N.S. drops 80/20 rule for provincial roadwork, small trucking companies concerned

Some small operators are worried the changes to Nova Scotia’s trucking industry will put them out of business.

Some small trucking companies are concerned about their future after the Province of Nova Scotia decided to end the decades old, 80/20 rule that guarantees 80 per cent of all provincial government highway work is allocated to Trucking Association of Nova Scotia (TANS) members. Many of them are often based in rural communities. The other 20 per cent of the work goes to the main contractor.

“I’m hoping the government will, you know figure out, this was the best thing we had. This is what we had for 32 years,” says Andy Weir who owns Weir and Sons based in Cannan, N.S.

He was planning to hand the business down to his son, but without the 80/20 rule, he’s not sure there will be anything to leave.

“The 80/20, what it did, it gave us the chance for any member who belonged to the association as long as they were in good standing, they could go to work and they had equal opportunity to go to work for them jobs,” Weir said.

TANS members found out last month that the rule is being dropped.

In a letter to the association, Public Works Minister Fred Tilley says eliminating 80/20 is an effort to reduce interprovincial trade barriers as part of Canada’s response to tariff pressures.

“When you think about procurement that excludes a lot of other folks who may not be members of that group. So that’s the issue with the 80/20 as we know it today.”

Tilley says opening provincial tenders to more companies is the right move.

“If you picture 80/20 with regards to provincial highway work we’re basically saying as a government that there’s a chunk of work that only this group of people can do 80 per cent of the time,” Tilley said.

Weir worries small operations like his across the province won’t be able to survive, saying big contractors with their own fleet will no longer need the “little guy.”

The 80/20 rule is still in place for any contract signed prior to 2026. The new rules come into affect Jan. 1 and apply to any contracts signed after that date.

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