Trucking company linked to deadly Manitoba crash among 20 carriers shut down in Alberta
Conquer Transportation lost its safety certification after a truck killed a 49-year-old woman in Brandon in May following similar violations in Manitoba.
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Conquer Transportation, the trucking company involved in a fatal crash in Brandon, Manitoba, in May, is no longer permitted to operate from Alberta after provincial regulators shut it down Thursday.
A Conquer truck driver went through a stop sign at a Brandon intersection on May 27, hitting an SUV and killing Xiaoyun Zhang, 49, a woman in the Manitoba city 200 kilometres west of Winnipeg. Brijpal Panwar is charged with dangerous driving causing death. Zhang's son Jay described her as "just a really hard-working woman and a really powerful person."
Conquer Transportation is one of 20 unsafe carriers "eliminated" in Alberta since October, Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen said Thursday. The company had registered in Alberta in 2022 after a related entity, Conquer Transport—owned by the same family and using the same trucks—had its safety permit pulled in Manitoba in 2021 for "deficiencies in safe operation and non-compliance."
In April, weeks before the fatal crash, Conquer Transportation was assessed as among the highest-risk transportation companies based in Alberta. The province downgraded the trucking company's safety fitness rating to "unsatisfactory" in June, "effectively shutting down its operations immediately," Dreeshen said. The company was penalized for unspecified infractions after investigators identified "willful and sustained non-compliance" and "chameleon practices"—referring to carriers that move jurisdictions or change names to evade enforcement.
"We are trying to clean up the industry," Dreeshen said. "It's the bad actors that are giving the industry a black eye."
Of the 20 shut-down carriers, 13 were classified as "chameleon carriers." The Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators is developing a national database to address carriers that exploit gaps in interprovincial data sharing and enforcement. Alberta has already prevented 40 chameleon carriers from obtaining safety fitness certificates through document review and shut down five "fraudulent" Class 1 trucking schools.
When will the national interprovincial trucking database be operational, and will it prevent similar jurisdictional escapes?
What enforcement mechanisms exist to identify and stop new chameleon carriers before they cause harm?
We'll update this story as answers emerge.
By the numbers
When did the fatal crash involving Conquer Transportation occur?
May 27, 2026. A Conquer truck driver went through a stop sign at a Brandon, Manitoba intersection, hitting an SUV and killing Xiaoyun Zhang, a 49-year-old woman.
How many unsafe carriers has Alberta shut down since October?
20 unsafe carriers have been eliminated in Alberta since October, according to Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen, including Conquer Transportation.
When did Conquer Transportation's related entity lose its safety permit in Manitoba?
2021. Conquer Transport, a related entity owned by the same family and using the same trucks, had its safety permit pulled in Manitoba for deficiencies in safe operation and non-compliance.
How many of Alberta's 20 shut-down carriers were classified as chameleon carriers?
13 of the 20 shut-down carriers were classified as chameleon carriers, which refer to carriers that move jurisdictions or change names to evade enforcement.
