You have PM.
ppc25:
BIG JOHNS DAD yes i have PR i got that quite a few years back and we have been here long enough to apply for citezenship as well. Tha law now is you must reside in canada 2 years in the last 5 years to keep your PR. If we do decide to come back we have a small window of a few years to change our minds and return, alternativly if we stay we shall apply for citezenship and get a dual passport, at the very least.
Oh, OK they moved the goalposts again did they? Used to be tougher than that.
Getting your citizenship sorted should be your number one priority before you come back to the UK in that case so you at least won’t get stranded outside the gates.
Getting your paperwork in order while you are still there is far easier than trying to do it through the high commision in London.
Big Jon’s dad:
Carryfast:
There’s no way that all the bravery in the world can get round the issue of not being able to legally work across the Atlantic if the zb authorities over there are’nt as keen to allow those of us from the country that founded the colony to work there as the Brits are when it comes to allowing all and sundry to work here.It seems that the rules are’nt a lot different now than they were around 30 years ago when I was told yes Canada does take British immigrants IF you fit into one of the required types of workers doing jobs which Canadians are’nt available to do.Truck drivers did’nt fit into any of those criteria.Even if I had managed to do the impossible of getting a truck driving job I was told that the job would need to stay advertised and if a Canadian national wanted it then I’d be on the way back home pdq.It was all a bit different when we sent the first colonists over there to get the place on it’s feet as there was’nt a ‘Canadian’ government telling us that we were’nt allowed in.
Quite right too. Canada has enough home grown riff raff without importing more. If you can contribute to the well-being of the country you will be welcomed. As you weren’t welcome I can only conclude you have done something that precludes your entry.
If only we had such policies in the UK, the place might not be so overrun eh?
Is that blue pigeon joke still on here? That was brilliant.
Yes you’re right it’s probably that they still had’nt got over their old colonial past at that time in regarding all truck drivers as riff raff 
.But if I’d said that I was an acedemic office type pen pusher they probably would have let me in.But Admiral Nelson probably would’nt believe that we can live in France and Spain if we want to and anyone from the Indian sub continent has more chance of living here than a Brit has of emigrating to Canada The blue pidgeon joke continues.
Carryfast:
Yes you’re right it’s probably that they still had’nt got over their old colonial past at that time in regarding all truck drivers as riff raff
If you had a nurses uniform instead of steelcapped boots you would have got in easier. I might be able to point you in the right direction if you want the full cross dressing experience, nurses outfits an all. I get to see all sorts in some of the places I work. I was going to write I come across all sorts but I thought better of it. 
It pays to be deaf and blind at times. 
Pen pushers are two a loonie. You can’t get even give 'em away. 
Big Jon’s dad:
Carryfast:
Yes you’re right it’s probably that they still had’nt got over their old colonial past at that time in regarding all truck drivers as riff raffIf you had a nurses uniform instead of steelcapped boots you would have got in easier. I might be able to point you in the right direction if you want the full cross dressing experience, nurses outfits an all. I get to see all sorts in some of the places I work. I was going to write I come across all sorts but I thought better of it.
Pen pushers are two a loonie. You can’t get even give 'em away.
Blimey so that’s how all the Brit drivers who’ve managed to get in there so far managed it. But the nurses recruitment officer probably got a shock when he applied the usual ‘tests’ for their suitability for the job before allowing them in.
Carryfast:
Blimey so that’s how all the Brit drivers who’ve managed to get in there so far managed it.
I couldn’t posssssibly say…
Maybe you should ask them while I go look for some popcorn?
The nurses uniform was fine, but the tights were way too snug for me… 
Someone said that not a lot has changed in the UK in 5 years. I beg to differ. I went back in May to visit my dear departed Dad and the place was really dire. The depression was unanimous and nobody felt secure in their work, so nobody felt secure in their homes. Crime is worse than when I left, and the attitude toward crime by the authorities is “Ah well, we will look into it later.”
