The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) is calling on the prime minister and provincial premiers to create a joint action plan to strengthen border security and address potential red flags before they reach U.S. Customs.

“All provinces, independent of federal regulations, have the power to send a strong message to Washington that you are securing your trucking transportation supply chain before these vehicles enter the United States,” said CTA president Stephen Laskowski in a news release. “The trucking industry has provincial on-road inspection and audit enforcement systems that need to be more aligned in detecting and prosecuting immigration, labor, and illegal cargo shipment offenses.”

CTA believes many of these can be implemented quickly, although some will vary slightly based on the regulatory and enforcement agencies in each jurisdiction.  

Since 9/11, cross-border trucking operations have prioritized security, particularly counter-terrorism measures, often at the expense of trade facilitation. Today, however, Laskowski emphasized that new security threats demand updated approaches involving collaboration between federal and provincial authorities.

“Trucks throughout Canada are inspected every day by provincial authorities, who also have the ability and systems in place to visit trucking company terminals. The current provincial system can be quickly adjusted to detect security threats,” Laskowski said. “Quite frankly, these proposed changes are long overdue.”

Bracing for tariffs

On the federal side, CTA has urged the government to enhance immigration and joint Canada-U.S. transportation security programs to ensure carriers participating in these initiatives do not exploit newcomers to Canada.

CTA also says it reminded governments at all levels to use upcoming budgets to strengthen the business community in preparation for the possibility of U.S. protectionist policies becoming a regular occurrence.

“As a nation, we must treat threats of tariffs as a wake-up call,” Laskowski said. “All levels of government must be collectively prepared to introduce budget measures that make our business community stronger and more economically competitive.”

He added that Canada’s tax codes, transportation policies, and labor regulations should be revised to ensure Canadian businesses remain productive and competitive.