Hi guys me and my significante other are toying with the idea of emigrating to canada so if anyone out there has any info on standard of living job front for me office work for the boss whats needed all the usual stuff would be gratefully appreciated
Wish I could talk my significant other into leaving this stinking cesspit of a country. 
im also looking at it. Cost of living is way better, schools are a bit worse BUT the kids are WAYY better socially. No gangs of shellsuits etc. Housing is cheaper, like anywhere else, the further out of cities you travel. You do get way more for your money however. Utilities are cheaper. Groceries are slightly more expensive. Like the US its cheaper to eat out.
Ability to speak french is pretty much a must if you are east coast, even though most speak both. Unlike this country other countries do actually give a ■■■■ that youve at least attempted to get a grasp on the common tongue before you go sapping their resourses.
Truck driving isnt yet classes as a “skilled” profession. Yet that is. Theres moves afoot to turn that around.
You could get access through a provisional nominee scheme. essentially line yourself up with an employer first. If they satisfy that no one else there can do the job you are about to do then you will get a work visa.
Most of the truck jobs are east coast by the way, starting east of Alberta.
You’ll also have to resit your test before you can work, then you run the risk of, like here, going back to square one while you do loads of cr8ppy runs until you have experience on your licence. Their test includes an intensive airbrake course too. Currently its about £2500 to do the whole test start to finish. Most companies pay by the mile too. Hub counters clock your miles. Typical truck wage over there is about $60k Can ($1.67 to the £ at the moment)
you just missed the emigrate event at the secc, was on at the weekend. I missed it too thanks to a dead engine in my car.
Dont get drawn oin by companies wanting to “do it all for you”. They’ll fleece you for about £8k and theres no guarantee you’ll get in. Most of it can be done yourself or with the help of a specialist lawyer.
Google spme ex pat forums too, they are really useful for finding out what its really like!
You need to get in touch with “bobthedog”, or “newmercman”, check out their profiles and give them a pm. those two will give you some sound advice. Other than that they will probably respond to this thread, when they get out of their kips. 
coz they seem to have more spare time to post, than I have, and I,m retired. 
They went over there for an easy life. and have both got big zb-off motors with double beds and baths, an all that.in them. 
I,d go meself but my missus don,t want to leave the great-grandchildren(2), so I,m stuck here in DownThePanLand. 
Same with us we are looking Alberta in Canada, loads of info on the web with UK drivers running blogs and stuff, another good site for info is British Truckers Abroad the good and the bad.
My wife wanted us to go, but I don’t fancy going through taking my test again, and a 60 next might be getting a bit old to get a job
Google Canada immigration and read some of the forums. Remember that if you go you will be an immigrant and, just like here, lots of people won’t like you because you aren’t Canadian.
Houses are cheaper but there are cost there you dont have here like medical insurance. Don’t expect 4 weeks paid holiday either.
Interesting…
Firstly, many companies will pay for your test as long as you agree to work for them for a couple of years. The airbarke test is a bit of a sod but you learn it by rote and it is not so bad. The road test is really not bad at all.
East coast, as in east of Alberta? That is a long long long way… True, many jobs are in AB, but it is more expensive to live in AB than SK or MB. There are jobs available on the east coast (Bulk Carriers just took on another brit, and Ayr motor are seeking) but the east coast doesn’t get you as varied a job as central provinces.
Housing is certainly cheaper on the prairies, and things like property tax tends to be lower, too. Most firms will provide medical insurance at cost price and deduct it from your money so you are covered. Emergency treatment is free at source and the hospitals are far better than NHS. (I know this for a fact). Personally, I find the schools to be better, too. My son learned to read in the first 3 months here, but they were concerned about his reading in the UK. The teachers and staff are generally more approachable here, too.
Regarding groceries, I find meat to be better and cheaper. Veg is a bit dearer but lots of fruits are not. We bought a 3lb pineapple for less than $4 at the weekend. Gadgets are cheaper too. You can get a microwave for $50 on special…
Your first step should be to make sure you really want to do it. You need to talk it through and decide. Then you should approach the local police force and apply for your criminal record search if you are in any sort of hurry, or approach firms if you have time on your hands. See what they offer and decide where you want to live in the country. The main website for forms is cic.gc.ca and you will find much of the info on there.
