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Another "Moving to Canada to drive trucks" thread....

Another "Moving to Canada to drive trucks" thread....

Old Jan 5th 2018, 1:20 pm
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Default Another "Moving to Canada to drive trucks" thread....

Hi All,

Recently joined having searched over and over again for all the required info about long haul truck driving in Canada, still need clarification!

Apologies in advance for the long post and Ill try my best to give all the details in order that some of you fountains of knowledge on here may be able to assist me.

Positives, negatives, ideas etc are all welcomed and will be listened to.

So, I'm 31 years young with no dependants, no assets here in the UK and no desire to stay much longer with impending political issues amongst other reasons (that's enough of that bit!)

I'm well travelled and have returned from working and living in Australia last year, I came back primarily to take a job I'm no longer particularly satisfied with and to see whether much had changed here and if I could stick it out staying in the UK. I know the answers I wanted now.

Having searched for the last few weeks I am keen to see if it would be possible to gain entry to Canada as a long haul truck driver with a company through the PNP scheme? I've read up via Canada's immigration site etc but I'm still not 100% what it actually is or involves on my part? Can anybody shed some more light on the PNP available across Canada and what I would need to do to use them?

I have contacted trucking companies across Canada the last few days but have yet to receive anything back. Are there actually any jobs available to truckers there anymore?

There seem to be a few who run foreign driver programs with lots of details about how they support you and your move but I'm yet to hear from them unfortunately, are these real opportunities or just a waste of time?

I understand the sentiments of some on here that if trucking companies are recruiting from outside Canada then they must be pretty poor to work for, but I'm looking at a bigger picture of using them as a way to gain PR and move on to bigger/better companies (if they exist, I know its subjective)

I also understand its long hours, cold weather, they pay is not what its cracked up to be and that plenty of people return back to the UK for various reasons. But, I'm positive its an excellent way as a means to an end as they say. I have no better life here in the UK in honesty.

I have friends who have emigrated to Canada who are my age approximately 5 years ago, they have given me positives and negatives to living out there but both are adamant they are happy, settled and I've gained a lot of understanding of Canada through them. So with that in mind I am trying to be as informed as possible about the realities of moving there

So, basically. Who, where and what should I be asking truck companies in Canada for in terms of gaining employment as a UK citizen?

Can I get over there as long as long I can get a job offer, be it on a temporary working visa, through the PNP program or otherwise??

Are there any drivers on here who have successfully made the transition to Canadian life as a driver and can shed some light on any of the above???

I look forward to hearing from any of you, feel free to ask questions, give any advice or otherwise!

Thanks
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Old Jan 5th 2018, 6:15 pm
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Default Re: Another "Moving to Canada to drive trucks" thread....

Hi Matt
I came over to Canada in 2007 on TWP driving long haul for a company in Winnipeg .I got accepted on the Manitoba PNP and finally got PR in 2010.I immediately changed jobs as it wasnt a good company to work for,most are who hire foreign drivers on work visas but it got me into Canada and my PR. The rules for hiring foreign workers on temporary visas changed a few years ago due to abuse of the system so now there are very few trucking companies hiring foreign drivers .You can still get over here ,you need to be recruited by a company who will give you a Labour Market Impact Assessment or LMIA( its bascially a number ) which when you arrive you will change it into your TWP.Then after working in Canada for 6 months depending on the province you can apply for the PNP which means the province is nominating you for PR but not all provinces have the PNP program,dont bother with Ontario as im lead to believe truck drivers on TWP cant apply for PR there.

I enjoyed doing the long haul for awhile its a good experience you get to see alot of Canada and the USA but Im married now and like my weekends off! I think if you treat it as an experience and not just as an another job to do you will ok and also being single is alot less hassle than being married ,I know a few drivers who didnt last long because of wives or family left at home for long periods.
You will be very lucky if you get a response from a Canadian company by email as they probably get 100s of email enquiries a week,probably better calling them.
I had a wee search for you and found this company.
SGT2000 inc. - Transport Company
Seems they are hiring in Quebec .I have seen their trucks on the highway and they look like they have good equipment apart from that thats all I know.
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Old Jan 5th 2018, 7:04 pm
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Default Re: Another "Moving to Canada to drive trucks" thread....

Hey buddy, thanks for taking the time to read and reply. Much appreciated.

Know what you mean about treating it as an experience, that's exactly the way I look at it. Get a long haul job, keep my head down and do the hours and hopefully move onto better things when PR comes around.

So emails are useless, good info I'll get on the phone to them instead. Have you heard of TAG Logistics Corp? They seem to have a whole page on their site dedicated to foreign drivers but nobody will get back to me, like you say Ill ring!

Thanks for the info on the other company Ill check them out.

Basically, find a company with a LMIA, get over to Canada and start, sounds easy eh!?

