I would like to go on record as saying to the best of my knowlege; the yanke Group is a fine reputable Canadian trucking company.
They do long haul work; all over North America. This is undoubtedly why many British drivers find it hard to adjust; you will be away for long stretches of time, and your wife won’t be able to work legally. I’m sure in the long dark Saskatoon winter; time would tend to drag.
I just looked at the weather for Saskatoon and it doesn’t seem too bad;
currently minus 1 C
tomorrow cooling off to minus 7
low Friday night minus 8
Saturday high minus 5
low minus 10
Sunday high minus 8
low minus 10
snow flurries possible every day.
Not too bad for the last week of January; but this is the mildest winter in over 30 years.
Bluejaysfan:
I would like to go on record as saying to the best of my knowlege; the yanke Group is a fine reputable Canadian trucking company.
They do long haul work; all over North America. This is undoubtedly why many British drivers find it hard to adjust; you will be away for long stretches of time, and your wife won’t be able to work legally. I’m sure in the long dark Saskatoon winter; time would tend to drag.
I only go by what I get from the drivers them selves (I do meet some of them on my travels) I have not yet met one who has a good word to say about them. Quite a few British guys came over at the same time as Steve (Geordieboy), more than half of them quit and went back to the UK within 6 months
Bluejaysfan:
I would like to go on record as saying to the best of my knowlege; the yanke Group is a fine reputable Canadian trucking company.
They do long haul work; all over North America. This is undoubtedly why many British drivers find it hard to adjust; you will be away for long stretches of time, and your wife won’t be able to work legally. I’m sure in the long dark Saskatoon winter; time would tend to drag.
I only go by what I get from the drivers them selves (I do meet some of them on my travels) I have not yet met one who has a good word to say about them. Quite a few British guys came over at the same time as Steve (Geordieboy), more than half of them quit and went back to the UK within 6 months
I wonder what Yanke has to say about some of them .
hi everyone new to this been reading some of the tales about driving in canada my husband has been offered a job we’re hoping to go in the summer to manitoba, we were there in feb of this year we met the people he’ll be working for and they seem a real nice bunch, very family friendly. we’ve got no illusions of him being home a lot, but hey we can make up for it when he gets home really looking forward to it and going tolive in canada rocket
Hi everyone
we got an email of a friend, our paper work will be going to immigration next week and then we get a certificate number to go to the canadian high commision for our visas, so they should only take a couple of weeks, should be out of here by july hopefully!! we’re soooooo excited now,what will we be like when we’re on the plane outa here.
by the way is anyone else going to Steinbach,Manitoba to work??
rocket and family
Congratulations Rocket! I really hope it all works out for you over there and if you’re feeling lonely at all just remember we’re here! Throw yourself into it whole heartedly and make the first moves when you meet the neighbours,don’t get stuck behind the door waiting for people to knock. As you can see there’s lots of interest in working and living in Canada so maybe a little diary to let us know how you get on in your new life? Oh and pics of the trucks etc.!
Hi Tartanraider
Thanks for your message,we will keep you all informed of how we get on, we can’t wait for the bbqs etc in the summer and snowmobiling in the winter, it’ll be amazing. we’ve met a few people out there when we were over in feb, a few emigrated last year and there’s quite a few going out this year to work for the company.
will let you all know when we get our final dates.
rocket
go for it rocket,just started thinking about it myself,you didnt say what company you going with or i missed it,anyway does anyone have an idea of how much money you need to go over,even if i sell house & belongings only have severn grand would this be enough before you start getting paid.renting somewhere .old car etc etc could leave wife & child behind for few months,anyone with any experiences could you let me know…jako
Hi Rocket,
I take it you are going with www.bigfreight.com
If so there is a guy called “Bob the dog” who posts in the Canadian forum on www.onlinetruckers.co.uk who went over from the UK last year and he drives for them.
What has the company told you guy’s about home time
When they say 10/12 days out and then 2/3 days home, are those days home full 24 hour days or are they home at lunch time on a friday and back to the truck again early Sunday morning and that is your three days home
Jako,
Please don’t take any offense but I wouldn’t like to be emigrating to Canada with only 7 grand in my back pocket you will be asking for trouble before you even get started
Remember your partners CANNOT work legally for the first year you are out there on the PNP scheme.
