Canada’s truck dealers are calling on the federal government to move quickly on a regulatory fix they say is needed to preserve access to medium- and heavy-duty trucks in Canada, warning that a misalignment with U.S. emissions rules could create serious supply headaches as early as the 2027 model year.
At a press event on Parliament Hill in Ottawa yesterday, the Canadian Truck Dealers (CTD) said the issue is a practical regulatory problem that could have major consequences if left unresolved.
“This is more of a paperwork problem and a paperwork misalignment than it is a misalignment of vision,” said Huw Williams, CADA’s Public Affairs. “These trucks are going to be cleaner than ever in terms of their NOx emissions and cleaner than ever in terms of the greenhouse gas emissions. But without the right regulatory recognition, we will not be able to have these trucks sold in Canada.”
The concern is that U.S. manufacturers are preparing their next generation of trucks around evolving American environmental and emissions regulations, while Canada has not yet created a clear, aligned pathway to allow those vehicles to continue being imported and sold here. Because the Canadian market relies heavily on U.S.-built trucks, CTD says regulatory divergence could quickly affect vehicle availability.
Kevin Disher, CADA’s Executive Director Trucks, said Canada has limited domestic manufacturing capacity for medium- and heavy-duty trucks, making continued access to U.S.-certified product essential.
“What we’re looking to do today is to ensure that the urgency level is properly reflective of the risk that the Canadian economy is facing if this issue isn’t solved rapidly,” he said.
Disher said approximately 30,000 Class 8 trucks are sold in Canada each year, representing more than $8 billion in economic activity. CTD represents more than 700 heavy truck dealerships and more than 40,000 employees across Canada.
The issue has a hard regulatory deadline of Jan. 1, 2027, but Williams stressed that the commercial truck business operates on long lead times. Dealers and fleets are already discussing pre-orders and allocation for the 2027 model year, and that process will intensify later this summer.
“The government may be operating under the impression that this is a 2027 problem,” said Williams. “This is a yesterday problem.”
Williams said manufacturers have been in dialogue with government officials for more than a year, but truck dealers became more directly involved after surveying members through CADA’s newly-structured CTD division. Dealers identified uncertainty around 2027 truck supply and regulations as their top concern.
“When we heard from dealers that this was their number one issue, we took the step of meeting with every manufacturer and asking them what is the state of the discussions with government,” said Williams. “We heard from every manufacturer in lockstep that this was an industry-wide problem and one that needed a regulatory fix.”
CTD’s position is that the issue has been caught up less in political disagreement than in the complexity of evolving regulations on both sides of the border. Williams said changes in the United States have shifted some regulatory language and responsibilities, leaving Canada out of step with a market that has long depended on harmonization.
In answering questions from reporters, Williams was careful not to frame the issue as a failure by Canadian officials.
“This is not a problem of their making,” said Williams, adding that government attention has been focused heavily on light-duty emissions and capacity constraints. But he said the file now needs the same urgency being applied to other trade and competitiveness issues.
According to CTD, the consequences of inaction would extend far beyond dealerships. Heavy trucks underpin construction, agriculture, mining, forestry, logistics and retail supply chains. Williams said larger fleets typically turn over vehicles every three years, while smaller fleets often do so every five years. Losing access to a model year would create ripple effects across business productivity, parts, service and freight movement.
“If trucks become more difficult or more expensive to access, those costs move throughout the supply chain and ultimately impact Canadian businesses and households,” said Disher.
Williams said CTD has had productive discussions with senior federal officials, including representatives from the offices of the Transport Minister, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Dominic LeBlanc, the Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs, Internal Trade, and One Canadian Economy. He said officials appear to be taking the issue seriously now that CTD has elevated it.
“I’m pleased to report that we got that level of urgency from the minister’s offices yesterday,” said Williams. “But that level of urgency has to be met with an actual solution.”
For CTD, the goal at the moment appears not to be a confrontation with the government, but a practical fix that preserves the integrated North American truck market. Disher said the association will continue providing market intelligence and technical insight to help officials understand the timing pressures facing dealers, fleets and manufacturers.
“We’ve had productive discussions over the last couple of days with key public officials and there’s been a real intent on collaborating with the industry,” said Disher.
The message from CTD is that Canada’s truck dealers have now stepped directly into the file because the risk is no longer theoretical. Allocation decisions are already being shaped, fleets are already planning future purchases, and dealers are already trying to understand what product they will be able to sell.
As Williams put it, Canada cannot build its economy, move goods or support major infrastructure projects without heavy trucks.
“Our trucks literally keep the economy rolling,” he said.
