CTA News Release ~ The Next Test for Ottawa: How to Respond to GHG Rules Being Rolled Back by the U.S. EPA

(TORONTO, July 31, 2025) — The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) has spent a great deal of effort to inform the Government of Canada the realities of the Canadian supply chain and the service requirements of the Canadian trucking industry are not currently compatible with electric truck and zero-emission vehicle mandates.

A white paper completed by the environmental group Pollution Probe, which was commissioned by CTA, outlined the realities of decarbonization in trucking and strongly supports the position of the Alliance (link to old PR).

Earlier this week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officially released a proposed rule to repeal the 2009 Endangerment Finding, the foundation of EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under the Clean Air Act. In repealing the Endangerment Finding, the EPA proposes to also void their Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Phase 3 standards for heavy-duty trucks and EPA’s light-duty multi-pollutant emissions standards. These actions are expected to be finalized by the fall.

Meanwhile, CTA continues to caution Ottawa on the perils of taking a diverging regulatory path from the U.S. when it comes to environmental mandates and GHG regulations. 

To their credit, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has engaged CTA regarding the issues highlighted in the Pollution Probe white paper and are prepared to discuss these realities as they relate to the GHG Phase III rules in Canada.

As it becomes clear that Phase III regulations won’t be introduced in the U.S., CTA will reiterate its message to Ottawa that Canada’s response to this change must consider the market realities of where heavy trucks are manufactured, technological feasibility of GHG reduction technology and their cost-effectiveness; and the operational realities of the trucking industry and supply chain in Canada, amongst other factors.  

CTA is urging the Carney Government to develop a pragmatic approach in response to the potential US decision not to introduce Phase III of the GHG regulation, which makes sense for Canadian businesses as it attempts to continue reducing carbon from heavy trucks.

To be clear, Phase II of the ECCC GHG regulations were already causing significant problems for many fleets and OEMs – especially those in the vocational sector that will be needed to build the mega projects Ottawa and the provinces say they want to create. These same issues are starting to creep into the long-haul trucking sector, potentially making Phase III regulations a repeat disaster of previous environmental regulations for Canadian fleets and the customers they serve.

“The Alliance believes that Minister Dabrusin and Prime Minister Carney face a big test in prioritizing commonsense and business-focused solutions in response to the U.S. direction,” said CTA president Stephen Laskowski. “If the Carney Government is true to their word about wanting to inject growth and productivity into the economy, the Government of Canada will put aside environmental  politics and work with the OEMs and the trucking fleets that will be impacted by the U.S. EPA changes, while also remaining sensitive to the need to reduce carbon emissions from heavy trucks in an operationally and technologically feasible manner that can be properly managed by the trucking industry and supply chain.”

The Alliance would also like to emphasize that the potential elimination of the U.S. EPA carbon regulations does not mean the end of pursuing an effective GHG regulation for heavy trucks. In fact, CTA is hopeful Ottawa agrees that recent changes provide a great opportunity to implement a regulatory pathway that addresses concerns from both an environmental and business perspective. This may include looking at more viable alternative fuel or transitional technologies available to the sector. 

CTA will continue to work with its association partners in the U.S. to develop a consistent message for the industry as it manages this evolving issue over the coming months.