Dash Cameras to Be Mandatory for All Commercial Vehicles in BC

Dash camera installation will soon become mandatory for all commercial trucks operating in British Columbia, following the unanimous passage of a private members’ bill through the legislature.

B.C. Conservative MLA Ward Stamer proposed the legislation following a series of fatal accidents on Highway 5, which runs through his Kamloops-North Thompson riding.

The legislation will stipulate that all commercial trucks travelling on B.C. highways have outward-facing dash cameras, the party said in a May 26 press release.

“This bill started with families along Highway 5 who have buried loved ones after preventable crashes. It finishes with B.C. leading the country on commercial vehicle safety,” Stamer said in the press release. “Dash cameras save lives. They hold drivers accountable. And they make sure that when a crash happens, the evidence is there, not lost, not disputed, not buried in a year-long investigation.”

Now that Bill M217, known as the Dashboard Cameras in Commercial Vehicles Act, has passed third reading in the legislative assembly, it must receive royal assent to become law. The bill will come into force six months after receiving royal assent.

Once that happens, British Columbia will become the first Canadian jurisdiction to require commercial dash cameras.

Stamer first proposed the implementation of mandatory dash cameras three years ago, while serving as the mayor of Barriere, after several fatal collisions on Highway 5. Barriere is a municipality in central B.C., located 66 kilometres north of Kamloops.

“Good ideas shouldn’t belong to one party,” Stamer said in the press release. “Every member who voted for this heard from constituents who’ve lost people on our highways. This is what the legislature should look like.”

The BC Trucking Association (BCTA) has endorsed the bill, noting in Stamer’s statement that 75 to 80 percent of collisions involving a commercial vehicle are not the fault of the truck driver. Outward-facing cameras capture that evidence immediately, protecting professional drivers and speeding up investigations, the association said.

The agency noted that it plans to work closely with the B.C. government, the Canadian Trucking Alliance, and provincial trucking associations across Canada to ensure any requirements are clear, practical, and aligned with a national approach.

“BCTA supports road safety, and our Board has previously indicated that members are not opposed to the use of mandatory outward-facing dash cams. However, our position remains clear: this must be done on a national level,” the association wrote.

“A province-by-province approach risks creating another patchwork of regulations for carriers operating across Canada, adding complexity, inconsistency, and unnecessary interprovincial trade barriers.”