Hi
My family and I are planning to move to Canada next year. We are looking at Manitoba or Ontario. I have read through the post on here but can’t find anyone explaining how they approached companies in Canada for work.
I am an experienced class 1 driver and the plan is to find work, I’ll go over first and once everything is sorted over there my family will join me.
Am I over thinking this, should I just apply blind and to job adverts as I would in the uk or are there specific companies who actively look for uk drivers…?
Any advice would be gratefully received
You’ll find it pretty difficult at best to get in to Canada at the moment, its not impossible but its getting harder by the month.
If you’re planning to migrate to Canada on the strength of your skills as a truck driver, then forget Ontario. That province does not allow for Permanent Residence via PNP (Provincial Nominee Program) as most of the other provinces do and that’s how just about all of us who are here did it. The PNP program that individual provinces run allows them to by-pass the Federal immigration routes in to Canada to fast track workers in that they deem necessary to their own provincial economies and who in many/most cases would not qualify by the Federal route any way. So with that in mind, even if you could get a job in Ontario, and you possibly could, but you’d be limited to 4 years worth of temporary work permits and with no possibility of PR have to leave Canada.
Manitoba has PNP for truck drivers and along with New Brunswick on the east coast is probably the most straight forward way in to Canada with the best chance of success in terms of being granted PNP/PR within the 4 year time limit.
The general impression I’m getting online and from talking to people personally is that LMIA’s, the document the employer has to obtain from the relevant government department allowing you to enter the country and obtain a work permit, is that they’re like rocking horse ■■■ out west (incl Manitoba) and are often only given to drivers who are already present in Canada. They are still available in New Brunswick but in hugely smaller numbers than was the case and I wouldn’t be surprised if that dries up in the course of things. Many companies here have simply stopped even bothering applying for them due to the much increased cost of application and the high likelihood of being knocked back with no refund.
As for finding jobs. I can’t speak for Manitoba, or even Ontario but here in New Brunswick you’d just have to approach companies with a track record of employing foreign drivers and try your luck. Don’t bother with emails, get on the phone and call them direct and ask to speak to their recruiter, just about all companies here have one or more recruiter who’s only job it is is to feed the revolving drivers door. This revolving has dramatically slowed down this year because its got so hard and in many cases impossible to bring in drivers and in turn this has finally started making most of the companies get their act together, stop treating their drivers like a disposable commodity and offer better money and conditions. However this doesn’t do you much good if you’re on the outside looking in and the door is locked. I’m not saying its impossible for you to get here, but its going to be a struggle to prise the door open enough to squeeze in at the moment.
Many thanks for your reply, I had heard its was getting more difficult and that the pnp scheme was being slowly squeezed out but was hoping I may have been lucky enough to catch the tail end of it…
I’ll definitely take your advice regarding contacting companies directly over the phone rather than email and see how it goes.
Thanks again for your advice
Its not so much the PNP schemes that are being phased out but rather the difficulty in obtaining your first LMIA and any subsequent ones you may need until you’ve been nominated for PNP. Having said that, PNP is in itself much more difficult these days. When I applied at the tail end of 2009 and it was being processed in 2010 it was little more than a box ticking excersise. So long as you filled in the forms, provided them with the documents they wanted, it was basically a garunteed thing.
These days they’re nit picking over every little thing. I know drivers here who have been told they’d have to do a GED (General Education Diploma) in Canada to allow their applications to proceed as a UK school exams certificate, in my case GCSE’s doesn’t prove “completition” of secondary school. In reality it does, but it doesn’t have the words “Secondary education completed” and as the provincial and federal governments are now making it as hard as possible, this sort of thing is holding drivers back.
I know some who’ve got so pee’d off with the whole thing they’ve just jacked in and gone back to England.
So basically what I’m saying is, if you do get your foot in the door, make sure you come over with absolutely every piece of paperwork you’ll possibly need for your PNP/PR application, no matter how petty it seems. The days of turning up in Canada with a bewildered look on your face to just give it a go and hope for the best are over. If you don’t or can’t play their game of bureaucratic paper pushing, you’ll be on the fast plane back home in due course.
