Abstract

Transporting goods across Canada’s vast landmass on a daily basis, trucks can be seen as carriers of the country’s prosperity. In the meantime, like many countries across the globe, Canada is currently suffering from a concerning truck driver shortage. Given Canada’s reliance on trucks, addressing this shortage is crucial. My qualitative study explores factors that affect the retention of immigrant, young, and women drivers, who are currently underrepresented as truck drivers, yet who will likely become the backbone of Canada’s trucking industry in light of its changing demographics. Based on the Job Demands-Resources Model, my study investigates the job demands that deter these drivers from staying in the industry and the job resources that encourage them to stay. Key findings highlight job demands including driving related working conditions, perceived discrimination, and exploitation that are critical to address, along with important job resources of financial and non-financial nature that need to be further encouraged to help reduce Canada’s truck driver shortage. My study provides practical recommendations to three levels of stakeholders – government agencies, industrial leaders, and the general public.