We lived in Normandy, France for 5 years before moving to Canada.
We found it easier to settle in France, where none of us spoke the language when we first arrived, than we have living here in Nova Scotia.
One thing you should think of though is moving to France first. Moving there from the UK means you have no immigration problems, cost of living etc is much cheaper. If you are serious about moving to Canada, it is also much easier to do so from France. From start to finish it took us just 8 months to apply for and get permanent residence to Canada. The cost of doing so is also much cheaper, especially for medicals. We had ours done in Rouen. The doctor spoke excellent English and there were no problems. We made an appointment by phone, had the bloods taken that morning, saw the doctor that afternoon. The staff at the Canadian embassy in Paris were also very helpful. We took our passports in to be stamped in the morning, spent a few hours in Paris, then went back to collect them at 2 pm.
I am surprised more people in the UK don't use this route to get to Canada. It is certainly quicker and cheaper than applying from UK.

They also nearly universally require a canadian teaching degree, and also a lot of patience on the behalf of the applicant before you are considered for anything but substitute work.

I dont know whats required to teach in Australia, but it cant be any harder to break into than teaching here. Seriously , if you are a teacher and like hot weather, Canada might well not be the place for you.

Having said that, I would never have said I would enjoy the climate here, but I really do, so maybe a visit to the different places on the table might be time well spent.

Im not really clear what you are hoping to acheive by emmigrating...its a lot better to be heading towards some specific positive aspect of a society, rather than getting away from some negative, and the shotgun array of target countries makes me think you are just focussed on leaving the UK, rather than heading for somewhere else...

All the populated bits I would expect.... Canada is very family friendly, so that doesnt really help much.

To expand on Iain's comments. If you are both teachers then unless you either want a career change or have sufficient funds to live off for at least two years, then forget Canada. Getting a job as a Canadian qualified teacher can be challenging enough in many places.

Apparently Alberta is easier than BC

That doesn't surprise me given the population expansion in Alberta driven by the oil boom. I know though personal experience (Mrs AX being a teacher) in Newfoundland that getting a teaching position is difficult and have on good authority that it can be equally challengin in NS and ON.

Sorry I may not have been as clear I should have been, I was talking about as a Canadian Qualified Teacher.
I know several Teachers who qualified in other provinces and came to Alberta for their first posts.

Unfortunately still quite protectionist when it comes to teachers from outside Canada.

I'm not sure when all that changed as we know a few teachers from the UK who came to Calgary in the late sixties and early seventies and got jobs right away or even had jobs to come to. I think they may have had to take a course or two but could teach while doing so.

At least I think that's how it worked, however I've been wrong before though.

Cheers
Steve

One word about protectionism, you can have a degree all you want, but I know for sure that in Engineering and Geology>>> no canadian issued degree/certificate>>>no job for you in that field (unless you are best buddies with the hiring manager), and certainly no calling yourself an engineer (I believe you MUST have a canadian degree in engineering, and I THINK some work experience too) or a geologist (you MUST have a canadian qualification in said subject, or be best buddies with the profesional geologists board).

Hence why although I have a british undergraduate degree in engineering I did a master's in Geology when I got here. Hey, I wanted to retrain anyway

HOWEVER, as usual, hard work and networking (which can take a few years) will eventually get you anywhere if you are hard working. I believe canadian employers are regularly impressed by most british employees, once they employ you, that is

Overall, I think Canada is a great place to have kids as it is safe and the education system at school and University level is pretty good. The job market seems to be good too, although God knows what the world will be like in 20 years' time.

Almost forgot, virtually all canadians are pretty nice people, at least when I have been around the Maritimes, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, and St John's (the latter must be the nicest people ever, and usually quite talented/entertaining too).

Cheers

That may be true however in regulated professions i.e. Doctors, Nurses, Teachers etc, it doesn't matter who you know, you are not getting in unless you have the required Canadian qualifications.

Actually, you can: Getting a job as a teacher in BC isn't easy as you have to go through a fairly rigorous (read pedantic, jobsworthy, nit-picking, insulting) registration process to get your qualifications and experience recognised. This said, if you are on the ball and have all the paperwork and details they require easily to hand (pm me if you wish to know the nitty gritty stuff about exactly what they want from you) it could be done within a couple of months from start to finish.
Be advised that to be recognised with a professional certificate you need to prove 5 years of degree and post-degree teacher training. Since most UK degrees are 3 years in length and the PGCE is a further year of study, unless you have a masters or have engaged in a four year degree course, you'll probably be given what they term an 'interim teaching certificate' usually given to new entrants to the profession. Your years of experience will usually be recognised, however, pushing you further up the scale. Scale 5 is typically the one that most professional teachers are on with a plus15 category (in BC) if you have a masters or extra credits of study and the top scale 6 if you have a PHD or other higher learning credentials. You can, of course, study whilst on the job, just as in the UK and in any other profession.
Once registered and recognised as a bona fide teacher in the province, you'll be given a salary scale and a teacher certification, without which you'll have a hard time getting employment in the school districts. I've heard private/independent schools and institutions are a little less picky, but this could be hearsay. I, for one, found the process to be rather long, arduous, laborious and repetitive but I chose to come here to start my new life and I guess, if you wish to do the same, you'll have to bite your lip on many an occasion while you simply go about the job of producing the requested documents that will determine your success or otherwise. My advice? Get the paperwork together well in advance of submission so they don't have any excuses to go slow - make sure all your professional certificates and degree transcripts are sent from the providing institutions themselves, sealed etc. You can find out about registration by doing a simple google search or going directly to the British Columbia College of Teachers website www.bcct.ca (or other province equivalent).

I was lucky in finding a teaching post as I had subject specialisms that were in demand - i.e. a background in Special Ed. That, plus my determined nature and history of UK teaching in challenging secondary schools, held me in good stead. Since you are a French specialist, you'll have few issues fnding work here as there seem to be plenty of French Immersion schools, many of which need French teachers. Try logging onto www.educationcanada.com for details of current postings.

Before some of you decide to shout me down for daring to criticise the process and telling me that 'the plane goes both ways, buddy!' if you can get past the ridiculous red tape, you'll enjoy what Canada has to offer. Education differences aside, I enjoy what I do here far more than the UK as I've found the kids to be much more relaxed, a little more naive, much more involved with activities and generally a friendly bunch. That plus the fact that kids seem to show more respect to their teachers generally makes this all the more satisfying.
Oh, and I'm still a novelty. I'll never lose my accent, that's for sure. What a help it's been! Use it, don't lose it!
There, I think that's probably enough for now.
Have fun,
Sid

well,we just love canada and have fingers crossed that we should get over soon.I love the people and I love the people here on expat .enfact I just love everybody even th bears that eat children.where ever you end up,I wish you all the best
kate

Apropos to getting work as a teacher. My wife is a Canadian, with two teaching degrees from a Canadian Uni. Here in NL the combination of a declining overall population plus a move from rural area's to urban has meant that she has had a hard time getting back into the system. Her 5 years teaching experience in UK counted for little. She's into a 1 year maternity replacement fulltime position right now and hopeful for at least the same thing in Sept if not a full time permanent position. For a UK teacher moving here, itwould be virtually impossible to get a job IMHO. Easier in other provinces for sure but no cakewalk!

Then you are mistaken, I have no canadian qualifications and have had a couple fo jobs here without knowing anyone in advance, and many of the staff in the toronto office are also immigrants with foreign degrees.

Suburbia