nofrills

Hi Chaps and Chapesses

I'm interested in moving to Canada.
Let's just assume I've found a company with LMIA and a couple of years later I got my PR.
Now I'm free to go where I want and do what I want.
I love driving trucks , but I'm not so keen on nights out.
What is there available in terms of local jobs, home every night.
No matter what province, state.
Are there any well paying jobs that let you spend your nights at home, or do a max of 2 night out per week?
Do these local jobs pay per hour, and if so how much?
What about you people, do you still do long haul, after you got your PR, and do you do this because you like it or because there is nothing else available in terms of local jobs?

Thanks

Juggernaut1064

Beware of regional jobs, they tend to be without proper log books and you could wind up working very long hours so ask lots of questions about what hours are expected of you.
One of the best paid jobs driving a day cab is turnpike or LCV but depends on company/location.

neilg14

I can only speak about the Calgary area but 2yrs ago, there were 100's of jobs advertised, local/city driving, home every night, hourly pay, but since the downturn in the oil industry, a lot of laid off drivers have taken these jobs and there are not many decent jobs advertised now.
I drive a water tanker local, loading spring water from a source and delivering into a bottling plant in Calgary, 4 runs a day, Mon-Fri, 6am ish to 6pm ish, home every night, no log books/electronic logs and the wages are basic, overtime after 8hrs, stat days are paid 2 1/2 times the flat rate/hr, far better than anything I earned long haul.
Hourly pay is the only way to go, without being ripped off.
I did work out one time, that to equal my pay with mileage pay, I would need to be getting IIRC, .59c/mile, averaging 110k's/hr, whereas in reality, long haul in Calgary pays between .38c - .48c/mile depending who you work for and what job you do.
So in answer to your question nofrills, yes it's very possible to do what you said and earn good money.

nofrills

Thanks guys for replying

so, I guess these days since there has been this downturn in the oil patch, and might not come back to life anytime soon, all these hourly, well paid jobs are thin on the ground, or are they still available to be had if you do some leg work?

neilg14

Yep, definitely decent jobs around still especially if you do the legwork and not rely only on what you see advertised.
In other parts of Canada, it maybe a lot better, like I said, AB not great at the moment, it will pick up again but nobody knows when.

nofrills

Thanks for replying Neil.
See, before I make a move I like to research the subject as much as I possibly can, so I have a lot questions.

Let's assume,I found a job with LMIA, and after some time got my PR.
By this I would have gotten a feel for what Canada and other states/provinces are like job wise and living conditions in general.
After getting PR in one of the provinces, would I be able to move to other province if I found out the job market for truck drivers over there was better than where I was at the moment, or would there be some restrictions?

The other questions. Is regarding being self employed, owner operator/ contractor with your own tractor unit and let's say a trailer. Would it be a smart move of going self employed?
From what I've noticed from watching some TV blogs a lot of drivers go the self employed route, but from what I see you should avoid leasing through a company, better is to get your own bank loan and buy your truck this way, as this way you are not tied up to one company but can get loads from some load boards and work when you want and go where you want.
I know there are still monthly truck payments and truck maintenance and expenses, but at least you decide how much you want/need to work.

Another question is about ice roads in the far north.
Is this still a viable option, is there a good money to be made in 3-4 months time?

Thanks

christmasoompa

You'll have got PR via a PNP, and therefore are expected to settle in the province that nominated you. However, if you tried it for 6 months and then couldn't find work and moved on, it shouldn't be a problem at all. It's really just to stop people getting PR via a province they never intended to live in and then moving on immediately - that could potentially mean PR could be revoked for misrepresentation.

So just don't move immediately, and go where you genuinely want to live and you should be fine.

HTH.

neilg14

Your PR question answered above.
Self employed O/O, I don't know much about except to say, I enquired at one company I worked at and they were honest in telling me not to bother, I wouldn't make any more money than I do as an employed driver, and no worries with breakdown's, paperwork, running costs, finding someone to cover you for time off and holidays etc.
I don't need the hassle at this time of life and I like my time off.
I think most O/O's just stay with one company and somebody will put me right if I'm wrong.
Those load boards are the bottomfeeders and the loads will maybe only cover the cost of your fuel.
For IRT, again, I don't know much about it apart from what I've read that you need a few years exp under your belt first.

nofrills

Hi Xmas, thanks for replying.
The thing is that there is always going to be plenty of jobs for truckers in Canada, so there is never going to be an excuse of not being able to find a trucking job in a given province.
Most of these jobs are going to be poorly paid and very few well paid jobs.
I was hoping I would be able to move to where I could find a well paying job once I got my PR.

The most likely I would be landing in Manitoba, and there are not many well paying trucking jobs, but plenty poorly paying ones. (unless I am mistaken, and someone, a trucker from Manitoba could correct me, but I suspect I'm right).
How long it takes from getting PR to getting a citizenship, and idea Xmas?
When I get Canadian citizenship, do i have more rights to move around the country and settle where I want to be?

What are the main differences of going through approved PNP route vs a LMIA, any idea?

Thanks

nofrills

I'm pretty sure, I read in here one of the new immigrant to Canada drivers after getting his PR, spent some time in the North of Canada doing some trucking on ice roads, so obviously he didn't have much Canadian experience.

Thanks

nofrills

Is there any private pension plan offered by haulage employers that is more widely available than it is in the UK?

christmasoompa

Two completely different things - a LMIA only gets you a Temp Work Permit, PNP results in PR so you can stay permanently.

And you can apply for citizenship after you've lived in Canada as a PR for 4 years, it then takes about a year to get, so figure approx 5 years after getting PR.

Bottom line is, if you are only using MB to get PR, then you'd need to rethink. But if you try to settle there (and genuinely intended to live there long term), then there's no issue.

HTH.

nofrills

Thanks for replying Christmas oops

Let me try again and rephrase my question.
How about if I got PR in Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Alberta and intended to settle there permanently, but then received an attractive offer to work for as a truck driver in other province/ territory:

1. For a short period of time, up to let's say 5 months
2. An offer of a permanent trucking job that would require me to move to other province permanently.

What would my options be?

Thanks

flat to the mat

Once PR is obtained the handcuffs are off and you can work anywhere in the country doing whatever you choose , options are limitless .

nofrills

Hi flat to the mat for replying.
I,m sorry Christmasoompa for calling you Christmas oops in my previous post, it wasn't intentional, my tablet changes spelling of various words by itself without asking if you don't check it before pressing send button