Last for now… You can do almost all your immigration paperwork yourself. Your PNP is free to apply and once you get that through you send the same forms off to CIC. You don’t need to pay anyone.
bobthedog:
Your first step should be to make sure you really want to do it. You need to talk it through and decide.
I think that this is by far the most important bit of advice.
We spent about 3 years looking at the whole idea (I was on a contract in my job that would’ve lost me a lot of money if I’d have left early). In the early stages of our research it was all exciting and new, and we could only see the good things; anything that seemed slightly negative, we somehow always managed to find an ‘acceptable explanation’ and didn’t let it detract us from our big plan.
Looking back, not being able to go straight away, was a blessing in disguise. After our 3 years of research, the ‘novelty’ of the idea had long since evaporated and we were then able to look at the idea on a more even keel. We could see the cold hard facts for what they really were, not what we wanted them to be. Those 3 years of waiting also allowed us to do so much research! I don’t think that there’s a drivers blog out there that we haven’t read start to finish; I doubt that there’s a immigration/emigration website that we haven’t spent countless hours reading and asking questions on; I have probably chatted with every exhibitor at the Emigrate shows, more than once; our bookshelves creak under the weight of travel (etc) books and I now have quite a few people who I call ‘friends’ that I haven’t actually met, bar for Facebook, emails and the like.
Things have changed in those 3 years, quite a lot actually. I’d say the whole OTR thing in Canada has seen changes, our own circumstances have changed a bit (another child) and the world economy has definitely changed! In our case, and I stress ‘our case’, the Canada dream is finished. It would no longer suit us and we are just about to go through some big changes here that will improve our quality of life . . . lots! Speaking with a friend in Canada the other day, they asked why after so much research and being so keen on the idea 3 years ago, we have now taken the decision that we have. My answer was that, when we first wanted to go (but couldn’t) it was different. I don’t know that it was really as good as we’d convinced ourselves it was but we would’ve gone and like plenty before us, we would have made it work! Those that have been there a few years now, and I include BTD in that bracket, are almost another generation in terms of immigration/emigration. Although some of them are the ‘pioneers’ of the emigrating to Canada, there’s lots of aspects that are different now and for someone just starting out on the emigration/immigration route, things are different and not necessarily for the better. I wish we could’ve gone earlier but we couldn’t; that time is now passed and so the idea is consigned to history for us.
There will of course, be some who say ‘What do we know about it really? It’s not as if we ever made the move!’ and that’s true. However, our conscience is clear that we did every single bit of research we could’ve from here. There are certainly some people who have the idea, apply and make the move quicker than we decide what to have for dinner that evening, however, there are plenty of people to be found who have been and come back. Did they do enough research? I don’t know but I suspect they at least thought they did. We have had the advantage of seeing these ‘newcomers’ come, go and come back. We have perhaps had enough time to learn from their ‘mistakes’, or probably better described as their ‘experiences’.
If those who are looking at it now are confident they have done enough research then go for it and we wish you the very best of luck! There will always be a (small) bit of us that will think ‘what if’ but thankfully not enough that we lose sleep over it. Maybe because we have lived and worked in quite few different countries around the world, we know that even in a new ‘brilliant’ place, life soon becomes ‘routine’ and the excitement and novelty wears off as some point. Maybe we’re lucky that, having experienced a few different countries, we can see that life in the UK isn’t as bad as we sometimes tell ourselves it is, despite some of the clowns that are in positions of power making ‘circus-esque’ decisions!!
Be aware that there are a few bad-apples around (over there) and that is both as companies and individuals; I was told something a few days ago (from Canada) reference a driver on the PNP that was truly shocking! It’s not yet in the public domain but once it is, I’ll come back here to let you know about it. Take the advice of those who are senior members of the ‘been there, done that’ club and that includes the likes of BobTheDog, Dave Caldwell to name but a few. Their advice, gleaned from first hand experience, is invaluable.
Good luck.
Outstanding post Martin !
We made the move and absolutely no regrets nearly 3 years later. BUT its not for everyone, The winters can be quite a shock although this last one was very mild.
