Desk of Contents
In Canada, time is cash, and truck drivers know that greater than anybody else. They generally receives a commission by the hour, though corporations may also pay by the kilometer. Some corporations even pay a mixture of hourly charges and funds based mostly on kilometers travelled. In lots of surveys of trucker salaries in Canada, the quantities are often given on an hourly foundation. The typical throughout the nation is round CDN$ 25 an hour, however you’ll get quite a lot of variation relying on the place you’re employed, whom you’re employed for, and your expertise. So far as the distinction between getting paid by the hour or by the kilometer, see our part: City versus Rural jobs, in addition to our part on Proprietor-Operators. You’ll discover each under our regional breakdown of hourly salaries.
In accordance with the web site certainly.com listed here are the high 10-paying Trucking/Transport corporations in Canada:
- RWR Trucking Inc. – Environmental Decontamination & Excavation – $40.12 an hour
- Triple Eight Transport – Managed-temp provide chain and cross-border trucking – $35.52
- Bulldog Power Group – Western Canada based mostly, operates within the Power sector – $34.60
- Pleasure Group Logistics – Transport & Logistics, based mostly in Mississauga, ON – $34.55
- Sanjel Power Providers – Power, Mining & Utilities, based mostly in Calgary – $32.95
- Parkland Company – Power, Mining & Utilities, additionally in Calgary – $32.59
- Armstrong Prime Pack Ltd. – Meals & Beverage, based mostly in Ontario – $31.57
- The Miller Group – Building in Canada & USA, based mostly in Markham, ON – $31.42
- Arrow Transportation Programs Inc. – Transport & Logistics, based mostly in Kamloops, BC – $31.36
- Caron Transportation Programs – Transport & Logistics, based mostly in Alberta – $31.80
Pay for Truck Drivers by Province
BC: Annual trucking salaries within the Vancouver space are slightly below $58,000 a yr and vary between 40 as much as 80 thousand yearly. In accordance with glassdoor, hourly charges range fairly a bit – from beneath $20 an hour as much as near $40 an hour relying on whom you’re employed for and your expertise. Nonetheless, most corporations within the province supply charges from about $25 to round $35.
Alberta: The hourly charges are similar to these in BC, starting from the mid-20-dollar vary per hour as much as $35 or $36 per hour. For the actually juicy payday, you need to look into gasoline truck drivers who can earn nicely over $100K yearly.
Saskatchewan: On this prairie province, the typical base wage – in line with certainly.com – is slightly below $28 which is above the nationwide common. In fact, that’s additionally true of common hourly salaries in BC and Alberta, the place you’ll usually see salaries above $30 an hour.
Manitoba: Surprisingly, given the numbers in Saskatchewan and Alberta, common wages in Manitoba – once more, in line with certainly.com – are considerably decrease at slightly below $23 per hour. Plainly the additional north within the province you go, the decrease the wages. For instance, in Brandon which is tucked into the southwest nook of the province close to the border with Saskatchewan, common charges are over $26 an hour, whereas approach up north in Thompson, you get beneath $24 an hour. And in Winnipeg, charges are surprisingly low at simply over $22 an hour.


Ontario: In Canada’s largest province, you possibly can anticipate a lot of competitors in addition to a lot of demand for drivers, which tends to maintain charges inside a reasonably slender band. The typical base wage is a little bit over $24 – in line with certainly.com – and native charges vary from beneath $24 in London, ON, to almost $26 in Guelph. That’s not a lot distinction for two cities situated about an hour’s drive from one another however do not forget that Guelph is extra of an agricultural centre than London, so that may create extra demand for truck drivers.
Quebec: Truck driving pays much less in Quebec than in Ontario or the western provinces. Whereas common charges are much like Ontario at simply over $24, and charges within the metropolis of Montreal are available in at over $24 per hour, charges within the higher Montreal space suck, to place it bluntly. In Dorval (the place Montreal’s airport is situated, so it’s a transportation hub) you get a median of beneath $22 an hour and in Laval (a suburb simply to the north of the town) you receives a commission a median of slightly below $23 an hour. Gatineau – simply throughout the river from Ottawa – is best at $25. However Pointe-Claire on the western fringe of the island of Montreal, pays a median of simply over $21.50, and heading south and east in direction of Quebec’s Japanese townships and the border with New York state and Vermont, you’ve meagre wages of simply over $18.50 in Sain-Jean-Sur-Richelieu.
New Brunswick: We’re now within the Maritimes, so the price of dwelling – particularly housing – is a little bit decrease and salaries are likely to mirror that. In New Brunswick, the typical price is slightly below $22 an hour. Within the Woodstock space – a transportation hub close to the border with Maine and connections with Interstate 95 within the US and the TransCanada freeway – you’ve some wages reported at almost $40 at certainly.com, however these are outliers for drivers with worldwide expertise which are eligible to drive within the USA. Most wages are round $22 and even slightly below $20.