Just another quick one. I've held my licences for 10 years now but not driven road haulage for about 5, done agricultural work mainly and plenty of tractor driving. I know UK licences aren't recognised over in Canada so I guess retests all round? Do companies bringing in UK drivers usually pay for retest training, flights over etc or is it all off my own back?

Again Thanks for your time and apologies for picking your brains so much, its nice to try and get some clear answers
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Old Jan 5th 2018, 9:32 pm
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Default Re: Another "Moving to Canada to drive trucks" thread....

TAG Logistics Corp is an employment agency but that is as much as I know about them.I checked their webpage on my smartphone about their Foreign Worker Program-"LMO". LMO is the old name for LMIA which tells me that info is a few years old and I tried looking for that page on my laptop and doesnt exist so they have probably stopped that program but I would say no harm in calling them.
I know you are joking when you said it sounds easy but its alot of paperwork and jumping through hoops!
If you have held a Class 1 for 10yrs you should be ok and having agricultural knowledge may help you later in obtaining work,lots of farms in Canada.
You will have to do the Canadian Class 1 test and air brake test its not too hard.I had to pay for everything apart from 3 weeks in a hotel when I first arrived ,I was supposed get my flight re-embursed by the company but I never received a cent ,one of the reasons I left!
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Old Jan 7th 2018, 10:00 am
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Default Re: Another "Moving to Canada to drive trucks" thread....

Thanks for the info Neil. I've started calling all companies I can find/think of on the internet.

Nothing so far, most say they aren't recruiting foreign drivers even though they are advertised on their websites as running foreign worker programmes.

Shame really, I may go back to Australia instead. Seems like an easier/better alternative as I'm a telecoms engineer by trade and its on their skills shortage list. Not the career I want to stay in in honesty but its a way out of the UK I guess!

Thanks for your help and advice.
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Old Jan 8th 2018, 4:22 pm
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Default Re: Another "Moving to Canada to drive trucks" thread....

I doubt there is much point contacting the company in Quebec, they don't have a PNP scheme, their immigration system is different to the rest of Canada and you'll say least need to have fluent French to qualify.

You haven't said much about where in Canada you want to live and work other than having friends in Canada, which is a big place, so their positives and negatives of life in Toronto will be largely irrelevant if you plan to move to Saskatoon and so on.

I moved to Winnipeg just under 2 years ago now and I have had PR since last summer, I'm still with the company i came over with, not because they're amazing, they're also not bad, but because I actually haven't come across anything that looks better in Winnipeg, I'm not after more money I'm after 5 days a week and home most nights so I can resume having a life, not living my entire 30s in a truck and so far I've not found anything here that is more flexible in that aspect than where I work now. Nearly all trucking jobs here are either 1-2 weeks minimum out with 1 to 2 days off between or local work is 6 days a week, 14-16hr days, nights, weekends, basically no point even going home between shifts.

The job is tough and you do need to enjoy the fact it let's you see most of North America, save some money and see it as a means to an end, that's what kept me going. I don't know how any family does it long term unless you all hate eachother and don't like to meet.

You also said you've got no assets, you will need settlement funds to move to Canada, so a zero bank balance won't get you far.
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Old Jan 8th 2018, 4:57 pm
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Default Re: Another "Moving to Canada to drive trucks" thread....

Hey Kiowan, thanks for the reply.

Have friends in London and Kitchener, both in Ontario admittedly but it was about the Canadian way off life really not what shops are there or what the nightlife of Toronto is like! I live in rural wales currently and enjoy the quiet life really so I’d be open to any of the western or central areas, in honesty it isn’t a huge concern for me as was planning on driving most of my time anyway.

I have no assets in terms of house, car etc but I do have a good bank account with more than the Canadian immigration will require currently sitting in it. (I think/hope)

I’m finding all the companies I’ve called aren’t that interested in me tbh, saying they don’t have any work for foreign drivers right now which is a shame for me I guess. I have rang the usual companies that come up on here and google, the good and bad ones according to some.

I’m happy to live in a cab for a couple of years for pr, I was going into the whole thing open minded and honest about where I would be starting, i.e at the bottom! Looking to keep my head down, learn and drive pretty much that’s it.

I defo wouldn’t consider it as a job out there with a family either, too much t8me away on your own, for me it’s not a lifestyle I’d want with a family.

Anyway, this may all be irrelevant now as I have a job offer to go over to NZ which I’m currently considering. There seems to be a huge issue with driver shortage out there now and a bonus is uk lgv licences are able to be converted to class 4 and 5 out there. Still thinking it all through.

Thanks for your info and experiences out there, much apppreciated!
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Old Jan 8th 2018, 9:07 pm
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Default Re: Another "Moving to Canada to drive trucks" thread....

It's been about 3yrs since I moved looked into NZ, I was also considering it as an alternative to Canada as recruitment here was basically non existent in 2015. Unless it's changed the only NZ district allowed to give work permits for trucking was Canterbury and that was due to the need after the quake. It's not on the skills shortage list or wasn't, which means no permit, also to get PR in NZ you have to meet a wage per hour threshold which trucking doesn't meet so it's never been get been possible to get PR via trucking in NZ.