And as Martin said the novelty of living in different country soon wears off and you seem to be doing the "same ■■■■ different place " thing all over again. That said I never left Canada when I was driving, So didn’t see the "lower 48 " The one thing that got me was the loneliness and I know of one other driver that went home because of this. And must be even worse when your away for weeks at a time with the wife and kids living in a strange house /place. Which is why the ex forces seem to cope with the move a lot better than most , I just think they are more stronger mentally. Money is another issue , A lot spend just about everything they bring across in the first six months , Thinking they are on some sort of holiday, Then when work slacks off or they have bills coming in they didn’t expect and its the companies fault or even Canada’s fault , Never their own.
All I can say is if you do decide to make the move proceed with caution and an open mind , Its a great place to live and work and the grass is a slightly darker green than the UK. But it ain’t no Utopia.
First class post Martin(BTD too ) and as I’ve told you before you must have been an English teacher in a previous life 
I have noticed several people who arrive here with cash in their pockets and seen them go out and blow the lot, then find they overstretched in the first place and cannot afford to keep it going. It is as if they think they are on holiday and the money they have accunulated throughout their lives is just spending money.
I always say that it is better to get the mortgage and to be paying regular bills from the start, and to keep a large percentage of your savings as savings. Better to have a 32 tv for a year or two and keep the $1000 until you know where you stand here than have a 60widescreen plasma and not be able to pay your hydro bill to watch it.
I also think it is a good idea to ship your furniture across, especially if you have kids. You can put most of their stuff in the container and they have some continuity in their lives which makes the transition easier all round. And having your old comfy armchair is a real comfort for you. It also saves you loads of cash in the short term. Then, another bonus, you have extra furniture for the additional space you will likely have in your house here.
The main things are to be sure that you have discussed it fully and are prepared to have to start over. Be ready for lots of paperwork and be prepared to ask those who have an idea how it ought to be done. Having the local knowledge is a huge advantage which we would have been really glad of had it been available. Don`t get carried away. It is all well and fine to be excited by the whole thing but you are looking to change your life, not to take a vacation.
Id just like to say thanks guys for the info well i think we have got past your first step Bob and luckily we dont have kids to worry about as they are all grown up.Bob if you dont mind can i pm you to pick your knowledge i have an old colleague who lives out there and he’s been there for at least 3 yrs now and runs his own wagon.
No problems with PMs. Where is you mate running out of then?
KGB:
Outstanding post Martin !We made the move and absolutely no regrets nearly 3 years later. BUT its not for everyone, The winters can be quite a shock although this last one was very mild.
And as Martin said the novelty of living in different country soon wears off and you seem to be doing the "same [zb] different place " thing all over again. That said I never left Canada when I was driving, So didn’t see the "lower 48 " The one thing that got me was the loneliness and I know of one other driver that went home because of this. And must be even worse when your away for weeks at a time with the wife and kids living in a strange house /place. Which is why the ex forces seem to cope with the move a lot better than most , I just think they are more stronger mentally. Money is another issue , A lot spend just about everything they bring across in the first six months , Thinking they are on some sort of holiday, Then when work slacks off or they have bills coming in they didn’t expect and its the companies fault or even Canada’s fault , Never their own.
All I can say is if you do decide to make the move proceed with caution and an open mind , Its a great place to live and work and the grass is a slightly darker green than the UK. But it ain’t no Utopia.
Did Shane ever move out there then? I’ve been out of the trucking scene for going on 3 years now but did hear on the grapevine that he set up his own haulage company here? 
Did Shane ever move out there then? I’ve been out of the trucking scene for going on 3 years now but did hear on the grapevine that he set up his own haulage company here?
Yes Shane moved over 11 months ago and lives around the corner from me , He and his family all love it out here , although as I keep saying "You ain’t had a proper winter yet " lol
I’m pretty sure he never had any plans to set his own haulage company up
The one piece of advice I would give anybody wanting to come over here is to try it first, don’t rush out buying houses/cars etc, when I arrived I lived in Steinbach, at first it was great, but after 6 months I realised it wasn’t for me, I much prefered Winnipeg, not buying a house straight away allowed me to make that move without a hitch & I’m glad I did it that way. The same applies to cars, when I first arrived I wanted a Mustang, then a pick up truck, then they came out with the new Dodge Challenger & I wanted one of them, so I bought a $1000 yank tank & spent the other $20k on petrol I’m now looking to buy a Subaru Impreza, lots of snow in winter & gravel roads to play on 
Things are so different over here that it takes a year to really get into it all, if you make the wrong choices at the start it could take the edge off of it
As for getting over here, Siemens, Big Freight, H&R etc all get a bad press, but I still reckon they’re the way to go, they get you through the test, they give you a bit of experience & if you don’t like them you can leave & get a job you do like, they may come after you for some money for the training etc, but it will work out cheaper than doing it yourself & you’re being paid from day one on HRSDC or as soon as you start work on PNP, you don’t have to go looking for a job with the ink on your licence still wet. You do all your own immigration stuff, PNP & PR are just a matter of filling out a couple of forms, some will offer to do it for you, but that’s just a tactic to get you to stay with them longer.
