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.
The Government of Alberta announced changes to the MELT Class 1 Mandatory Entry Level Training program, turning the program into an apprenticeship model. These changes are urgently needed today but, it will take time to launch the program and is expected March 1, 2025. Currently MELT drivers pay upwards of $10,000.00 to obtain a Class 1 drivers licence and then most can’t find a job because insurance companies require two years of over the road experience. This apprentice model should fulfill the insurance company requirements and hopefully open federal funding for new students.
All of this is great stuff but, the reality is Alberta will produce quality, well trained drivers and put them to work in an industry that is a disaster. It is like raising Kobe beef only to sell it to Burger King. If commercial driving is going to be a trade, then it is time to hold the road transportation industry to that trade standard.
Transport Canada and the provinces and territories need to take a hard look at the road transportation sector and make some changes. There is zero accountability for trucking companies that utilize questionable practices like Driver Inc to circumvent taxes, immigration and human rights regulations. Driver Inc is a model based on commercial drivers, who do not own/lease or operate their own vehicle. These drivers are becoming incorporated and not paying source deduction like income taxes or Employment Insurance. The prevalence of chameleon carriers operating across Canada highlights the need for greater oversight and enforcement measures. A chameleon carrier is a trucking company that, if cited or closed down for a marginal safety record, quickly changes its name and address and restarts operations.
Chameleon carriers operate unchallenged across Canada, in Alberta the penalty for lying on a Safety Fitness application to fraudulently obtain a Safety Fitness Certificate is $1000.00 and the company is allowed to keep operating. To compare, also in Alberta, the penalty for not stopping for an invasive species boat inspection is $4200.00. Why does Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors (TEC) not take road safety as serious as Alberta Environment takes protecting our lakes?
Alberta does not have accurate enforcement information from all jurisdictions, see my blog, Don’t look behind the curtain! unveiling the Alberta Transportation safety scam. Unless the provincial jurisdictions specifically contact each other about unsafe carriers potentially moving into other jurisdictions, a tragedy is usually the first notification. There is not a central transportation regulatory body in Canada that collects safety data as there is in the United States, the broken carrier profile system all we have in Alberta.
These sketchy chameleon carriers also can be self-insured. Because of this they can cause mayhem, then go bankrupt and start over with zero consequence. Trucking company insurance minimum requirement in Alberta is $10 million dollars. How much do you think a bridge or infrastructure strike costs to repair? British Columbia recently substantially increased the fines and jail time for drivers that hit structures. What about the trucking company that employs the driver? It may be the driver’s fault but, it is the carrier’s responsibility.
The lack of support systems for both rookie and experienced drivers exposes them to exploitation and mistreatment within the industry. Drivers have zero complaint options, even after being abused, unpaid, disrespected, forcibly dispatched and worse. Complaint procedures in Alberta are convoluted and inadequate, leaving drivers without effective recourse when faced with issues such as unpaid wages or unsafe working conditions. Alberta TEC, Compliance and Oversight department complaint procedures are an offense to the rights of workers that need urgent protection. The complainant is sent a witness statement via email. The issue is that the document it is a non-fillable PDF, so the driver needs to print it, physically fill it in, sign it, scan it, and email it back. How does that help or support the driver? Consider a driver that finally gets the courage to complain to the government and gets told to fill out a form. Drivers in a Driver Inc. situation working for chameleon carriers that go bankrupt and leave unpaid wages are not eligible for employment benefits because they are not employees. As a Driver Inc driver the only option is to get a lawyer and sue. Kobe beef cattle has more protections than drivers in Canada.
The qualified driver shortage is a real safety problem, and more training and experience is better for drivers and everyone on the road. Changes must be made in conjunction with large-scale fundamental improvements to the carriers and industry that employ these drivers. Commercial driving is dangerous and lonely with poor pay, no wage guarantees, terrible working environments with limited rest areas and parking. Unless you fix systemic issues, these red seal drivers will leave the industry or die on the highway trying. Make commercial driving a trade that people aspire to undertake the training and time to become a red seal, anything less is another waste of drivers’ time of money.
