Study: Canadian Truckers Are Older, Paid Less

Long hours, low pay and older men. That’s the profile of Canadian truck drivers and their work patterns, according to Statistics Canada.

Shop Online

dotU.S. Trucking in Canada

In a 1999 article in the agency’s quarterly journal, Perspectives, Irwin Bess, an analyst in Statistics Canada’s trucking group, compiled information from a variety of sources to form a profile of Canada’s truck drivers.

He found that more men were working as truck drivers in Canada in 1996 than in any other occupation in the trades-labor category – which includes construction workers, material handlers, janitors, farmers, salesmen, and retail sales workers. By 1998, the agency counted 230,000 men driving trucks for a living.



TTNews Message Boards
“[Truck driving] is one of the largest occupations for men,” said Bess, adding that is not surprising considering Canada’s geography and trade routes. “The large spaces in Canada and goods moving east-west and north-south, coupled with the increase in cross-border trade, have increased the number of truck drivers.”

For the full story, see the Aug. 7 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.