Manitoba are still operating the PNP scheme and a couple of the larger companies are still recruiting from overseas, namely Bison and Trans X, I have heard that Bison are still interested in Brits as they have had success with them. This is because they stick around once they get PR as Bison is supposed to be a pretty decent job, for a big haulier at least. They do require you to use an immigration service, I believe it’s around 5 grand, but that gets you PR and citizenship when (if) you qualify too, so with the current situation it’s 5 grand well spent as they get you PR a lot quicker than self applications.
I’m not so sure about Trans X, they have a lot of Germans and other Europeans on there, as well as a lot of tinted chaps who wear a wraparound stetson. I do have a friend starting there this week as it happens, but he already has PR. I’ll ask him what the score is regarding jobs etc. However he lives in Alberta and robinhood has covered that province. They do run out of MB too, so it may be a possibility.
The other PNP companies have pretty much thrown the towel in when it comes to hiring foreigners, especially Brits as the vast majority jack the job as soon as they get PR and either get a better job, or get out of long haul trucking altogether, there’s two sides to that coin, the companies could try to improve conditions to retain drivers, but there are lots who have played the system and run long haul just to get PR and emigrate to Canada.
You could also try Loblaws in Regina, I don’t know if they’re still looking for driver’s, they probably are, Westcan Bulk have a yard in Moose Jaw and they have had loads of Brits over in the past, so again they’re worth a shot.
newmercman:
Manitoba are still operating the PNP scheme and a couple of the larger companies are still recruiting from overseas, namely Bison and Trans X, I have heard that Bison are still interested in Brits as they have had success with them. This is because they stick around once they get PR as Bison is supposed to be a pretty decent job, for a big haulier at least. They do require you to use an immigration service, I believe it’s around 5 grand, but that gets you PR and citizenship when (if) you qualify too, so with the current situation it’s 5 grand well spent as they get you PR a lot quicker than self applications.
I’m not so sure about Trans X, they have a lot of Germans and other Europeans on there, as well as a lot of tinted chaps who wear a wraparound stetson. I do have a friend starting there this week as it happens, but he already has PR. I’ll ask him what the score is regarding jobs etc. However he lives in Alberta and robinhood has covered that province. They do run out of MB too, so it may be a possibility.
The other PNP companies have pretty much thrown the towel in when it comes to hiring foreigners, especially Brits as the vast majority jack the job as soon as they get PR and either get a better job, or get out of long haul trucking altogether, there’s two sides to that coin, the companies could try to improve conditions to retain drivers, but there are lots who have played the system and run long haul just to get PR and emigrate to Canada.
You could also try Loblaws in Regina, I don’t know if they’re still looking for driver’s, they probably are, Westcan Bulk have a yard in Moose Jaw and they have had loads of Brits over in the past, so again they’re worth a shot.
TransX & H&R were both advertising saying they had a few LMIA’s available only for drivers already in Canada.
2 drivers on another forum both got told by Bison, the earliest they may have LMIA’s available will be Apr2016 and to call back then.
Westcan had 1 LMIA available since last year and a lad in Okotoks got it.
All the companies you mention have jobs going, you can drive round Calgary and virtually every company has jobs advertised outside but there are very, very few LMIA’s available.
I think that AB is best avoided for anyone wishing to get PR.
Thanks again for the reply’s everyone…
Really helpful advice.
Going to make a few speculative call’s to companies as suggested and also to a couple of immigration agencies. It looks like this isn’t going to be as straight forward as I had hoped but still nothing in life worth having comes easy.
