Private career colleges in Ontario are accrediting aspiring commercial truck drivers who have not completed the minimum training requirements, and in some cases, altering student records to falsify their qualifications, according to a new report from the Auditor-General's office.
Key Findings
The provincial auditor analyzed Ontario's enforcement records and found that some ministry-approved private career colleges could not produce records demonstrating their students had completed the required training components to become a truck driver. The report also found that some private colleges employed unqualified instructors and instructed students to sign off on training hours that were never delivered.
Training Shortcuts
Entry-level training courses are mandatory for aspiring truck drivers and are a crucial part of road safety. Drivers must complete their licensing by taking a road test. However, Auditor-General Shelley Spence's report, released Tuesday, also found significant flaws with Ontario's testing regime. In some cases, unregistered private career colleges not subject to provincial oversight successfully booked students to complete road tests. Some training colleges also booked students' road tests at specific centres where exams involved easier turns and reversal testing, as well as lower-speed-limit highways, pointing to inconsistent testing practices that undermine road safety, the report noted.
Collision Rates
An analysis of Ministry of Transportation data found that drivers who travelled more than 50 kilometres from their home to complete road tests had higher at-fault collision rates post-licensing. "Ontarians expect that licensed truck drivers have the mandatory training and experience required to safely operate their vehicles on our roadway," the report said. Large truck drivers account for more than 70 per cent of all commercial vehicle operators in Ontario, making up about 3 per cent of all vehicles on provincial roads. However, between 2019 and 2023, they accounted for 12 per cent of all fatal collisions, the Auditor-General report noted.
Two Training Streams
Truck driver training in Ontario can occur in two forums: at a business or public community college that is approved under the MTO's driver certification program, or a private career college that is registered with the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security (MCURES). The provincial auditor focused largely on the latter, enrolling students at five private colleges between June and December 2025 to identify potential training gaps. Two of the colleges offered less than the minimum required 103.5 training hours, the report said. One undercover student, for example, was offered 20 hours of one-on-one lessons in a truck instead of the necessary 50 hours. Other students were not taught all the required elements of truck driving, such as left turns at major intersections and emergency stopping. "Providing proper training is expensive, and our students observed that it is relatively easy for private career colleges to take shortcuts," the report said.
Inspection Gaps
Commercial truck driver training is the largest and fastest-growing vocational program offered by private career colleges in Ontario, the study notes. These colleges are inspected by MCURES, which can issue compliance orders and revoke program approvals. However, around a quarter of accredited private colleges have never been inspected, the provincial auditor noted, and MCURES does not routinely share inspection information with the transport ministry.
Road Test Issues
Students who complete driver training at private colleges must then complete road exams at DriveTest centres, which are run by a third-party provider for the Ministry of Transportation. DriveTest staff do not have the ability to verify whether training schools making exam bookings were from authorized colleges, the Auditor-General's office found. The report noted that 29 schools that had never registered with MCURES had successfully booked more than 3,200 road tests. Another 11 private colleges had booked exams despite expired, suspended or revoked registrations. The report made numerous recommendations to both the Transport Ministry and MCURES to improve oversight and enforcement, including better information-sharing arrangements and a greater number of unannounced inspections of training schools. Both ministries have agreed to all 13 recommendations made in the report.
