Alberta bans Conquer Transportation after fatal Manitoba crash and safety rating downgrade
Alberta has stopped Conquer Transportation from operating after its truck caused a deadly crash in Manitoba and the carrier received an unsatisfactory safety rating.
A Conquer Transportation driver ignored a stop sign at a Brandon, Manitoba intersection on May 27, colliding with an SUV and killing 49-year-old Xiaoyun Zhang, a worker at Brandon Packers. The driver, Brijpal Panwar, now faces a dangerous-driving-causing-death charge. After losing its Manitoba safety permit in 2021, the firm registered in Alberta in 2022, but an April assessment flagged it as high-risk.
In June, Alberta downgraded its safety fitness rating to “unsatisfactory,” effectively ending its operations, making it the latest of 20 carriers eliminated since October, including 13 “chameleon carriers.” Minister Devin Dreeshen said the province is removing bad actors and noted a national database effort by the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators to close inter-provincial data gaps. Alberta has also blocked 40 chameleon carriers from obtaining safety certificates and shut down five fraudulent Class 1 trucking schools.
Why it matters
The action highlights growing regulatory pressure on unsafe trucking firms and aims to protect road safety across provinces.
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