Ontario Auditor Finds Truck Training Oversight Gaps

Ontario's auditor general has uncovered significant shortcomings in the oversight of private career colleges training commercial truck drivers, revealing that a quarter of such institutions had never been inspected and some students received incomplete training, heightening road safety risks across the province.

In a report released Tuesday, Auditor General Shelley Spence detailed how the Ministry of Colleges and Universities failed to ensure consistent training standards. As of March 2025, 25 percent of the province's 205 registered private career colleges offering entry-level truck driver training had never undergone a government inspection. Her office conducted undercover assessments at several providers, finding two delivered only 59.5 and 81 hours of the required minimum 103.5 training hours. Students at some schools also missed instruction in essential maneuvers, including left turns at major intersections, reverse parking and emergency stopping.

Spence's review of ministry inspections over five years identified three colleges that falsified or altered student records and four others lacking documentation to prove completion of required training components. The ministries...