Chameleon carriers have quietly and systematically undermined the integrity of the trucking industry in Canada and the U.S. for decades. Untrained drivers, fake or nonexistent insurance, undercutting rates, and tax evasion through schemes like Driver Inc. are symptoms of a much deeper issue: the lack of enforcement and coordination between regulatory bodies.
Let’s be honest—the regulators have had decades to shut this down. And now, the only reason we’re even talking about it is because of the growing number of high-profile crashes flooding social media. The public is watching, and they’re demanding change.
If you're not familiar with chameleon carriers, check out my earlier blog karma, karma, karma, karma, karma Chameleon…. Canada’s Chameleon Carrier Crisis, where I explain the scam in more detail. In short, these are companies that dissolve and reincarnate under new names and registrations to dodge enforcement, liability, and oversight. And they’re allowed to do this because our provinces and territories don’t share data effectively. Alberta has been a hotbed for this issue since 2019, but it's not alone—this is a national failure.
Even after fatal crashes, these operators often have another Safety Fitness Certificate (SFC) waiting in the wings. Why? Because there’s no integrated system to flag them across jurisdictions. They hop from province to province—or state to state in the U.S.—and no one is any the wiser. It's a loophole, and they exploit it daily.
The FMCSA isn’t blameless—they ignored this problem for years, too. But now they’ve decided to do something about it. In 2025, they’re launching a new registration and vetting system. Here’s what it includes:
The FMCSA Plan:
So, What Is Canada Doing?
Nothing, we’ve got committees. Meetings. Thoughts and prayers after every crash. But no plan. No system. No timeline.
Transport Canada needs to build a program exactly like the FMCSA’s—now, not five years from now when we’re forced to reverse-engineer it at triple the cost. Just like the U.S., Canada struggles with regulatory inconsistency between provinces and territories. We may never harmonize weights and dimensions, but we can harmonize how we track, vet, and shut down fraudulent carriers.
Why It Matters:
Cross-border trade isn’t going away. In fact, closer integration between Canada, the U.S., and Mexico means we need to share data. That’s how we stop chameleon carriers from gaming the system.
Let’s stop pretending that deportations or blaming untrained drivers will fix trucking. It’s not the drivers—it’s the owners, the ones profiting off exploitation and safety shortcuts. Turning on a system like the FMCSA’s is like flipping a light switch and watching the cockroaches scatter.
Transport Canada, please do something. Get in the game.
