestep payroll taxes, employment standards, and health and safety obligations, while legitimate operators play by the rules and pay the price.
This model has created uneven taxation across the trucking sector, directly undermining one of the basic principles of a healthy market: that all players compete on equal footing. Compliant carriers pay into the Canada Pension Plan, Employment Insurance, and workers’ compensation programs. They provide proper employment protections and maintain higher standards. Those using Driver Inc. get a 15–30% cost advantage, not by innovating or improving service, but by offloading legal responsibilities onto drivers and evading taxes.
This distortion is not contained within provincial boundaries. Trucking is the dominant mode of freight transport in Canada, responsible for moving over 70 per cent of goods domestically. Put another way, trucking is inherently ‘trade-centric’ and interprovincial. When one province cracks down on noncompliance and another turns a blind eye, trucking companies engage in regulatory arbitrage, shifting operations to more permissive jurisdictions and undercutting competitors across borders. When the federal government turns a blind eye, it effectively sanctions a two-tiered system that gives non-compliant carriers an unfair cost advantage. This is, in effect, a non-tariff barrier to trade—not in the form of a regulation, but in its absence.
Let’s be clear: the issue here is not limited to rogue drivers or a few bad actors. The Driver Inc. model has become systemic in parts of the industry, especially in long-haul and container segments. And the consequences and causes are not merely economic – they’re institutional. The longer this model is allowed to persist, the more it erodes trust in Canada’s tax system and in government institutions charged with enforcing the law.
The Canada Revenue Agency knows this is happening. So does Employment and Social Development Canada. So do the provinces. There have been efforts, at times, to clamp down on the practice. But when things got hot, and caucus get agitated, enforcement progress and enthusiasm wanes. With a new government and a new Prime Minister, hopefully this political challenge can be overcome; because without widespread and stable federal enforcement, these efforts are like plugging holes in a dam with used chewing gum.
The federal government has spent years promoting the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA), which aims to eliminate barriers to internal trade and encourage fair competition. But these goals will remain meaningless talking points if the largest domestic freight system is allowed to operate under two sets of rules: one for those who comply, and one for those who exploit regulatory apathy.
Ending Driver Inc. is about restoring balance. It’s about recognizing that laws must be applied uniformly for markets to function properly and for internal trade to thrive. It’s about practicing what you preach, protecting drivers from gross labour abuse and ensuring companies don’t grow on the back of unpaid taxes and offloaded liabilities.
If Ottawa is serious about improving internal trade, it must first prove it can uphold the integrity of the systems we already have. That means cracking down on Driver Inc., holding companies accountable, and ensuring that competition in Canada’s trucking industry is based on quality and efficiency – not tax games and enforcement gaps.
Without that, the entire internal trade agenda becomes a hollow promise. And the cost will be borne not just by the honest carriers, but by every Canadian who relies on a supply chain held hostage by the underground economy.
This editorial first appeared at Trucknews.com
