Hi
Im seriously thinking of emigrating to Canada. Been driving class 1 over 14 yrs both uk and european. L live in cardiff south wales.
Ive been reading up on the pros and cons of driving over there, i know its no bed of roses and its going to be a hard slog to survive for the first two years. Will be intending to go over there first, on my own for about 6 months, then if posssible my wife and two sons 18 and 16 yrs will join me. Im looking for any guidance and tips on what area would give me the best chance of making it and eventually getting pr. I know im prob going to be working much harder than the uk. Any advice on companies etc that are fair and able to take on drivers from uk. im 47 yrs old. Thanks
Hi crt,
While I,m no trucker in Canada the only advice I can give you is to do some searching on these forums for info on moving to Canada. I,m sure that the ex pat truckers who live and work in the great cold north (Canada ) will along to give you the info you need. Best of luck.
ray
Loblaws Supermarkets , Global Transportation Hub , Regina , Saskatchewan . Russjp a member on here works for them .
What’s the better option for getting PR “quickly” - Saskatchewan or Manitoba?
How bad are the hours - is 5 days on away from base, 3 off realistic at all?
I’m gearing up to do this, hopefully April to September, otherwise the weather will only compound the challenge.
PR will take 18 - 20 months , thinking both Provinces are along similar timelines . You’ll be lucky to find 5+3 on a PNP job , it can be done but limits the earning potential . Generally the jobs offering LMO’'s aren’t the best payers , they’re used as a means to obtain PR and nothing else , which in turn requires employees to run longhaul .Loblaws have managed to bend the rules with the SK government purely through the economics of having their Western base in Regina ,West Can nearly got caught out by not running their drivers inter-Provincial enough which screwed up some candidates .As had been said a million times on here , you’ll have to serve your time before picking the better work .Go back through this forum , it’s all there .
I think you have to be prepared to go out again after just a 36 hour break between trips. It maybe that you get a 2 or 3 day break but you might find the truck has done a couple of thousand kilometres while you were off. Companies like Big Freight don’t ask for so much; but the pay packet will be that much smaller. It can be hard for a family starting a new life in Canada; the man has to put in the long hours and the woman has to cope with the harsh weather of Canadian winters.
Did I interpret that correctly, you want to work 5 on 3 off, April to September?
Thanks for the replies. I know that when I go out there im probably going to be working much harder than I do here in uk. Im prepared to do what ever it takes to get my pr. I just need to be able to send money home for my family until they join me. So whatever it takes. I just want to pick a company that will give me the hours. Hopfully live in truck untill my family can join me. Which area and company would give me the best chance. I do want long haul and from what ive read staying clear of fridge wotk is the best way to go. I would prefer box or van if that is the right term. Flatbed wouldnt be a problem . thanks again and any tips and information would be really appreciated.
ChrisArbon:
I think you have to be prepared to go out again after just a 36 hour break between trips. It maybe that you get a 2 or 3 day break but you might find the truck has done a couple of thousand kilometres while you were off. Companies like Big Freight don’t ask for so much; but the pay packet will be that much smaller. It can be hard for a family starting a new life in Canada; the man has to put in the long hours and the woman has to cope with the harsh weather of Canadian winters.
TBH I’d be happy to trade some money for more time off.
I’ve done 15 hour a day container work (for a few weeks) in the UK - now, in a sense, that’s a little harder than driving long haul in Canada, because you have to commute home, eat, rest etc, versus just staying with the truck.
Obviously every company is different. What I want may not be what I can get - an intense 3 to 5 days, then a couple of days off. Otherwise it’s just living in the truck with no opportunity to make contacts or a home life.
newmercman:
Did I interpret that correctly, you want to work 5 on 3 off, April to September?
What I meant was, go out there then. A couple provinces have accelerated PR for some occupations, long haul trucking is one of them, so potentially it would be PR in a year or under, not two years.
Kind of thing I had planned, was maybe go on “holiday” there in March/April. Book a couple of days with a truck school to familiarise myself with the LHD trucks, then maybe talk to a couple of companies (if they even give time to a man off the street).
I’d return to England in a better state of mind on how to proceed, then apply for a job and start over there perhaps July through to September.
Optimistic, who knows worth a try.
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Kind of thing I had planned, was maybe go on “holiday” there in March/April. Book a couple of days with a truck school to familiarise myself with the LHD trucks, then maybe talk to a couple of companies (if they even give time to a man off the street).
[/quote]
Coming over and having a look around is a very good idea. Most big companies have recruiters/personell departments that are eager to show a driver around their company. Choose an area where you want to work, fly-in, hire a car and drive around.
Where I live in the Winnipeg/South-east Manitoba area; there is a huge selection of trucking companies and most have driver vacancies. I think most companies respond better to someone who has the “Get-up-and-go” to fly across the Atlantic and turn-up in person to see them; than somebody who fires off a load e-mails to every haulier in Canada.
Hi Chris. If I came over to manitoba and to your area. Is it realistic to secure a long haul job with lmo. After reading up what areas I think thats where I want to go. Ive heard so many bad stories of certain comp. Starting of good and then not giving the hours and then ending up in the position of wanting to come home. Would you have the name of a couple of companies that I could phone . Many thanks. Exscuse my typing .all done on my phone in dover waiting for boat.
You could try Agritel Transport at Beausejour or Schroeder Freight, just south of Winnipeg. I know that they have been advertising that they have LMOs. But there are really so many companies that are short of drivers its hard to list them all.
Google them for the phone numbers and other info.
foresttrucker:
newmercman:
Did I interpret that correctly, you want to work 5 on 3 off, April to September?What I meant was, go out there then. A couple provinces have accelerated PR for some occupations, long haul trucking is one of them, so potentially it would be PR in a year or under, not two years.
