All good advice albeit a little worrying,
We definitely want to make the move, the better half is well on board with the idea as well and in the long run I think it would be a better life. The worry is that you will never really know if the firm you are going to is straight until you get there.
Perhaps it would be better to try using the Express entry or PNIP programs rather than LMIA? At least then I wouldn’t be tied down to one firm.
You still need an LMIA to go through PNP and I’m not sure you’d qualify under the express entry route, the first couple of years are really tough as a family you’ll need an extremely strong relationship and a tight budget to make it work plus I’d also recommend bringing a pot of money with you. We brought £10k with us and would’ve struggled without it
Much, much more research to be done.
I know a bloke that has just started with Agritel, it’s only somewhere I would recommend as a last resort to be honest. They don’t pay you during training, which was part of the deal under the old LMO scheme, maybe it’s different under LMIA? They also pay a “training” wage once you’re out on the road after passing the tests, for the first few months at least.
The work they do involves a lot of hanging around too, so in order to get a good living you’re going to be spending a lot of time sitting in a truckstop, if you combine that with reasonable time off at home, then you will not earn much money at all, it’s something a single bloke could suffer if they didn’t mind foregoing the home time part though.
On the plus side they run good plant, the work is clean and the runs guarantee good miles while the wheels are turning, so there is a silver lining, however it surrounds a ■■■■■■■■■ cloud.
For a UK driver it will be a huge shock to the system and I’m not so sure many could handle it. As Jimmy said, the Brits have a bit of a reputation for wanting Monday to Friday gigs and they are notorious for whinging and whining when things don’t go the way they’re used to, or want them to go.
At present the situation is not good, to get an LMIA means working for one of the less desirable companies, the opportunity to move around once you’re here is almost non existent now, so basically you’re trapped, not just in a job you don’t like, but also in a place that wouldn’t be your first choice to live, as you need to live in a reasonable proximity to work, especially as money will be tight and you may not have the luxury of running two cars. Your wife and older kids will be unable to work until PNP is granted, so that increases the financial burden and forces you to use the time you spend waiting for loads as your time off. This means your family will be marooned with nothing to do.
I think the best way to do it is to come over on your own, do what you have to do to make it work, then get nominated on PNP asap and then think about selling up in the UK and bringing the family over, don’t buy anything like a house or a decent car until you get PR and then move to somewhere you want to settle for the long term.
That’s a very difficult journey to embark on and it means living in limbo for at least three years, but in my mind it’s the best route to take.
newmercman:
I know a bloke that has just started with Agritel, it’s only somewhere I would recommend as a last resort to be honest. They don’t pay you during training, which was part of the deal under the old LMO scheme, maybe it’s different under LMIA? They also pay a “training” wage once you’re out on the road after passing the tests, for the first few months at least.The work they do involves a lot of hanging around too, so in order to get a good living you’re going to be spending a lot of time sitting in a truckstop, if you combine that with reasonable time off at home, then you will not earn much money at all, it’s something a single bloke could suffer if they didn’t mind foregoing the home time part though.
On the plus side they run good plant, the work is clean and the runs guarantee good miles while the wheels are turning, so there is a silver lining, however it surrounds a ■■■■■■■■■ cloud.
For a UK driver it will be a huge shock to the system and I’m not so sure many could handle it. As Jimmy said, the Brits have a bit of a reputation for wanting Monday to Friday gigs and they are notorious for whinging and whining when things don’t go the way they’re used to, or want them to go.
At present the situation is not good, to get an LMIA means working for one of the less desirable companies, the opportunity to move around once you’re here is almost non existent now, so basically you’re trapped, not just in a job you don’t like, but also in a place that wouldn’t be your first choice to live, as you need to live in a reasonable proximity to work, especially as money will be tight and you may not have the luxury of running two cars. Your wife and older kids will be unable to work until PNP is granted, so that increases the financial burden and forces you to use the time you spend waiting for loads as your time off. This means your family will be marooned with nothing to do.
I think the best way to do it is to come over on your own, do what you have to do to make it work, then get nominated on PNP asap and then think about selling up in the UK and bringing the family over, don’t buy anything like a house or a decent car until you get PR and then move to somewhere you want to settle for the long term.
That’s a very difficult journey to embark on and it means living in limbo for at least three years, but in my mind it’s the best route to take.
All good advice - this is pretty much what we went through - the good times are there at the end but sense and patience are needed in great abundance to reach that point
I don’t know if the rules will change under Trudeau’s regime, they’re making changes to the citizenship process, maybe PNP and LMIA rules will change too?
newmercman:
I don’t know if the rules will change under Trudeau’s regime, they’re making changes to the citizenship process, maybe PNP and LMIA rules will change too?
