Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is backing Manitoba's push for a national commercial trucking database to enhance road safety and reduce pressure on insurance claims costs. Following a fatal collision involving a previously de-certified transport company in Brandon, Manitoba, the province's Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Lisa Naylor, urged Ottawa to create a national database. This would allow provinces to better track safety certifications and violations for commercial truck companies, vehicles, and drivers.
Stronger Interprovincial Data Sharing
A national carrier registry with robust interprovincial data sharing would help regulators identify unsafe operators and prevent them from reappearing elsewhere. Insurers could also use this data to verify claims and infraction histories when assessing commercial insurance risk. Federal Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon recently indicated that the Government of Canada is prepared to support the creation of such a database.
IBC's Advocacy and Recommendations
Aaron Sutherland, Vice-President, Pacific and Western, IBC, stated, “IBC has long advocated that a national database of claims history and regulatory certifications for commercial truckers would help improve road safety, combat fraud, and support better informed insurance coverage and pricing across Canada’s trucking sector. We commend Manitoba for leading this call for national coordination to address truck driver qualification and enforcement gaps that pose significant road safety issues across the country. We also commend the federal government for its receptivity to a database.”
In its public policy recommendation document, “Improving the Risk Profile of Commercial Trucking in Canada,” IBC advocates for a national database of trucking insurance and claims information to help verify each trucker’s driving history and address fraud. The recommendations also call for stronger and more consistent driver training requirements across the country to reduce collisions and improve accountability.
Safety Issues Across Canada
The recent tragedy in Manitoba is just one of many safety issues with commercial trucking across the country. Examples include:
- British Columbia: Extensive reports of road safety concerns, with over 34 collisions involving previously de-certified truckers hitting highway overpasses.
- Alberta: Alarming roadside safety failure rates, with 92% of commercial vehicles failing inspections by the Alberta Sheriff Highway Patrol and Calgary Police.
- Ontario: Charges laid and over a dozen vehicles pulled out of service following a Ministry of Transportation safety blitz. The Ontario Auditor General released a special report in May 2026, finding that large commercial trucks accounted for 12% of vehicles involved in fatal collisions from 2019 to 2023, despite representing only 3% of vehicles on the road.
A national database would help address these gaps and improve safety for all Canadians.
