Canadian Vaccine Mandate Impact on the Trucking Industry

• Starting January 15, 2022, President Trudeau of Canada required all essential, non-resident travelers crossing into Canadian land to show proof of full vaccination status. This applies to truck drivers, as well as government and emergency response officials.
• Starting January 22, 2022, President Biden required all essential, non-resident travelers crossing into U.S. land to show proof of full vaccination status. This is required of all truck drivers, including government and emergency response officials.
• The ATA (American Trucking Association) claimed that this mandate will only worsen the U.S. supply chain crisis. Simultaneously, the ATA opposed any protest activities that compromise public safety and the economic security of the U.S.
• Even with the ATA’s recent victory over the OSHA vaccination mandate, unvaccinated U.S. truckers still cannot cross into Canadian land due to Canada’s vaccine restrictions.
• President Trudeau used emergency powers to disband protests on the Alberta/Montana border and other areas. Vehicles have been towed and arrests have been made. All truckers are still required to use the ArriveCan app before entering Canada.

Citizens of both the U.S. and Canada claimed they received conflicting messages from federal officials regarding Canada’s vaccine mandates. On January 12, 2022, the Canada Border Services Agency told U.S. reporters Canadian truckers were exempt from any testing or quarantining. Yet, the next day, Canadian federal ministers claimed the agency had made an error and Canadian truckers were not exempt.

Previously, the longest convoy recorded took place in Egypt in 2020, coming in at nearly 5 miles long. Many estimate this convoy was nearly nine times longer.

Many U.S. and Canadian trucking companies’ main job is to export goods across the border daily, weekly, or monthly. Unfortunately, the Canadian vaccine mandate has increased unemployment for both U.S. and Canadian truckers, as well as fueled even higher inflation and shortages of many goods. Also, Canadian companies and their drivers rushed to get back into Canada before the mandate came into effect. Thus, arrangements were made on the companies’ dime for the unvaccinated drivers’ loads to be picked up by vaccinated drivers.

With many members of the freedom convoy still against the vaccination mandate, there are strains on the supply chain as they return to their normal operations. Companies navigating these issues must maintain a watchful eye on their fleet trailers to optimize their operational efficiencies.