after reading many of the postings on this site i thought i should reply with good news of one happy family in manitoba.
we came from wellingborough in 2004 and did it all ourselves,heard of the manitoba pnp through the immigration press back in april 2003 looked on the website and then towns in manitoba,found a nice looking town called gladstone, sent an email to the town councilor who sent me a list of local trucking companies.
the first guy i phoned gave me a job offer which got the ball rolling, we visited winnipeg for a few days then stayed at gladstone a week ,met my boss, who looked after us very well,looked at houses schools hospitals etc etc,took one of the trucks here for a drive, decided we liked it and wanted to move here. back in the uk we got all our papers to manitoba gov. and waited once we knew we were in i came back on my own for a week and brought the house we liked, set up bank account and got money transfered etc,then back to uk for a few months,packed the shipping container, sorted the dogs for export said our goodbyes and left, me the wife 4yr old son and two dogs, the kitchcen sink and all we owned somewhere crossing the atlantic and us with air canada.cleared immigration signed for our pr cards which we got two weeks later, my boss picked us up at the airport,gave us a car to use and looked after us very well and still does. after a week to get settled i started work in a peterbilt pulling super b’s with my uk class 1 which was good for 90 days then i took my cdl on day 91 and failed on the pre trip then passed on day 92 all of this my boss paid for, then i was given a frieghtliner classic, some of you big frieght and yanke guys have spoke to me on the cb, i only drive canada not the u.s as our type of work does not go there.since then my boss asked if i would come off the road and run the workshop/garage for him which i now do i am home every night,have a 2006 company gmc pick up,all the gas i need,get to use a tractor from the yard to clear snow at home,when our lawn tractor broke last year the boss gave us one , has took us out for dinner more times than i can remember as well as going away for the weekend and looking after our friends and family when they visit etc etc. maybe we are very luck but are we glad we moved…you bet we are.
anyone wanting advice or to contact me please do so.
steve owen one happy ex pat.
Good to hear, Steve. I pass through Gladstone often so maybe we could grab a coffee sometime.
I am still glad we moved. We settled in well, too. Getting a sled in a week or two so I must be turning Canadian!! 
Glad to hear that you and the famoily are enjoying
yourselves in Canada, and all the best .
Welcome to TN Steve and good to hear a positive take on the move, you did land on your feet though eh? 
Hi Steve,
It sounds like your boss has invested in your career in order to keep you as a long term member of his company. Thats a good thing, I wish more companies would have the same atititude, it does make a big difference to hiring and retaining good people.
Good luck
i agree
been here for 18 months for BFS, almost got PR, sendin passport off on monday
good life, nice car and money in pocket
What you haven’t said, Taebbreak, is that your car is a pimpmobile!!!
Hang on, which car are we talking about? The Chevy V8 pick up, the Explorer or the Caddy ElDorado?
I guess it doesn’t matter, you smooth devil you!!
taebbreak:
i agreebeen here for 18 months for BFS, almost got PR, sendin passport off on monday
good life, nice car and money in pocket
good work taebbreak, have a word with bobthedog when you can, he has my phone no’s get em off him and give us a call when your on highway 16 nr gladstone so we can have coffee
steve.
He is staying with us at the moment so I will make sure he gets the numbers. Here’s his pimpmobile. Bit of a tart, huh?
bobthedog:
He is staying with us at the moment so I will make sure he gets the numbers. Here’s his pimpmobile. Bit of a tart, huh?
does he have dredlocks, pink trilby and flares? think my missus knows him!
steve.
will do steve.
cheeky dog. its a classic.
not pink, red, matches the carpet.
lol
taebbreak:
not pink, red, matches the carpet.
lo
l
nice car though, how much would that be in the uk eh.
dont know a couple of grand i guess
its not the buyin its the running with gm’s finest 8+ ltr v8 petrol
it not too good on fuel.
STEVE OWEN:
taebbreak:
not pink, red, matches the carpet.
lo
lnice car though, how much would that be in the uk eh.
how you enjoying your life here and how do you like steinbach
steinbach ok, got mall, restaurants, timmies and a bar just over the towns limit
st anne more my regular boozer, met some good local ppl there.
dont think id work back in uk, feel i can breath here, winter ■■■■■ but summer makes up for it.
everything i need is within 1hr drive.
taebbreak:
steinbach ok, got mall, restaurants, timmies and a bar just over the towns limit
st anne more my regular boozer, met some good local ppl there.dont think id work back in uk, feel i can breath here, winter [zb] but summer makes up for it.
everything i need is within 1hr drive.
good for you, we came over in 2004 and have no regrets, this is where we call home now, gladstone is a small place but the town has all that we need including hosp, pharmacy shops etc. tell ya what pick up the phone and give me a call at home.
Yanks aren’t worth much over here at the moment so probably 2 or 3 grand if someone can afford the petrol, got a Trans Am myself, not too bad on petrol really…
How did you manage to drive on a UK Class 1 for 90days? I was always under the impression your Class 1 meant absolutely nothing other than a car licence in Canada? Also how did you get PR after 2 weeks, I thought it took months/years.
Kiowan:
Yanks aren’t worth much over here at the moment so probably 2 or 3 grand if someone can afford the petrol, got a Trans Am myself, not too bad on petrol really…How did you manage to drive on a UK Class 1 for 90days? I was always under the impression your Class 1 meant absolutely nothing other than a car licence in Canada? Also how did you get PR after 2 weeks, I thought it took months/years.
Manitoba driver and vehicle licensing stated that a person holding U K class 1
is entitled to drive same class of vehicle here for a period of no more that 90 days, though some hauliers here will ensist you first take a test, more so the larger companies, the one i work for bieng a small company did not.
As for the P R we applied for this while still in the uk which took 8 to 10 months or so then came as landed immigrants,when we were at customs we had to sign for our P R cards which then came two weeks later.
steve.
Theres more than 1 happy Brit in Manitoba,
I moved over in February 07 with the wife and daughter and have absolutley no regrets in fact the only way i intend to move back to the UK is in a coffin.
I think the trouble people have on these forums is they think the streets of Canada are paved with gold i am not earning a fortune but enough to pay my bills, live happy and i actually have money left over each week for myself something that did not happen very often in the UK.
I moved over and went to Bison Transport in Winnipeg and yes i did pay the $8000 legal fees but it was worth every penny. I think Bison insist you go through there immigration agent and lawyers so that everything is done correctly. Anyone who lives over here should know about Bisons excellant reputation and understandabley they want to protect that.
Bison are great to work for i get the miles most weeks allthough there is always the odd week when things go wrong but thats transport, if i call in and say im tired or the weathers bad ,im stopping for the rest of the day, they say ok when will you be there, they never tell you not to stop keep going.
We are just a couple of months away for residency now and we have the intention of going all the way to citizenship if the powers that be allow us.
To all the drivers thinking about moving over i would suggest you invest in a trip over on holiday and do some investigating first go into the various companies here have a coffee and talk to the local Canadian drivers There are good and bad companies here just like the UK.If you decide to move over you and your family need to be 100% committed,
Good luck everyone.