Okay, so he's definitely not eligible for the skilled worker visa until he's there working on a TWP. Has he actually worked as a welder before? If not then he's not eligible for either of the visa routes that Siouxie mentioned above either, and would almost definitely need a job offer to get a visa.

But it's not like the population of Ontario is spread out over that huge area - the vast majority of Ontario is uninhabited! Nobody is saying that you shouldn't move to Canada, just that you should make sure you are doing it for the right reasons. You might find that a move to Shropshire would achieve what you are looking for without costing the same amount of money and without taking you away from the familiarity of the UK and your family/friends. We just playing devil's advocate! Whereabouts in the UK are you now?

In any event, as said above, there is no point spending so much of your hard earned savings on moving your family to somewhere you've never even visited, so really that needs to be your first step. If your partner does need a job offer to get a Visa, then you can hopefully job hunt whilst you're there on your recce trip. The wiki has lots of useful information about how to job hunt in Canada.

Best of luck to you.

In a nutshell - Canada offers many things that you can't get easily in the UK (space, quality of life, more diversity, etc etc) but that's a very personal perspective. My opinion/experience will not be the same.

If you've never been then its worth saving some £s up and doing a big trip to visit some of the places that you've been looking at online and see how it compares in person.

The reality is that the transition can be easy logistically if you've got your ducks in a row, but there's no way to anticipate the emotional impact. This kind of move is massive which is why everyone has posted to make sure you're not looking with rose-tinted glasses b/c life in the UK is especially harsh (at least that's what we're experiencing - too crowded, too expensive etc - we're leaving to head to Ottawa in a few weeks). People have moved and loved it, best decision etc -and others have moved and hated it, regretted it and moved back. All you can do is prep as much as you can, research as much as you can, visit the places you're interested in, and try and manage expectations.

As many people said above - read the wiki, read the Maple Leaf threads - read other people's experiences, there are inspiring stories and ones that give pause. And trust your instincts. If you upped sticks and moved to Canada and hated it then you can always leave - an expensive decision but there's always that. You may also move and love it and never look back

Good luck!

Amy as a critical care paramedic looking into moving to Canada I dont think that your chap would be able to use the ECA qualification as something to count on job wise. The canadian ambulance service is ahead of the UK ambulance service and very differently set up so its not easy as applying for a job as it is here in the UK.

Something I was going to say, his ECA qualifications are unlikely to translate to anything in Canada, and you need to check that his other qualifications are also acceptable, you comment he did 5 years as an apprentice welder, but did he qualify, otherwise that's not worth anything.
An ECA qualification is, AFAIK, a First aid qualification, with a few additional bits, and a first responder gets there quicker than the ambulance and gives first aid treatment until the qualified paramedics arrive to take over.

My personal perspective is that those things can easily be found in the UK, although maybe not all in the same place! My quality of life in the UK could not be bettered (unless I win the lottery of course), and in my rural corner of England I have days where the only living creatures I see are the deer/ guinea fowl/ partridges in the fields around us! Not much diversity though, for that I'd need to live in a city (shudder).

So basically his medical experience does not count toward anything? He is qualified as a welder to advanced diploma level 3 and mechanics level 2. He spent 2 years mending chainsaws and he figured with canada being a logging country that there might be an opportunity.

I can see why your questioning this so hard it is a very big move. This was something we decided together but were thinking seperately if you understand? We both feel canada has something to offer us but reading the threads its hard! People un employed for 18 months at a time, we wouldnt be able to manage financially. He has applied for jobs already this past week but we doubt anything will come back.

haha - see! that's what I mean ... its all a matter of personal perspective

More diversity? Of what.

As is the case over here Amy and ECA is not recognised as a registered health professional as you know they ECA role was to assist the paramedic and give basic first aid.

Not that I know anything about welding etc but would assume that would be your best route?

So he has worked as a welder for 2 years? That might be your best way to get a visa, how long ago was it?

She seems in a state of flux about it all. I suggest she solders on.

Predominantly landscape (BIG country with loads of different geography), things to do that aren't limited to city-life (bear in mind I live in London), I find England very same-same (and yes I've been all over) and too crowded and small ... I'm not new to Canada btw, lived in Calgary for 15 yrs. And without question I prefer Canada to the UK for lifestyle, opportunity to try different things, space (!).
Yes, alot of the day-to-day is just the same stuff different country/city I'm under no illusions having lived all over the world - but my vote is definitely for Canada. I'm personally looking forward to discovering Ontario having had very little exposure to it - and heading east having only explored Western Canada previously.

Well, yes, the landscape differs over the width of Canada. That's 3,000 miles, almost as far as London to Addis Ababa. The landscape differs between London and Africa too.

The difference being that, if you're in London, you can use some holiday days and jump on a cheap flight to mountains, deserts, topless beaches. If you're in Brampton you don't have holidays and there aren't cheap flights so you're left looking at the flatness.

http://www.voyageurtransportation.ca...ngs/?career=74

This might help