class 1 trucker looking for canada work
 

hello everyone. i am looking to move to canada and work as a truck driver, i have heard all the fairy tales, but just wondering what the realities are and where the work is. i have worked doing rural deliveries across the south of england and south wales both articulated and 8 leggers for the past 5 years, and am keen to get into long haul work, for any period of time.

Re: class 1 trucker looking for canada work
 

Just dont do it. i done long haule in canada and usa. its the hell. many driver went there and came back. its not like in uk or europe.
you gonna be a slave

Re: class 1 trucker looking for canada work
 

Off course its not like UK &europe its North america !
but come on its not like it was a secret that people were having problems with H&R,its been on forums since 07-08 that i remember.
If you think you have been treated as a slave complain to the Alberta government.
buzz1983, not all firms are like that ,use the internet to read what people are saying and where they are going.
then come back and ask a more specific question about driving in canada /type of work you like eg. bulk,flat,van and i am sure you people will give you advice.
jimmy

Re: class 1 trucker looking for canada work
 

I came to Canada 20th Dec 2006 and have worked for a number of companies in Ontario. Challenger Motor Freight being the first, big mistake. You are just a number to them...literaly.
I stuck it out for 2 years doing Vacouver and Vancouver Island which meant crosing the Rockies...sooo cooool. Got the experience I needed and then began the Toronto-Montreal corridor.did that for 2 years and now I work for Westcan Bulk Transport in Edmonton Alberta, hauling Supher and Fuel to and from the mines in Fort McMurry. you need to pass your written test then do your class 1 again...weird I know....but ask yourself this first...can you bareout long months of winter and short months of summer....I've been out in -50 out here in the oil feilds....but this is where the money is. It's your choice.

Re: class 1 trucker looking for canada work
 

Must be better than "many driver went there and never came back" :rofl:

Re: class 1 trucker looking for canada work
 

i just came back from Alberta . 5 Months Long haule.
1. 42 cent per mile
2. truck license at least 1800 $ if you have uk license if not you need to make car license too.
3. if your truck brake down you wait till they fix it and that can takes days. you not earning money.
4. sometimes you wait 3 days for a load and you not getting payed for waiting.
5.you wait at least 18 Months for PR.
if you have more questions ask me b4 you make a mistake.
almost all uk driver coming back because you loosing money and not earning money.

6.

Re: class 1 trucker looking for canada work
 

Sorry to hear that...I must have struck lucky...While in Bonnyville I was on $25 an hour for 8 hours then $37 and hour overtime..working around 13 to 16 hours a day. long hours eh!!...so came to Edmonton and $22 an hour for 2 weeks classroom work, and now been put to work training on sulpher and fuel B trains. Then be put on a dedicated run from Fort Sasketchewan to Fort McMurry.
As regards to your drivers licence..you can drive a car on your UK licence for 90 days then you trade it in for an Ontario one..dont know about here in Alberta though...and yeah, it could cost you around $1000 to $1800 for your AZ licence...the A is your licence and the Z is your Air Break Endorsment.
But expect to have a culture shock as regards the trucking industry here. But to earn the good money, then head west to Alberta, where the oil fields are. Westcan Bulk Transport will help you to immigrate to Canada with their Foreign Worker Programme...I've heard you can receive your landed status in around 30 days in some cases....unfortunatly I'm doing immigration on my own bat...and its taken me 5 years up till now, but I started mine in Oshawa Ontario, even though I married a Canadian in 2008. If you want to know more about westcan..I suggest you call them...just Google them or www.westcanbulk.ca good luck what ever you decide.

Re: class 1 trucker looking for canada work
 

man you talk some *****..
I have only met 1 uk driver that has went back & that was due to family back in uk.
no one forced ya to come to canada with this company.:thumbdown:
there are plenty other companies that treat drivers as humans!
most companies pay after 24hrs waiting
anyway what did the contract you sign say was minimum wage payable per month!!
prob about $3000 min ,then $3500 after 3months.
fair enough its not great but enough to stop you starving.
ok, Till ya get PR you suck it up but even in the uk new drivers get the shaft, older trucks ,shitty drops.
did you not do any checking to see what life was like in canada before you came.

Re: class 1 trucker looking for canada work
 

thanks for the email not:sneaky::yawn:
anything ive got to say ill say in public .
yes im sorry for people coming to canada and losing everything because of lies...but if you pick up sticks and move across the world without checking everything out...............
There are more companies in canada than the one you mentioned in the email.
no way would anyone call me a .. licker to my face ,i have never worked for them .
we came to canada with f.all and after 4yrs ,have a house wi no mortgage paid for by trucking.so stick that in yur pipe and smoke it.
tube!!.
this is meant for one person who emailed me.
sorry mods ...if it upsets you just delete.
jimmy:focus::getcoat:

Re: class 1 trucker looking for canada work
 

I came here on a leap of faith, I met someone online and we married the year after. If your goning to make a life somewhere other than your home country, then bite the bullit and stick it out, of course it's hard, any new country is, you need to get in the swing of things.
Like I said I came here 5 days before Christmas 2006 with my 15 year old son...we've never looked back. We love it in Canada, my wife will be joining me out here in Alberta in a year after we have paid off our house there in Ontario and start on another house here. So...life is what you make it here. No one blames anyone for rethinking anything...remember Canada is still a young country, and she still needs to iron out the kinks...Give it a chance.

Re: class 1 trucker looking for canada work
 

Spot on Jamesmc, true i came to the US but it's the same here, lots of firms don't pay breakdown or wait time and you'd laugh if i told you how little i got paid on my first driving job but it was a start and you've got to start somewhere :thumbsup:

Re: class 1 trucker looking for canada work
 

+1

I worked for Werner for f**ks sake.......... but you gotta earn your stripes.

Re: class 1 trucker looking for canada work
 

Depends entirely on the company.

I went over, earned nowt, sat around unpaid, got treated like an idiot... by H&R (who were you with?)

I have been back here since October 2011 with a decent honest company averaging 10/12,000 miles a month, with NO complaints, and certainly don't feel like a slave.

Re: class 1 trucker looking for canada work
 

I've met loads who went back broke due to lack of miles, and unpaid sitting.
No such thing at the likes of H&R, they can give you zero miles, and zero money if they like.
I have never spoken to anyone on a minimum wage paid weekly or monthly, only a PROMISE of the government minimum ANNUAL earning.

Re: class 1 trucker looking for canada work
 

6.This is BritishExpats.com....... NOT UKRAINE WHINES R US,you lot can't drive a truck to start with. Bugger off !!!