On April 1st, 2025 — and no, this is not an April Fool’s joke — Alberta’s very own Maple MAGA minister Devin Dreeshen announced that the province has officially scrapped MELT (Mandatory Entry Level Training) for Class 1 drivers and replaced it with the new Class 1 Learning Pathway.
Alberta’s move comes without coordination from the rest of Canada, and in doing so, we've now added yet another inter-jurisdictional trade barrier. This, at a time when the federal government is actively trying to eliminate those barriers to better position Canada against rising U.S. protectionism and tariff pressure. It's like watching a team trying to score on their own net.
Let’s rewind a bit. MELT was rushed into place following the Humboldt Broncos tragedy — a horrific crash in which driver inexperience and training were contributing factors. What should have happened after that was a nationwide collaboration. All provinces and territories should have come together to create a standardized training curriculum for Class 1 drivers. What actually happened? Each province came up with their own version of MELT. The result: inconsistent standards and patchwork training across Canada. Sound familiar?
Now Alberta is charting its own course yet again with this new Learning Pathway — which, in theory, follows a Red Seal-style apprenticeship model. Industry has been asking for something like this for years. Great idea, right? In principle, yes. But in practice, it’s a problem.
Why? Because Alberta's Learning Pathway is not a real Red Seal trade.
We absolutely need a Red Seal certification for commercial drivers — but that needs to be federally recognized. A real Red Seal trade would give us access to federal funds for curriculum development, instructor qualifications, and standardized testing. It would also open doors for new drivers to access EI benefits, training grants, and WCB placements.
Better yet, it would legitimize the trade. Driving Class 1 would be a viable post-secondary option at community colleges and something we could actually present to high school students as a career path — a far cry from today’s patchwork model. Journeyperson status carries weight, distinction, and higher pay. When’s the last time you saw a Red Seal plumber working for minimum wage?
Canada’s had a driver shortage for 30 years. Back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, most drivers came from the family farm. Driving a truck was practically an apprenticeship in itself. But as family farms disappeared and trucking remained a tough, low-paying, high-burnout job, younger generations just weren’t interested.
So what did we do? Rather than fixing the job, we brought in foreign labour.
While immigration helped the numbers, it opened a whole new can of worms. Drivers came from countries with vastly different training standards, road conditions, and equipment. Language requirements? CLB 4 — about the equivalent of a Canadian Grade 5 reading level. Enough to follow safety instructions and fill out a logbook, but that’s about it. When the TFW (Temporary Foreign Worker) program expanded during COVID, truck drivers were added — many without language testing — and abuses followed: exploitation, slave wages, no benefits, and a highway safety crisis.
Meanwhile, Ontario’s corrupt driving school scandals allowed unqualified student visa holders to become truckers. That loophole’s closed now, but those drivers? Still on the road.
Here’s the bottom line: Shady trucking companies don’t want a Red Seal trade. Why? Because it would mean better pay, benefits, and protections. And that would end the low-wage loopholes that keep freight rates artificially low. Legitimate companies can’t compete — and the cycle grinds on.
So What Does This New Learning Pathway Actually Look Like?
Let’s break it down:
At first glance, it sounds more comprehensive than MELT — 133 hours compared to MELT’s 113. And it includes training in cargo securement, safety management, and loss prevention. Great. But let’s not forget MELT graduates still needed extra employer training to actually be road-ready — training in cargo securement, Hours of Service, weights and dimensions, daily inspections, etc. Why wasn’t that part of MELT in the first place?
So is the Learning Pathway better than MELT? Technically, yes. But is it good enough? Still debatable.
Also: Who exactly is “industry”? According to the Alberta government, curriculum input came from “industry stakeholders” and the insurance sector. Notably absent? New drivers and the companies that actually hire them. I’m not sure why we’re trusting the insurance lobby to shape driver education — but here we are.
And let’s talk about that “restricted” Class 1. It’s giving big graduated licence energy — which we tried before and abandoned because people simply didn’t bother to finish the process. History, meet repetition.
Final Thoughts: Another Self-Inflicted Wound
Instead of using the existing CCMTA (Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators) framework to build a national program, Alberta went rogue — again.
In an era where we should be removing trade barriers between provinces and working together on a national apprenticeship model, Alberta just made it harder for Class 1 drivers trained in-province to work across borders. Good job, team. We’ve paved the road to nowhere.