BTD makes an important observation, it’s not a holiday, not by a long shot, I put 165000 miles under my bumper last year, I didn’t do that by sitting in truckstops & on beaches, but I rarely drag my sorry arse out of bed before 10am, I sit down to a decent meal every night (as my waistline will testify) & I get at least 36hrs off after each trip
It may not be a holiday, but it ain’t that far off, I’m writing this from a truckstop in Orlando, Florida, it’s 28c & the sun is shining, with a bit of luck my reload will get me running back up to the yard so I can call into the Mid America Truck Show in Louisville, Kentucky on the way through, I’m doing all that in a blinged up peterbilt & I’m getting paid for it, I’m pretty pleased with my lot at the moment 
If, like Mark, you are coming out here alone then you have no need to buy a house to start with, but with a family you need to get stability at the start. I had to get a house early on and have no regrets on where I bought or what I bought. truth is, when Mrs BTD got so ill, our locale was a hell of a bonus.
But you need to do your homework. If you like the city then you need to look at the press reports on the city you choose to find which areas are better or worse. As an example, you may be able to buy a house for 30k in the North End of the Peg, but there is a good chance there will be 12 squatters in there before you move in, or that it will get some bulletholes in it.
As for the forms, there are several people here who know how it works well enough to help so you can keep the firms out of it all.
bobthedog:
If, like Mark, you are coming out here alone then you have no need to buy a house to start with, but with a family you need to get stability at the start. I had to get a house early on and have no regrets on where I bought or what I bought. truth is, when Mrs BTD got so ill, our locale was a hell of a bonus.But you need to do your homework. If you like the city then you need to look at the press reports on the city you choose to find which areas are better or worse. As an example, you may be able to buy a house for 30k in the North End of the Peg, but there is a good chance there will be 12 squatters in there before you move in, or that it will get some bulletholes in it.
As for the forms, there are several people here who know how it works well enough to help so you can keep the firms out of it all.
Yes Rob, my case is different, you know all the particulars, I did come out alone, but I came on a recconaisance mission, I still have a house in the UK, my missus is still in it & she comes over here as & when, she’s joining me when our residency is sorted, that’s taking a bit longer than usual because of my unusual situation. This, while being very difficult to deal with, has allowed us to go through the process properly, we’ve certainly had a good look before leaping & we now know that we will end up where we really want to be, house, schools etc. The whole thing has been quite difficult, being seperated from my family & all that, but in all likelihood it will be less stressful than moving around until we finally found that place we like. You can pretty much guarantee that wherever you end up in Canada it will be much better than what you left behind in the UK, but the way I’ve done ensures that not only do we get better, we get the best, for us at least.
Evening,
I’ve just read through what the others guys have put and I agree with everything they are saying but I’d just like to put my twopenath in about the east coast!! I’ve been here now since Aug 2008, I run out of St Stephen, New Brunswick and I get all over the country from here. I’ve done coast to coast in Canada and 45 out of the lower 48 US states so if you go for the right company you can get all over from here but it’s also true that some of the companies don’t go past the Mississippi river!!!
Alberta is the place to go if you want the money and there are plenty of companies that will take you on as the other guys have suggested they will get you a great foot in the door, anywhere east from there would be good, personally I’ve avoid Ontario and Quebec unless you speak french for Quebec but it’s not true for the Maritines, in northern New Brunswick they speak french but are just as happy speaking english unlike Quebec! As for the rest of the Maritines you couldn’t want for a friendly bunch of people and the general costs of living is cheaper here but the wages reflect that!!!
If you have any questions, particularly about the east coast let me know, other than good luck and I hope everything goes well!!
Stuart!