Job Bank puts the median wage for transport truck drivers in Canada at $26.42 an hour. The lowest-paid tenth earn $19.45 or less and the highest-paid tenth $37.00 or more. At 37.5 hours a week for 52 weeks (1,950 hours a year), the median works out to $51,519 a year. Driving schedules don’t always match a 37.5-hour week, so actual annual pay depends on the hours a driver works and how the carrier pays for them.
Those are hourly wages for the transport truck driver occupation (NOC 73300); owner-operators, who run their own trucking business, are covered further down. This page is part of the salary by profession hub; for other transport jobs, see how much train conductors and locomotive engineers make and how much pilots make.
Truck driver wages by province
Job Bank’s 10th percentile, median and 90th percentile hourly wages for each province and territory it reports, from Statistics Canada survey data:
| Region | Low (per hour) | Median (per hour) | High (per hour) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | $19.45 | $26.42 | $37.00 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $17.97 | $24.75 | $36.00 |
| Prince Edward Island | $18.00 | $24.00 | $30.29 |
| Nova Scotia | $18.00 | $24.00 | $30.00 |
| New Brunswick | $17.00 | $23.00 | $32.00 |
| Quebec | $19.45 | $25.20 | $34.50 |
| Ontario | $19.23 | $26.00 | $35.00 |
| Manitoba | $17.00 | $24.00 | $34.72 |
| Saskatchewan | $18.50 | $27.00 | $37.00 |
| Alberta | $21.00 | $30.00 | $42.31 |
| British Columbia | $22.00 | $30.77 | $40.38 |
| Yukon | $26.50 | $34.00 | $43.27 |
| Northwest Territories | $25.00 | $30.00 | $40.00 |
| Nunavut | $20.00 | $29.00 | $40.00 |
Source: Job Bank wages (Employment and Social Development Canada), NOC 73300, 2023-2024, Labour Force Survey. Low is the 10th percentile and high the 90th percentile of wages.
Truck drivers’ 2020 incomes in the Census
Transport truck drivers with a full year of full-time work in 2020 had a median employment income of $56,000, $4,481 above the Job Bank median on a 37.5-hour week. Alberta drivers’ median of $66,500 was the highest of the provinces.
| Province | Median, 2020 | Median in August 2026 dollars | Average in August 2026 dollars |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | $56,000 | $69,400 | $69,900 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $60,400 | $74,900 | $78,100 |
| Prince Edward Island | $56,000 | $69,400 | $66,700 |
| Nova Scotia | $56,400 | $69,900 | $69,100 |
| New Brunswick | $55,600 | $68,900 | $68,400 |
| Quebec | $51,200 | $63,500 | $63,400 |
| Ontario | $54,000 | $66,900 | $66,000 |
| Manitoba | $53,200 | $66,000 | $65,700 |
| Saskatchewan | $63,200 | $78,400 | $76,600 |
| Alberta | $66,500 | $82,400 | $82,700 |
| British Columbia | $63,600 | $78,800 | $80,600 |
Source: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population, Table 98-10-0586-01: employment income in 2020 of people who worked full year, full time. Columns in August 2026 dollars multiply the 2020 figure by the change in the Consumer Price Index from its 2020 average to August 2026 and round to the nearest $100; they are not newer survey results.
Getting a commercial truck licence
Each province sets its own licence classes and training rules for tractor-trailers (Class A in Ontario, Class 1 in Alberta). Two examples:
Ontario. To get a Class A (commercial truck) licence, you must complete mandatory entry-level training before taking the road test. The training includes at least 103.5 hours of instruction, is delivered by a registered career college or an organization in the Ministry of Transportation’s Driver Certification Program, and is valid for life. Drivers who already hold a valid full Class A licence don’t have to take it; the Ontario page lists who does, including drivers upgrading from a restricted Class A licence, drivers whose full Class A licence has been invalid (expired, downgraded or suspended) for three or more years, and some drivers licensed in another country or province. Training providers set their own prices, and government programs such as Better Jobs Ontario can help eligible people pay (Ontario: mandatory training for Class A applicants).
Alberta. Alberta replaced its Mandatory Entry Level Training (MELT) program with the Class 1 Learning Pathway on April 1, 2025. Applicants need a full Class 5 driver’s licence, must be at least 18 to start, and must have medical fitness approval for commercial driving. The pathway has three required stages (Alberta: Class 1 Learning Pathway):
| Stage | Training (as of September 1, 2026) | What it leads to |
|---|---|---|
| Entry Program | 40 hours, online or at a driving school | Eligibility for the Class 1 knowledge test |
| Core Learning Program | 67 hours in-yard and in-cab at a licensed Class 1 school, plus an 8-hour air brake course for drivers without a Q endorsement | Road test, then a provincially restricted Class 1 licence (Alberta only) |
| Competence Building Program | 10 to 18 hours of one-on-one driving instruction | Restriction removed, so the driver can drive between provinces |
Students who signed a training contract with a licensed Class 1 school on or before August 31, 2026 can finish under the earlier schedule of hours, as long as they complete the training by March 31, 2027. Drivers with a Class 2 or Class 3 licence and at least 2 years of experience driving a vehicle with 3 or more axles can apply to Alberta’s separate Experience and Equivalency Program instead.
Other provinces set their own requirements; the provincial licensing office (ICBC in British Columbia, SGI in Saskatchewan, Manitoba Public Insurance, SAAQ in Quebec) has the current rules.
Owner-operators
An owner-operator owns or leases a truck and is paid by carriers or shippers for loads, rather than earning a wage. Gross revenue is not take-home pay: fuel, truck payments or lease costs, insurance, maintenance, tires, permits and bookkeeping all come out of it, and there is no employer-paid vacation or benefits. Neither Job Bank nor the Census separates owner-operator profit from employee wages, so this page doesn’t put a figure on it.
Owner-operators report business income and can deduct business expenses, including the costs of running the truck; the self-employed tax deductions guide and vehicle expenses for the self-employed cover the rules.
How truck driver wages compare with other driving jobs
Hourly wages in Canada for three driving occupations, from the same Job Bank release:
| Occupation (NOC) | Low (per hour) | Median (per hour) | High (per hour) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transport truck drivers (73300) | $19.45 | $26.42 | $37.00 |
| Bus drivers, subway operators and other transit operators (73301) | $17.18 | $25.00 | $37.68 |
| Delivery service drivers and door-to-door distributors (75201) | $15.00 | $20.00 | $29.35 |
Source: Job Bank wages (Employment and Social Development Canada), 2023-2024, Labour Force Survey. Low is the 10th percentile and high the 90th percentile of wages.
Related guides
Sources
The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them between September 24, 2026 and October 4, 2026. How we check facts.
- Government of Alberta: Class 1 Learning Pathway | Alberta.ca
- Government of Canada: Wages - Open Government Portal
- Government of Ontario: Mandatory training for Class A driver’s licence applicants
- Statistics Canada: Statistics Canada
- Statistics Canada: Consumer Price Index, annual average, not seasonally adjusted
- Statistics Canada: Consumer Price Index, monthly, not seasonally adjusted