The Alberta government has revoked the operating authority of Conquer Transportation, a trucking company linked to a fatal crash in Manitoba earlier this year, following an investigation that uncovered repeated regulatory violations and deliberate non-compliance. The decision was announced on Thursday by Alberta’s Transport Minister Devin Dreeshen, who described the company’s conduct as “willful and sustained non-compliance” and cited practices aimed at evading enforcement, sometimes called “chameleon” tactics, where carriers shift jurisdictions or change names.

Conquer Transportation was established in Alberta in late 2021. Prior to that, a related company, Conquer Transport, had its safety credentials revoked in Manitoba due to chronic safety violations. Manitoba authorities identified that Conquer Transportation was operating trucks previously registered in Manitoba but re-registered under Alberta authority after the revocation. The fatal incident that triggered the investigation occurred in May in Brandon, Manitoba, when a Conquer Transportation truck failed to stop at a stop sign and collided at highway speeds with an SUV, killing the lone occupant, a 49-year-old woman. The truck driver, Brijpal Panwar, has been charged with dangerous driving causing death and is scheduled to appear in court this fall.

Alberta regulators downgraded Conquer Transportation’s safety rating to unsatisfactory and imposed a $16,500 fine for unspecified infractions, effectively shutting down the company’s operations in the province. The investigation revealed operational abnormalities, but specific violations were not detailed by Minister Dreeshen. Conquer Transportation did not respond to requests for comment.

Manitoba Transportation Minister Lisa Naylor expressed approval of Alberta’s enforcement action and reiterated the province’s call for a national trucking registry to improve data sharing and prevent carriers from circumventing safety regulations by shifting jurisdictions or altering company identities. This initiative is currently underway through the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA), which includes federal, provincial, and territorial representatives responsible for transportation safety. CCMTA is working to establish a national database to close enforcement loopholes, with a timeline expected to be set this fall.

Since October, Alberta authorities have issued 443 penalties and removed 20 unsafe carriers from the roads, including 13 identified as “chameleon carriers.” The province has also blocked 40 such carriers from obtaining operating authority. Minister Dreeshen highlighted ongoing efforts to improve safety enforcement by increasing inspections and combating driver misclassification practices, where drivers are incorrectly classified as self-employed to avoid labor protections and payroll obligations. A recent inspection found that roughly 20 percent of truck drivers stopped may have been misclassified, including some temporary foreign workers.

Robert Harper, president of the Alberta Motor Transport Association, emphasized the need for enhanced interjurisdictional data sharing and auditing to identify carriers with poor safety records proactively. He noted that Conquer Transportation’s safety record in Alberta prior to the fatal crash was among the province’s worst, underscoring the importance of rigorous, targeted enforcement to prevent similar tragedies.