Kind of thing I had planned, was maybe go on “holiday” there in March/April. Book a couple of days with a truck school to familiarise myself with the LHD trucks, then maybe talk to a couple of companies (if they even give time to a man off the street).
I’d return to England in a better state of mind on how to proceed, then apply for a job and start over there perhaps July through to September.
Optimistic, who knows worth a try.
The visit in spring is a good idea, however without ■■■■■■■ on your chips too much, I don’t think you will find what you are looking for. For the most part you will not be on a set run, so five days on, three off will be very hard to find, especially as those kinds of runs go to drivers that have served a bit of time at a company, usually you will expected to go out on a trip, come home and depending on what day of the week you get in, you may get one or two days off before going back out again.
There is no Mon-Fri thing over here, so don’t be expecting time off at the weekend, it does happen, but more often than not you will be on the road over the weekend. You will also be doing some big days, 15hrs on containers does not compare to a 14hr day over here, you get 11hrs driving a day and you will be dispatched with that in mind, 700 miles a day is not out of the question. You do have the roads to do it on, speeds are higher and traffic is lighter, but 700 miles is still a big day and it will take some getting used to. At first it will be easy enough as you’re running on adrenalin and looking around at all the big fancy trucks, seeing signs for places that you’ve seen on TV and making use of the facilities in the truckstops, but it is relentless, week in, week out, you will doing those big days, you have to if you want to make money and get some time off.
Sending money home, not a problem, you will be earning around a grand a week clear if you pull your finger out, 250 quid is about $450 via Western Union, so you’ll have enough left over for a couple of slices of bread and a cup of tea a day.
As for PR, I don’t know of any fast track programmes, it usually takes a couple of years and if you come over on a temporary work permit under an LMO, you will have to do six months before you can apply for PNP, this will take up to another six months, so you could be a year in before you even submit your PR application. Once you are accepted on PNP your wife can get an open work permit, so PR is not essential before you start to build a new life for your family and unless you have some serious skeletons in your closet, PR is a formality, it’s quite an involved process, lots of supporting documents needed and all that, but if you get accepted for PNP recommendation you will have the ability to put a tick in the right boxes.
foresttrucker:
ChrisArbon:
I think you have to be prepared to go out again after just a 36 hour break between trips. It maybe that you get a 2 or 3 day break but you might find the truck has done a couple of thousand kilometres while you were off. Companies like Big Freight don’t ask for so much; but the pay packet will be that much smaller. It can be hard for a family starting a new life in Canada; the man has to put in the long hours and the woman has to cope with the harsh weather of Canadian winters.TBH I’d be happy to trade some money for more time off.
I’ve done 15 hour a day container work (for a few weeks) in the UK - now, in a sense, that’s a little harder than driving long haul in Canada, because you have to commute home, eat, rest etc, versus just staying with the truck.
Obviously every company is different. What I want may not be what I can get - an intense 3 to 5 days, then a couple of days off. Otherwise it’s just living in the truck with no op
portunity to make contacts or a home life.
15 hour day in the uk you will have spent at least 5 hours of that scatching your arse doing sod all doing an 11 hour drive in the usa or 13 in canada is a different ball game especaly day in day out especaly in crap weather.
Also you will work out been away most weekends as if you have a load down south tipping monday or tuesday you will be leaving saturday or sunday.
Its still a great place though and obviously once you are on the pr ladder you have a lot more options.
Hi newmercman thanks for the info. When you say youl be earning a grand a week clear , do you mean Canadian dollars or uk pounds. Thanks
Canadian
foresttrucker:
I’ve done 15 hour a day container work (for a few weeks) in the UK - now, in a sense, that’s a little harder than driving long haul in Canada, because you have to commute home, eat, rest etc, versus just staying with the truck.
I think you’re going to be in for a very nasty shock if thats what you think. Your 15 hour day on containers in the UK is not in any way, shape or sense harder going than a standard full days work in the US and especially a Canadian day with a full 13 hour drive.
Here you work for a living and when those wheels dont turn, you dont earn. I don’t think thats fair as I’m a company employee, but thats the way it is. In the UK, you’re paid to attend work, you’re getting paid for your 15 hour days even if 6 or 10 hours of that are spent sitting on a bay. Not so here.
foresttrucker:
I’ve done 15 hour a day container work (for a few weeks) in the UK - now, in a sense, that’s a little harder than driving long haul in Canada, because you have to commute home, eat, rest etc, versus just staying with the truck.Obviously every company is different. What I want may not be what I can get - an intense 3 to 5 days, then a couple of days off. Otherwise it’s just living in the truck with no opportunity to make contacts or a home life.
Depending on the company you may be out for 9/15 days, you will be DRIVING the full 11 hrs in the USA and 13hrs in Canada and you will not be doing that for ‘a few weeks’ it will be months in atrocious winter conditions and red hot summer ones. When you get back off an average 6,000 mile trip you will get 36 hrs off to see the wife, relax etc, so YES, running the cans in the UK is much harder lol.
crt:
Hi
Im seriously thinking of emigrating to Canada. Been driving class 1 over 14 yrs both uk and european. L live in cardiff south wales.
Ive been reading up on the pros and cons of driving over there, i know its no bed of roses and its going to be a hard slog to survive for the first two years. Will be intending to go over there first, on my own for about 6 months, then if posssible my wife and two sons 18 and 16 yrs will join me. Im looking for any guidance and tips on what area would give me the best chance of making it and eventually getting pr. I know im prob going to be working much harder than the uk. Any advice on companies etc that are fair and able to take on drivers from uk. im 47 yrs old. Thanks
I think the most important thing would be to clarify the status your boys would have on arrival, can they work etc?