Alberta has yanked the operating permit for Conquer Transportation, the trucking company whose vehicle was involved in a fatal crash in Brandon, Manitoba that killed a 49-year-old woman in May.
The company is one of 20 unsafe carriers that have been "eliminated" from Alberta since October, Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen announced Thursday.
"We are trying to clean up the industry," Dreeshen told CBC. "It's the bad actors that are giving the industry a black eye."
A Pattern of Evasion
Conquer Transportation started operating in Alberta in 2022 after its predecessor company, Conquer Transport, had its safety permit revoked in Manitoba in 2021 for "deficiencies in safe operation and non-compliance."
The strategy — relocating to another province after safety violations — is known as a "chameleon carrier" operation. Alberta identified 13 such carriers among the 20 it removed from roads.
In the May 27 crash near Brandon Packers in Manitoba, a Conquer truck driver allegedly ran a stop sign and struck an SUV, killing Xiaoyun Zhang, 49. Driver Brijpal Panwar faces charges of dangerous driving causing death. Zhang's son described his mother as "just a really hard-working woman and a really powerful person."
Alberta's Crackdown
Before the fatal collision, Alberta had already flagged Conquer Transportation as a high-risk carrier in April. The province downgraded the company's safety fitness rating to "unsatisfactory" in June, effectively shutting down operations immediately.
Regulators also shut down five fraudulent Class 1 trucking schools and prevented 40 additional chameleon carriers from obtaining safety certificates through document review.
The Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators — representing provinces, territories, and the federal government — is developing a national database to combat carriers that exploit gaps in interprovincial data sharing and enforcement.
Barry Prentice, director of the University of Manitoba's Transport Institute, says the Brandon crash underscores the urgent need for tighter industry regulation across Canada.
This report is based on coverage from CBC Calgary.