JakeC1990

Hi all, hope you are well.

Me and my partner are hoping to aquire an IEC next year and move over to Canada. So far we have been dabbling with the idea of spending our first year in Montreal and our second in Canmore, Alberta. I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience in living and working in either city and what it's like? More specifically if anyone has experience being there on an IEC, I have heard jobs for IEC holders can be sparce.

We have been considering Montreal as we would like to experience a big city and Montreal sounds like a place of fun and culture. We have never visited so it would be a bit of a shot in the dark. We would try and learn as much French as possible before arriving, but I have heard Qubec can be very particular about you speaking 'their' kind of French. Most jobs we have looked at require you to be bilingual, so a big question I have is, would we struggle to find work due to language? Away from this I have been told people in Montreal are not always very welcoming, anyone else experienced this? We wouldn't want to go anywhere we were not welcome.

Our second choice Canmore is a little safer, we have visited Canmore and loved the area. We have read the reports about the weather and how expensive it is so we are prepared for all that. One question I do have tho is does Canmore see much rain? The snow excites us but being from England the rain does not! I know Canmore can be a popular IEC destination so I would assume work would be available, but we would hope to get professional jobs that may lead to a career and us being able to stay in Canada longer.

Thanks for all you help!

Jake.

christmasoompa

In which case, can I suggest you do that in your first year? You won't leave yourself enough time to get PR if you wait until your second year to get professional jobs, if you do think you'll want to stay you'll need to find eligible jobs fairly soon after arriving, don't leave it until your second year.

Might also be worth giving details of the kind of job you'll be after so people can let you know if Canmore or Montreal are the best places for that.

Can't help with Montreal or Canmore as haven't been to either place, but good luck!

dbd33

Everything I know about Canmore comes from this board. I have the impression that it's a student economy, bunk houses, trustafarians, great fun if you're coming with money to doss about for a gap year. Montreal, otoh, is a city, it has everything that comes with being a city. One of my daughters went there to university (twice, to different schools). The first time she took her then partner, a unilingual anglophone. He quickly got a job in a bar on Rue Crescent, blended in and stayed when she moved on (by then he couldn't leave his dealer). Speaking only English didn't limit his ability to work in a tourist bar. It would be useful to speak some French, perhaps necessary depending on your line of work, but speaking joual isn't critical; people move there from all over the world, most of the immigrants speak French properly.

Completely different experiences, the snag with Canada being that they're unaffordably far apart; if you're in one and want to see the other, you have to hitch.

JamesM

I went to Montreal once for 3 nights and left after 2. It's semi scenic and was oversold to me as having "the best of Europe and the best of North America in one city".

Pingpong2021

Canmore doesn't get a lot or rain probably 12-15 inches a year but does get a ton of snow! Its only a small town with 15,000 residents. Essentially a tourist town/bedroom community. A good hours drive with no traffic to Calgary downtown.

dbd33

You should have gone to Quebec City or Nawlins.

JakeC1990

Thanks for your reply! Yes we had thought a solid 2 years in one location with one job would increase our chances of making Canada a permanent home.

My partner was a policewoman for around 8 years, and has since worked for the Police but in a staff role and not as an officer, I think she would ideally like something similar. I'm not picky in terms of work, I'd happily do anything that increases our chances at PR or even sponsorship.

Thanks again.

Siouxie

If you wanted to remain in Canada you would need to apply as soon as the 1st year is over.. (you need 1 year working in Canada for Canadian Experience Class, but that's only 1 route of many)... because it can take a year for you to be picked from the Express Entry pool and then you have processing time on top. Perhaps take a quick look at our Wiki for information https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Quick...an_Immigration

Your partner is unlikely to be able to get a job working for the police as a civilian nor as an officer without being a Citizen (or Permanent Resident for a minimum of 3 years).
What is it you do?

ChrisBan

My sister went to Canmore for her IEC. Didn’t enjoy it and ended up leaving early. From what I gather, as has been mentioned here it’s studenty, very much geared to “passers through” those who want to earn a little pocket money to offset some of the expense while they hit the slopes.

JamesM

Quebec is on the bucket list- just not particularly high up

dbd33

I've been there many times as a tourist, seen the falls and the old city, ridden that crazy ice slide, it's been great. Recently I went for work, to an area like Mississauga. That would have just been dull in most cities but it seemed a terrible cheat to be in Quebec but in an office park.

JakeC1990

Yes we have heard she wouldn't be able to get any kind of police work. I am currently a team leader in a warehouse with a Ministry of Defence contract so I can't talk about the work too much but we are a logistics warehouse. We would both be keen to take on work that would increase our chances to stay in Canada permanently.

Thanks for your reply.

JakeC1990

Just out of curiosity why did not enjoy it? Was the cost of living or more the lifestyle of the area?

Have to say we are a little dissapointed in what we are hearing of Canmore, we loved our visit and expected a nice mountain town. From the research we have done we have heard nothing but good things, other then the cost and weather.

That being said we really appreciate everyone's feedback and honesty.

ChrisBan

lifestyle and cost of living was more of a shock to her than she expected. She was earning enough only to slow the bleed of money. I think she was also downbeat after her employer promised her one thing when hiring her but the reality was another ( one of those was said she didn’t need a car, but reality was she did for what they had her doing)

Siouxie

To apply for PR under Alberta PNP opportunities stream - you would need a job offer and be working for a minimum of 12 months in Alberta (but see link, if you have performed that job overseas for 24 months, that time can count too). Alberta PNP - opportunities stream is for TWP holders (even IEC holders) who are working in Alberta and have job offers (there's a list of ineligible jobs on the page) - https://www.alberta.ca/ainp-alberta-...igibility.aspx

There are other options - see our wiki: https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Quick...an_Immigration

Some of the temp jobs (fast food / ski resorts etc.,) have staff accommodation to alleviate the high costs and low wages, but that wouldn't work for the 2 of you as they are usually shared rooms.
https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/jobsearch/jobsearch?mid=22489
https://www.jobresourcecentre.com/job-listings
https://goskialberta.com/jobs (just for an example of different types of work available in the ski industry - not suggesting using this company)