Today, the Canadian Trucking Alliance applauds a federal budget that sends a strong, unified message to the trucking industry – that these conflicting operating models will now fall under a single foundation that supports a trucking industry built on law and order and compliance with the tax and labour codes. 

Budget 2025 states:

Protecting Workers Against Improper Classification

The deliberate misclassification of employees as independent contractors means that employers are not withholding and remitting the proper amounts of income tax, or Canada Pension Plan and employment insurance contributions. Misclassified employees may lose out on labour law protections, as well as benefits and pensions available to employees. This misclassification of employees has been particularly common in the trucking industry. To crack down on employers that misclassify employees, Budget 2025 proposes to provide $77 million over four years starting in 2026-27, with ongoing funding of $19.2 million annually, for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to implement a program that addresses non-compliance related to personal services businesses, as well as lift the moratorium on reporting fees for services in the trucking industry. Budget 2025 also proposes to amend the Income Tax Act and the Excise Tax Act to allow the CRA to share information with the Department of Employment and Social Development Canada for the purpose of addressing worker misclassification. These measures will strengthen compliance in the trucking industry by ensuring that employers comply with reporting requirements and tax obligations, while also protecting workers' rights.

Wage Theft 

Wage theft occurs when an employer fails to pay compensation rightfully owed to an employee, and represents one of the most common labour standards contraventions in federally regulated sectors. To crack down on employers that do not pay workers the wages they have earned, the 2024 Fall Economic Statement announced the government’s intent to make regulatory changes to substantially increase the penalties imposed on federally regulated employers who commit wage theft. The government remains committed to ensuring workers are protected and compensated for the work they perform. The work to increase penalties is currently underway and consultations with workers and employers on proposed changes will take place over the coming months.

Information Sharing – Worker Misclassification

Budget 2024 announced that Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) would enter into data-sharing agreements to facilitate inspections and enforcement to address worker misclassification. The misclassification of employees as independent contractors is of particular concern in the trucking industry. ESDC recently began sharing information with the CRA, but information-sharing restrictions in the tax rules prevent the CRA from sharing the required information with ESDC. Budget 2025 proposes to amend the information sharing provisions of the Income Tax Act and the Excise Tax Act to allow the CRA to share taxpayer information (under the Income Tax Act) and confidential information (under the Excise Tax Act) with ESDC for the purposes of the administration and enforcement of the Canada Labour Code as it relates to the classification of workers. This measure would come into force on royal assent of the enacting legislation.

“Budget 2025 is an important day for the industry as it firmly establishes that all companies will have to again compete under the same tax and labour code rules,” said CTA president and CEO Stephen Laskowski. “We will now continue our work with ESDC and CRA to ensure this new foundation is followed by everyone. We applaud the strong political leadership shown by Prime Minister Carney, Minister Champagne, and Minister Hajdu, which will need to continue moving forward to ensure the intent of these measures to level the playing field in Budget 2025 are realized and come into force as soon as possible.”

CTA will be working with CRA on specific details of timelines and compliance measures related to CRA and ESDC stated in today’s announcement. The Alliance has been assured by officials in both offices responsible for these enforcement measures that they will move as soon possible. 

“Industry reaction to the news Ottawa on lifting of the T4A moratorium and tougher enforcement on labour laws has been strongly supportive, and many fleets remain hopeful that a new era of competition has arrived, where all companies can compete based on service, compliance and meeting their legal obligations to drivers and the tax code, while repaying back into our social network in this country,” says Laskowski.

CTA will be working with the provincial associations and the trucking industry to create information packages explaining the budget 2025 changes and will be implementing regional outreach campaigns to get the message out to carriers, drivers, and the purchasers of truck transportation services.

Other news in Budget 2025 related to the trucking industry, includes the reinstatement the Accelerated Investment Incentive and Immediate Expensing.  The trucking industry became a part of this program in 2018. CTA is seeking clarity with the Department of Finance if trucking equipment will qualify under this new 2025 budget measure.

The government of Canada also made significant investments in multi-model facilities connecting Canada to other markets other than the United States. CTA will be working with officials to ensure these investments allow for the smooth flow of truck traffic servicing these new freight-generating land and seaports. These investments stand to make all Canadians prosperous, including members of the trucking industry.