Maybe pot dealers will qualify for express entry [emoji2]
Theres an interesting post on the British expat site its called " bulk transport what a nightmare" . It gives an account of the awful experience that one brit went through in Edmonton a few years back. He is back in the uk now. Anyone thinking of coming over should read this. Wayne Robinson 39 years in alberta formerly Leicestershire.
also one on truckers report Canadian part …good or bad Canadian companies …about pauls hauling Brandon depot.
Something to remember chaps and chapesses, we don’t promote other forums on here, so bear that in mind for the future please.
Now to business. What you need to take into account is that bad news is interesting, if everyone said we like it in Canada, it’s great, then there wouldn’t be anyone reading forums, but a bit of drama and threads go on forever.
There are many people that have come to Canada and had a bad time of it, some lost everything, however for every driver that had a bad time, there are those that survived and some even prospered at the same firm.
We’ve all seen people come here and try to convince the Canadians that they’re doing it all wrong etc etc etc. These people never last, others come here with a Monday to Friday attitude, they don’t last long either, others come here thinking they’re on holiday, blowing cash like they’re rich and they don’t last long. Some come here and just don’t like it.
There are a thousand ways to ■■■■ it up over here, but equally there are many ways to succeed, so concentrate on the success stories and forget about the failures, you will only hear one side of a two sided story.
robinhood_1984:
burgerdave:
Thanks Jimmy, I do see your point, I have come across many a Brit online complaining about pretty much everything they have done in Canada. Saying that I know many a driver in the UK who want the easy life, early finishes etc and never stop moaning even if only an hour late into the yard (mentioning no names of course).My hope is to get on long haul and do 10-15 days on, I will be quite happy to Keep my head down and crack on, whatever it takes. I have done a lot of research and yes you only get paid when rolling, you don’t get paid waiting, but you have to take the rough with the smooth.
Whatever hardship it takes would be worth it to get PR and eventually buy a house (something that is way beyond reach in the UK now due to crazy prices). The life I could give my kids over there compared to here will drive me on.
Don’t underestimate how much jumping in with a badly run firm can ruin your dreams. It sounds easy to just say keep your head down for X amount of months or years until you get your PR but if you’re with one of the bottom dwelling cockroach companies who keep you sitting here, there and everywhere and out of your 15 days away, 5 or 6 of them have been totally dead days with nothing earned it will soon wear thin for you and all of your family when you have no home life due to being away so long in the first place and then having to cut short your planned time to try and rake in some extra cash because the wages you did earn for 15 days away don’t actually allow for you to have a standard of life and keep up with mortgage payments/rent, house payments, groceries and the list goes on.
As all of us on here have said time and time again, its all about research and getting in with the right job. Now, obviously as things stand now that’s not really possible most of the time because there just aren’t the LMIA’s being thrown around like there used to be. If you were single with no commitments then I’d say go for it regardless, you’d have nothing to lose by giving it a shot, but if you have a family to support and you’re the main/only bread winner then jumping in with a bad firm isn’t going to end well in many if not most cases because you simply won’t be earning the money to keep things ticking over, let alone getting ahead.
I’m not trying to ■■■■ on your strawberries, I just want to make it clear that in my opinion its not simply a case of UK = Crap and Canada = Brilliant. Both countries are advanced western nations with a very high quality of life and a lot to offer and plenty to be worried about and given the mileage based pay of most work here its easier to fall off the wagon when it comes to keeping up with financial commitments of life, as opposed to the UK’s safe hourly pay or salary etc.
As to actually finding work, forget emails. Some companies may respond but by far the best way is to at least get on the phone and call them. I know some companies in New Brunswick where I live are still getting LMIA’s. One such company advertises in the local paper on a regular basis and the advert includes “LMIA available”. That company is Culberson Transport in Jacksonville, NB just outside of Woodstock. However, its east coast reefer work, which means lower miles and loads and loads of waiting around much of the time. I know people who have worked there and I wouldn’t say its a bad firm in and of itself, there are certainly much worse companies but knowing what I do and having experienced what I have, I wouldn’t be moving from the UK to Canada with a family to pay and provide for to do that sort of work for that sort of pay.
Very well said Jordan 
Sorry NMM forgot about that rule 
,to make up for the slip I will refuse the offer of a extra cheeseburger at the winkler truckstop… 
jimmy.
No need to go that far Jimmy, we don’t want to be held responsible for any malnutrition.