Getting your Class 1 or AZ licence

What's the difference between Class 1 and AZ?

Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba call the tractor-trailer licence "Class 1." Ontario and Quebec call it "AZ" (Ontario) or "Class 1" under Quebec's own SAAQ system. In every case it means the same thing: you're licensed to drive a tractor-trailer combination, and in almost every province you'll also need an air brake endorsement, since nearly all semis run air brakes.

How many hours of MELT training does each province require?

Every province listed here requires a minimum number of hours of training -- classroom, in-yard, and behind-the-wheel -- through a licensed training provider before you can take your road test. The hours differ by province and change over time, so treat the numbers below as a starting point and confirm the current requirement with your provincial licensing body before booking a course.

• Alberta: Alberta replaced its original MELT program with the Class 1 Learning Pathway on April 1, 2025 -- an apprenticeship-style program that Alberta's own program page breaks down as a 40-hour Entry Program, a 67-hour Core Learning phase, and a 10-to-18-hour one-on-one Competence Building phase (plus a separate air brake course if you don't already hold a Q endorsement), for roughly 125 hours total to reach a full Class 1 licence without a provincial restriction (checked 2026-09-08).
• Ontario: Ontario requires a minimum of 103.5 hours of approved MELT instruction before a Class A (AZ) road test, plus a separate air brake (Z endorsement) course if you don't already hold one. Ontario was the first province to make MELT mandatory, in July 2017.
• British Columbia: BC's Class 1 MELT program, mandatory since October 18, 2021, requires 140 total hours through an ICBC-approved course: roughly 50 hours on-highway, 37 hours in-yard and around the vehicle, and 15.5 hours of air brake training.
• Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec: each has its own mandatory training program with its own hour requirements -- confirm the current numbers with SGI (Saskatchewan), MPI (Manitoba), or the SAAQ (Quebec) directly, since this site has not independently verified their exact hour breakdowns.

Before you enrol

You'll typically need a valid Class 5 (car) licence first, a clean-enough driving record, and in most provinces you must be at least 18 or 19 depending on the province. A commercial driver's medical exam is required before licensing in every province -- see our health hub for what that covers. Getting hired afterward usually also means passing a pre-employment drug test and, for cross-border work, a clean criminal record.

Sources

• Alberta.ca -- Class 1 Learning Pathway (Entry Program, Core Learning, and Competence Building hour breakdown) — accessed 2026-09-08.

Last checked 2026-09-08.