Truck dealers warned a certification mismatch could block 2027 model imports

In May 2026, the Canadian Truck Dealers Association (CTD), a division of the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association, held a press conference on Parliament Hill to warn that a regulatory gap could disrupt the supply of new medium- and heavy-duty trucks to Canada.

According to The Canadian Press, the problem arose after the United States moved responsibility for certifying emissions standards for U.S.-built trucks from the Environmental Protection Agency to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Canada only recognized certifications done by the EPA, so unless that changed, dealers said they could not import U.S.-made models. The issue covered Class 4 to Class 8 trucks.

Why it mattered to fleets

• CTD executive director Kevin Disher said U.S.-built trucks make up about 95% of Canadian supply, and roughly 30,000 Class 8 trucks, worth more than $8 billion in economic activity, are sold in Canada each year.
• Without a fix, dealers said fleets might be unable to get model-year 2027 trucks from Jan. 1, 2027.
• Huw Williams, public affairs for CADA, said pre-ordering for the 2027 model year would begin in August, so the problem was more urgent than officials might think.
• Williams said large fleets typically replace trucks about every three years, and losing a full model year would be a disaster for Canadian supply chains.

Williams described the issue as a paperwork misalignment rather than a disagreement over emissions goals, noting the new trucks would be cleaner than ever on both nitrogen oxides and greenhouse gases.

Talks with Ottawa

Dealers said manufacturers had raised the issue with federal officials for about a year. Williams said meetings had intensified with Transport Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada and the office of Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc, but no clear path to a solution had been confirmed. A spokesperson for Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin told The Canadian Press that Ottawa was aware of the issue and working on it.