In its pre-budget submission, the Canadian Trucking Alliance called on the Government of Canada to implement a permanent full expensing policy for capital investments, a crucial move to safeguard the long-term competitiveness of Canada’s trucking and logistics industry.
The appeal follows the recent passage of legislation in the U.S. enshrining 100-percent bonus depreciation for qualifying assets, including trucks, trailers, and logistics technology. This policy – part of the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” – allows U.S. fleets to fully deduct the cost of capital investments in the year they are made. The resulting improvement in cash flow and reinvestment incentives gives American carriers a significant advantage over their Canadian counterparts.
“This is more than a tax policy issue. It’s about economic competitiveness, environmental progress, and strengthening our supply chain,” said Stephen Laskowski, president and CEO of CTA. “Without a comparable measure in Canada, our fleets are operating at a disadvantage.”
Without similar provisions north of the border, Canadian fleets face higher capital costs, slower equipment turnover, and diminished capacity to invest in cleaner, safer, and more efficient technologies, CTA warns.
Permanent full expensing in Canada would:
- Support investment in lower-emission, modern trucks and trailers;
- Encourage domestic innovation and equipment upgrades;
- Improve fleet cash flow; and
- Strengthen Canada’s competitive position in the cross-border trucking market.
It’s important to note that permanent full expensing does not eliminate taxes but rather defers them, allowing up to 100-percent depreciation in the first year of investment.
“Canada’s trucking industry is the backbone of our national supply chain,” Laskowski said. “Policies like permanent full expensing are essential to supporting its sustainability in an increasingly competitive and fast-evolving market.”
Among the critical issues raised in its pre-budget submission, CTA underscores the urgent need to address the widespread misclassification of workers in the trucking industry – particularly the illegal “Driver Inc.” model, which undermines compliant carriers and compromises worker protections.
Other key recommendations include addressing challenges related to oversized and overweight vehicle movements, establishing a centralized database for trucking safety and compliance, expanding truck rest areas to better support drivers, and investing in the Canada Border Services Agency’s IT infrastructure to reduce costly cross-border delays.
The CTA emphasizes these reforms are essential to supporting the trucking industry’s vital role in Canada’s economic growth and the resilience of the national supply chain.
See more on CTA’s pre-budget recommendations here.