Thank you for replying. It does seem a lot of folk are saying the same about Ottawa i.e. Jobs/language etc. Opening my horizons to include Waterloo and surrounding areas - pretty flexible with location

Finally - definitely don't want a dull city! Can't have any excuse for the wife to want to return to the UK haha!

Thank you for your reply Think i'm definitely crossing Ottawa off the list - multiple article reads seemed to have suggested Ottawa as being a tech hub which may be incorrect information I think. My French is also not great so in all truth it won't be good to restrict myself by moving to Ottawa!

Not sure if you've considered the Atlantic Provinces, but as a 'foot in the door' you may want to look at this post. http://britishexpats.com/forum/canad...ancies-899238/

Look on Indeed https://ca.indeed.com/Software-Tester-jobs-in-Ontario for software test roles in Ontario

I'm in Ottawa but not high tech

https://ca.indeed.com/High-Tech-jobs-in-Kanata,-ON

Help wanted: Ottawa tech companies recruiting to fill thousands of jobs - Ottawa - CBC News



Not sure where the french part came in. French proficiency is really only a big deal in white collar jobs in the federal government sector. Retail jobs often ask for french proficiency.

There are tech/software companies in Ottawa & environs. My B-i-L is a software engineer for a US based defense/aerospace company. I'm aware of two fairly large players in the tech sector I work in (Satellite Comms) in the area as well. Whether there is more work to be had in Kitchener Waterloo is a good question. As others have suggested, I'd find a job first within certain boundaries of where you think you'd prepared to live & then decided exactly where you are going to live from there.

My route here was as follows:

• IEC visa
• Moved to Calgary
• Got a permanent job in IT
• Employer helped me apply for the AINP (Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program)
• During AINP processing, applied for a temporary work permit (tied to sponsoring employer) when my IEC expired
• Got the AINP, got an open work permit
• With the AINP, applied for PR
• Got PR, applied for Citizenship
• Became a citizen, bought a canoe

I'm out of the loop with all this now, so it's probably changed somewhat, and there's probably quicker ways of doing it, but it's definitely doable.

Once the OP has 12 months of skilled work experience in Canada they will probably qualify for CEC route to PR. This wont need employer support and you don't need to have proof of funds.

That suggests that a contract, if it lasted a year, would do the trick. Is there anyone here who could confirm that, what is essentially casual labour in a skilled position, is good enough for CEC?

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration...nce-class.html

It statesand

Thank you. That does all seem to fit.

I have worked in IT in Ottawa for many years. It's called 'Silicon Valley North' as it is (or maybe not now) the largest tech area in North America outside of the original 'Silicon Valley' in California. That clears that up.
I have also survived quite well without French language and although you might get a handful of better opportunities come along when bilingual, most techs I have worked with don't speak much French, if any.
Plenty of government and military connected IT work here - permanent and contract. Get talking with some of the larger job agencies in Ottawa that specialise in IT and they're likely to get you something at least to start off.
Might not be easy though until you are eligible to work here. Not sure if it's still the same, but previously you could get your PR status and then leave Canada for some months back to your homeland just in case things didn't work out and you really couldn't find anything.
Yes, it's not the most exciting town and it's cripplingly cold and snowy in winter, but the people are friendly generally and it has a big town feel rather than the hostile large city atmosphere.

Seems that way as long as 1 years worth of work experience was completed throughout the 2 years it would be sufficient. Think it was yourself that posted a contract may be easier as employers tend to care less about what visa you have and more about the experience for the job and eligibility to work. Think once I'm over i'll be contracting and then apply through CEC for PR.

I had heard the same thing in relation to Ottawa being a tech hub. Online sources seem to all agree that the city is more dependent on the White Collar jobs though. It's good that French is not a mandatory requirement for every job in the area - may need to do some more research and assess opportunities for myself in Ottawa. Thank you for your reply