If driving is your passion, and if you want to make a career as a driver, becoming a truck driver in Canada could be a perfect choice. You can make not less than $22 per hour as an average salary when you work as a truck driver in Canada. This estimation is based on the thousands of salaries submitted to the various job sites anonymously by truck drivers, companies, and users in the last year. Usually, a truck driver is appointed for tenure not more than a year, typically ranging between 3 to 9 months.
What are the different types of Truck Driver Jobs Available in Canada?
There are primarily two types of truck drivers working in Canada, known as owner-operators and company drivers. Let’s understand below how the job of an owner-operator is different from that of a company driver.
Owner-operators:
The owner-operators are the ones who own as well as drive the truck. They are the owners, and therefore, can decide which truck to buy, who should be the clients, when they want to operate, etc. thus enjoying higher flexibility and freedom of operation. They usually earn a higher gross salary than company drivers.
However, they are required to finance the truck by themselves and have to deal with the maintenance expenses on their own. The other expenses they should incur are taxes, paper works, and insurance. Due to the increased expenses, even though the gross salary is higher for an owner-operator, their actual income need not necessarily be higher than the company drivers.
Company Drivers:
The company drivers are the ones who drive the trucks for a different owner. They are hired by truck companies and are given various benefits like life insurance, health insurance, including medical and dental insurance, retirement plans, paid holidays, etc. Typically, they are not responsible for purchasing the truck and taking care of maintenance expenses. Their tax situation could also be more advantageous than that of an owner-operator. However, they do not enjoy greater work flexibility and independence. They also have less job security as compared to owner-operators.
How to earn more as a Truck Driver?
When you work as a truck driver, you can also get several other benefits, which include:
- Referral bonus
- Signing bonus
- Safety bonus
- Fuel-efficiency bonus
- Mileage bonus
- Detention pay
- Layover pay
Apart from the above benefits, certain truck drivers such as ice-road truck drivers, heavy load truck drivers, and hazmat truck drivers are offered higher salaries as these jobs require specialized skills. Even Over the road or OTR truck drivers who drive for long hours across the different states get a higher salary.