There was a big Manitoba recruitment drive recently in the UK, the threads are still on the front pages of forums, have you not see this? Same with the maritimes pilot program, not sure how you haven't found this in your research tbh.

Also imo, there is no such thing as Canadian way of life in general, southern Ontario living is not much like prairie living, people's lives revolve around different things, opportunities and aspirations are different it's much like the difference between living in New York and rural Alabama, nobody would ever describe that as an American lifestyle under one Umbrella. This can be seen in the Canadian political divide between the central areas and the West and East metros, totally out of touch with eachother.

Last edited by Kiowan; Jan 8th 2018 at 9:15 pm.
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Old Jan 15th 2018, 6:03 pm
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Default Re: Another "Moving to Canada to drive trucks" thread....

Hi guys,
just wondering if someone been at the Manitoba transport companies event they had in London on November? Any usefull infos or recomendations from there?
Thank you
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Old Jan 28th 2018, 8:50 pm
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Default Re: Another "Moving to Canada to drive trucks" thread....

I know Gladstone transfer,Bison and searcy trucking are bringing in UK drivers from the event...don't know about agritel nobody talking ,usual driver word gets about whats happening...driver talk is around a dozen UK drivers coming to searcy(flatdeck company) all in MB...................... mind a lot o companies are getting tough on internet talk rightly or wrongly. meant to say searcy was bought by bison but runs separately.

Last edited by jamesmc; Jan 28th 2018 at 8:53 pm. Reason: duh
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Old Jan 28th 2018, 9:27 pm
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Default Re: Another "Moving to Canada to drive trucks" thread....

just make sure you can cross the USA border ,,ie..no a war criminal etc....drunk driving will end your Canadian dream as a guy I knew of found out.,,, OTR driving will get you to Canada and PR once you get PR Canada is your oyster do what you want then. The ONE big thing is your foreign driving counts for nothing,do it the Canadian way (right or wrong) keep your head under the parapet on the low and time goes quickly and remember its wagon driving not brain surgery so the tests are easy!!check out MPI>CA driver quizzes ,,air &class 1 makes things so much easier if you get them done when ye arrive then that just leaves the actual practical part ,air,pre trip and driving.
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Old Jan 28th 2018, 10:58 pm
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Default Re: Another "Moving to Canada to drive trucks" thread....

Thanks jamesmc,
I've read about these 3 companies already on the forum, most of the threads were a bit dated already, except the agritel. Their guy was leaving several posts on more uk truck driving focused forums as they are looking to bring some drivers from the UK via the London event which I missed unfortunately. I've applied on their website and also sent an email straight to the guy who looks like Agritel recruiter but 2 weeks time since then with no response. Will try the Bison and Gladstone and maybe H&R have been mentioned somewhere. I think I'll rather leave searcy for the last one only due to minimum of flatdeck experience. Here in the UK I'm driving curtain sided or box vans trailers for 99% of time and very rare some simple loads on a flatdeck. You can find some horror stories about the same company in post 2 years old and a completely different opinion at 10 months old one so hard to judge. I know the job that would take me to Canada with company willing to bring foreign drivers won't be the best paid and easy. I am aware you'll need to keep your head down, mouth shut and last till you get the PR. Then you should be able to find something better. It'll be a hard start but it's the way in.
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Old Jan 29th 2018, 12:01 am
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Default Re: Another "Moving to Canada to drive trucks" thread....

lol 2 week, 2 weeks you will be lucky if anyone has looked at it yet,,,,not being rude but the Canadian way does not include quickness or even the thought of answering a question. Now consider this they must get thousands of emails from abroad weekly,,,so TBH if you could afford it a cheap rounder from Iceland air or westjet from London airports to MB and turning up will show them you mean business..or if you are unable to come away over phone up ask to speak to a recruiter /skype or someother way.
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Old Jan 30th 2018, 5:59 am
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Default Re: Another "Moving to Canada to drive trucks" thread....

Joe, forget H&R, big changes gone on there, they won’t have LMIA’s for the forseeable.
Apart from those companies in MB that came to London, there’s virtual silence in the rest of Canada as far as employing TFW’s is concerned.
I hear now and again of the odd LMIA but they’re like rocking horse shit now.
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Old Mar 2nd 2018, 8:54 am
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Default Re: Another "Moving to Canada to drive trucks" thread....

Matt1986, have you looked at the Atlantic immigration Pilot program

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/atlantic-immigration-pilot.html

I’m going over to Prince Edward Island as a OTR trucker, I’m just waiting for my TWP to come through.
My employer is looking for someone else, your PR is processed within 6 months of application and you must apply for it within 90 days from when your TWP is submitted. Look at the scheme requirements and let me know if you want his contact details.
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