Hi Jako
My husband will be working for a company called Big Freight,their website is www.immigratemanitoba.com. You need $10,000 (that’s £5000)plus a certain sum for each dependent,I can’t remember of the top of my head,but that site will tell you more. we’re taking our furniture with us cos it works out cheaper to ship it across. well I wish you well
rocket
Hi Big Trucker
Yes it is big freight my hubby will be working for, I’m not sure about the time home but I can find out from a friend. Just been told they expect 10000 miles a month…have you seen the size of the place I’d say that would acheivable
Rocket
Rocket,
Bigfreight pay “quickest truck route” so in reality you may have driven 10’000 miles but you will only be paid for 8500/9000
Find a company that pays “PC Miler” or “Hub” miles.
What is their base cents per mile rate If it is less than 40cpm your getting diddled
I can’t believe that you are emigrating and you don’t know how often your husband will be home
Ask yourself this, will you be happy living in a strange town in a strange country unable to work while your husband is away for 2 weeks even a month at a time before he gets home for a couple of days
That is the OTR lifestyle of families in N.America.
Well big trucker I have applied for a work visa and my friend who is over there is working,her hubby works for big freight and they seem fine doing well for themselves, YEAH maybe he will be out for a couple of weeks but hey we’ll have fun when he gets home and I’m sure my boys and I will find things to do on all the land we’ll have.
Have you worked in Canada yourself
rocket
Rocket,
No I havn’t worked in Canada as such but I do have a USA CDL truck licence and have driven trucks in the States for 8 months on a harvest run back in 2002 so I know a little bit about the OTR thing.
I have been interested in the PNP scheme to Canada since 2002 and have read alot and done quite abit of research on it. I have found that all of the Canadian trucking companies who advertise for drivers in the british mags are only really looking for OTR drivers who will be away from home for long periods at a time.This does not interest me at all as I’m an O/D here at home,work about 6am to 5pm Mon/Fri and get home every night,I do not want to take my wife and young boy half way across the world to only see them for a couple of days every fortnight if not every month
I read ALOT of posts on the internet about familes going to Canada where their husbands are going OTR trucking and I really do wish them all the best but After they have posted that things are great for the first 6 months or so everything goes quiet and I fear that alot of them get homesick and end up back in the UK .
It has been said on this forum before you have to ask yourself why these trucking companies (Bigfreight,Westcan Bulk,Siemens,H+R Transport,Bison) have to go to such lengths to look for drivers,is it because their pay and driving/hometime conditions do not attract enough fellow Canadian drivers
I have had very little response to enquiries to trucking companies about local work or work that envolves only a couple of nights away during the week and off at weekends.You see you will find that these positions are filled by the Canadians themselves and alot are unionised or its “dead mans shoes” etc,any local driving jobs that are available are 16 hour shifts
You say your friend is working,maybe the rules have changed but I was told that my wife could not work legally via the PNP scheme until we had been there for one year,maybe she could take a “Cash in hand” job on the QT but if the authorities found out that would be the end of perminate residency in Canada .
Take a look at www.truckscan.ca and click on the “canadian ambitions” forum and then click on “read all posts” at the bottom of the page.There is alot of useful info on here not all of it good .
Hi Big Trucker
So you’ve worked in USA, so you know how big the country is, so is Canada, we thought when we went over in feb that it wouldn’t take us long to get from Toronto to Steinbach, thought it would take a day with a stop over on the way,HOW WRONG WE WERE a couple of days and stops later we got there, we’ve got no illusions on my hubby being home all the time we know he’ll be away a LOT,it’s a chance we’re willing to take. If we don’t then it might be a case of WHAT IF
Your very lucky to get home every night and weekends, my husband sometimes didn’t see the boys for a couple of days the last trucking job he had, he’d be out at work @ 3.00am and out for a night or two and home late, the boys would be in bed. Maybe you don’t hear from people after 6 months cos their enjoying themselves too much,WHO KNOWS.
IF YOU DON’T TRY YOU’LL NEVER KNOW
ROCKET
Rocket,
I have been to Canada,spent a long weekend break from the harvest at Winnepeg Manitoba,nice city but the province is very flat and boring.
You can stand on a chair and watch your dog run away for 3 days
It worries me when you say “sometimes he didn’t see them for a couple of days”, how will he feel when he does not see them for 20 days which will happen ALOT
Will he be happy having to do a 34 hour reset when he has run out of hours 1000’s of miles away in the States in some rotting truck stop surrounded by lot lizards,pimps and drug dealers
Don’t get me wrong I wish you all the best and please as others have said keep on posting as we all will want to know how things work out as nobody has really done a diairy since “Steve the bulker” stopped his on the long haul forum at Truckscan.ca.
rocket
hopefully!! we’re soooooo excited now,what will we be like when we’re on the plane outa here.
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