If you’re going down the agency route then that’s a few extra grand onto your costs. Also come over with all your references and all other paperwork in hand. With the waiting times you’ll only get one shot at getting it right
Agencies on their own are a waste of time and money. Only use an agent if the company that offers you the job insist on it, otherwise you risk shelling out a big chunk of change with no guarantee that a job will materialize and no job will mean no work permit.
newmercman:
Agencies on their own are a waste of time and money. Only use an agent if the company that offers you the job insist on it, otherwise you risk shelling out a big chunk of change with no guarantee that a job will materialize and no job will mean no work permit.
If a company insist on using a Imm Agent, THEY have to pay for it, it’s illegal to charge the TFW.
Now if you choose to use one, then you have to pay, but why would you when all the paperwork is done from Canada.
All you have to do is turn up at the border with LMIA and other relevant paperwork that has been sent to you and the money for your WP, bingo.
I thought was illegal for the trucking company to charge for any part but there’s nothing stopping them from going to an agency because it’s not part of that company
You’re still going on about LMIA and not only are they thin on the ground, they also only give you temporary status in the country, with the recent changes the LMIA scheme has had it would be a massive gamble to move lock, stock and barrel on the strength of a temporary work permit, especially to Alberta.
Unless you can get on with a company that puts you on PNP I wouldn’t advise coming to Canada at all.
You mean a company that will put you through pnp straight away after 6 months. Time isn’t on the TFW side
Shame all drivers can’t go on this Express Entry, some people are getting their PR in 4mths, start to finish, this maybe why the timeline on PNP and Federal is going up all the time, giving priority to EE.
The way things are in AB you’ll be lucky to get ANIP in 2 years let alone PR now that they are only issuing a 2 year permit. You can apply for a 1 year extension BUT you have to prove that PR has been applied for and even then you are not 100% sure to get the extention
I’m glad I came out when I did and everything’s done and dusted now, I couldn’t be going through all this hassle now.
taffytrucker:
You mean a company that will put you through pnp straight away after 6 months. Time isn’t on the TFW side
No I mean a company that puts you on PNP from the word go, a few people I know that had a long drawn out house sale were PR before they even left England for Canada. One of them was at Bison and the others at Big Freight.
I had the option of going on PNP or LMO when I came over and as I was initially only planning on trucking around for a couple of years as a sabbatical of sorts, I chose the LMO as I could get here a lot quicker and with less paperwork, I only had to fax over 10yrs work history and a criminal record check, the work history bit was pretty simple as I had my own lorries and had worked for myself, so I wrote myself a fantastic reference lol.
newmercman:
taffytrucker:
You mean a company that will put you through pnp straight away after 6 months. Time isn’t on the TFW side
No I mean a company that puts you on PNP from the word go, a few people I know that had a long drawn out house sale were PR before they even left England for Canada. One of them was at Bison and the others at Big Freight.
I had the option of going on PNP or LMO when I came over and as I was initially only planning on trucking around for a couple of years as a sabbatical of sorts, I chose the LMO as I could get here a lot quicker and with less paperwork, I only had to fax over 10yrs work history and a criminal record check, the work history bit was pretty simple as I had my own lorries and had worked for myself, so I wrote myself a fantastic reference lol.
I think what you’re talking about only applied in MB, maybe SK, but this EE has taken over now and not many truck drivers are going to have enough points to get through it.
If you are doing this EE and get an LMIA, it ups your points considerably.
newmercman:
No I mean a company that puts you on PNP from the word go, a few people I know that had a long drawn out house sale were PR before they even left England for Canada. One of them was at Bison and the others at Big Freight.
I had the option of going on PNP or LMO when I came over and as I was initially only planning on trucking around for a couple of years as a sabbatical of sorts, I chose the LMO as I could get here a lot quicker and with less paperwork, I only had to fax over 10yrs work history and a criminal record check, the work history bit was pretty simple as I had my own lorries and had worked for myself, so I wrote myself a fantastic reference lol.
I do seem to remember when I came here back in 09 meeting one or two guy’s who’d got PNP before ever stepping foot in Canada, maybe PR too, can’t remember. I’m not sure if NB ever did it that way, the people I’ve met seem to have moved to NB from either MB or SK where they originally lived and worked etc.