Trucking HR Canada and CIFFA tapped to lead a national transportation workforce alliance

In August 2026, Patty Hajdu, the federal minister of jobs and families, launched the Transportation and Supply Chain Workforce Alliance in Calgary. Trucking HR Canada (THRC) will lead it in partnership with CIFFA, Canada's association of logistics providers.

The alliance is meant to bring employers, educators, labour organizations and Indigenous partners together to identify workforce problems across road, rail, air, marine and warehousing, and to develop shared solutions on skills, recruitment, technology and collaboration. It was the third such alliance from Ottawa, after ones for mining and minerals and for advanced manufacturing.

Funding and first steps

• THRC president and CEO Angela Splinter told trucknews.com the alliance was set up for an initial three years, with up to $8 million in federal funding to establish it, hire staff and support pilot projects.
• Her first priority was a governance structure with balanced representation from the different transportation modes and stakeholder groups.
• Working groups and task forces were expected to focus on individual modes and specific workforce issues.
• Splinter said, while stressing that plans were preliminary, that some small pilot projects could begin within the first year.

The bottleneck approach

Splinter said one goal was to find occupations that could become bottlenecks in the supply chain, and to help laid-off workers move into jobs in demand. She used the example of getting potash to market by truck, rail, port and ship, calling truck drivers a linchpin while stressing other occupations also mattered. An ageing workforce, fast technological change and attracting younger workers were also on the list.

The federal government said the transportation and warehousing sector contributed $96.5 billion directly to Canada's GDP in 2024 and supports nearly one million jobs.