Nova Scotia: Common wages are a little bit decrease in comparison with New Brunswick with the typical at beneath $20 and most salaries round $21. For instance, in Halifax, Sydney, and Truro, wages are a little bit beneath $21.50.
PEI: Similar to Nova Scotia, with the typical beneath $22 and a few locales paying beneath $20 per hour.
Newfoundland & Labrador: Ditto Newfoundland, with hourly wages at round $22 in Saint John’s and round or beneath $20 in the remainder of the province.
Yukon: Though the typical hourly price is round $30, do not forget that dwelling in Yukon (and the NTW, in addition to Nunavut) is sort of costly. You need to pay truck drivers to move items in 30° to 40° under zero temperatures in winter throughout lengthy, sparsely populated distances. So your web financial savings may not be that completely different from, say, Alberta, however there’s little question that there’s a requirement for truckers within the far North and Northwest.
Northwest Territories: Common wages are slightly below $30, so it’s mainly equivalent to Yukon, however the identical remark about working circumstances and cost-of-living as in Yukon holds true right here as nicely.
Nunavut: Are you able to go additional north than Yukon? Sure, you possibly can. Head to Nunavut! Sadly, the demand for truckers is barely much less, given the very sparse inhabitants on this giant, arctic territory, and in consequence, the typical price is a little bit decrease at about $27.50. Life is chilly and costly in Nunavut, however it may be a spot to achieve beneficial expertise as a long-haul driver. Do you dare?
By Expertise
Clearly, your wage goes up with expertise. However there’s one thing much more essential. You gained’t even get provided many forms of trucking jobs – particularly long-haul and HAZMAT jobs, should you don’t have no less than a number of years of expertise as a truck driver. Right here’s what Canada’s Job Financial institution notes:
“Employers on this business seldom recruit youths beneath the age of 25 owing to the expertise necessities and better insurance coverage bills.”
So, the query is, how do you acquire the expertise wanted to get an honest trucking job? For that reply, see our chapter: How one can Grow to be a Truck Driver? Scroll all the way down to the FAQ part there to see about gaining your first expertise with some easier-to-get jobs.
FAQ
Truck loans and truck title loans in Canada.
- Truck Title Mortgage: Nobody desires to face a money crunch, however it does occur now and again, particularly should you’re an owner-operator who has to search out their very own jobs. A truck title mortgage is a short-term (3 months to three years to pay again) mortgage together with your truck used as collateral. Think twice earlier than getting one since you’re taking a mortgage out in your rig, and it’s essential be very assured that you just’ll get sufficient work to pay the mortgage off, or the finance firm may take possession of your rig.
- Truck loans generally: this will contain something from a smaller credit score to assist pay for wanted repairs to your automobile to getting a mortgage to buy your truck (which can usually contain a down cost identical to a mortgage on a home). It may possibly additionally contain refinancing an current mortgage in your truck, at all times an possibility if yow will discover a greater price from one other finance firm.
Massive vs. small trucking corporations in Canada.
It actually is determined by what kind of driving you’re planning on doing. In the event you’re centered on driving long-haul jobs, then you definitely in all probability ought to contemplate a bigger firm that provides you extra selections with extra routes to select from. This implies you’ll want a Class 1 (Class A in Ontario) license to function tractor trailer rigs.
In the event you’re extra serious about city shorter-haul jobs the place you return dwelling each evening, then some smaller corporations situated in your most popular space may give you the results you want. Nonetheless, do not forget that transport operators want quite a lot of gear and overhead, one thing smaller corporations with solely a truck or two can’t at all times give you.
If, then again, you’re an owner-operator then you definitely select what firm to work for, relying on their charges and the kind of work.
No matter firm – giant, mid-sized, or small – you select, bear in mind to ask:
- Do they provide Much less-than-truckload (LTL)? In the event you’re getting paid by the proportion, these aren’t the best-paying jobs, however they could be helpful when it’s essential decide up some further work any given month.
- Do they provide LCV (Lengthy Mixture Autos) jobs? In the event that they do, you’ll undoubtedly want a Class 1/A license and the expertise to deal with these over-sized rigs. However the pay needs to be higher than common.
- Do they run singles and groups? In different phrases, are you snug working in a 2-driver group? Or do you like to do the roles by yourself?
- Do they run flat-bed vans, or temperature-controlled vans? That will probably be decided by what kind of hundreds they have an inclination to hold. Bear in mind to search out out should you’ll want an airbrakes endorsement in your license (often indicated by a Z).
- Do they pay by the mile/kilometer or by the hour or each?