Stay put. The depression you feel will pass. Another who was at the same firm, at about the same time as you, recently moved back, and I am told he is back out here again now. Well, I am pretty sure he is, but I know he is waiting for his family to move back out as well.
thankyou everybody for your input, its graetly appreciated.
We have decided to stick it out one more year which gives us time to get our citezenship and take a good hard look at this again. I will be returning early next year to take a look around and hopefully do a little bit of work, and see if its for us.
once again thanks for all the help and advice.
Glad to see you’ve seen the light and decided to stay a while longer.
Not sure how you could call the place boring,with a young family like yours spare time is fairly limited.Not a huge fan of winter but it has to be embraced(endured),that alone brings hunting,skidoos,ice fishing(yawn),hockey,and a must do pastime of shoveling snow.I love the place even if it can be quirkey sometimes.
You served your sentence with Yanke so have seen most of Canada,where else would you like to live? Certainly worth considering an internal move before the upheaval of “going back”. Anyhow,best of luck with your choices mate.
P.S. My wife was a nurse in England,when we moved here she would’ve had to take a degree course before being able to practice,now she drives a school bus !!
I came back from Canada for a couple of months at the beginning of this year, I loved being back ‘home’ in England, meeting up with all my old mates, going to the boozer, eating Pie, Mash and Liquor, Saveloy and Chips, Steak and Kidney pies, decent crisps and breakfasts with baked beans, it all felt so natural, everything was familiar, I even went driving lorries again for the fun of it, but two weeks later I would’ve swum back to Canada, I’m a Londoner, so seeing dark faces is nothing new to me, the recession didn’t worry me either, I’ve never had a problem getting work, I run a lot of East Coast and California and being a native of inside the M25 the traffic never got to me either, in fact I can’t and will not slag off my country of birth, but I’m glad I didn’t have to stay for any longer than I did.
Taking another year sounds like a good idea. Things here will either be worse(highly likely!) or better (not bloody likely!) and you’ll have another option with your position in Canada. Good luck in whatever you do mate and don’t be a stranger now! 
ppc25:
Big Johns Dad, the cold here is different, its easy to cope with up to -20 after that with the wind as well its awfull
Wuss!
ppc25:
We have a 6 week period in saskatchewan in jan feb where temps hit rock bottom and stop there. -40 or lower every day + wind chill as well.
I have heard that BC winters are very much like english ones.
Southern BC winters are wet and mild like the UK. Victoria, which is the capital of BC and is on the Island, and the surrounding smaller communities enjoy winters that are warmer than in the UK. Snow is rarer than in the UK. This comes as a surprise to some people, even some Canadians. Everyone thinks Canada is cold all the time everywhere. Most people in the UK have no concept of how vast and empty Canada is. I lived for a period in northern BC in Terrace and Kitimat. The cold was quite intense there, our water well froze and we had to get water from a neighbour. The snow piled up above the ground floor so the windows were covered by snow. In town you crossed the street through tunnels cut through the snow. We had Jack Frost drawing on the inside of our windows in our bedrooms. I remember walking to school backwards because the snow was blowing so hard you couldn’t walk into it. That was proper winter.
My recent experiences are all of Alberta as that is where I have 3 sons living now. It shocks me how the UK falls apart after a handfull of snow flakes and yet Alberta just carries on as normal. Admittedly there are a spate of crashes when the snow first arrives In Canada until people remember how to drive on snow again. You’d think Canadians would not need to relearn those skills but every year the same surge of crashes happens with the first snowfall.
I think your decision to stick it out in Canada for a while is sensible. If you want to get away from the cold you might consider moving to Vancouver Island. Cheaper than Vancouver itself which is supposed to be the most expensive city in Canada to live in, followed by Calgary and Edmonton. Moving up Island to somewhere like Nanaimo where there are jobs for truck drivers and mechanics could be affordable and more pleasant in the winter for you. Nowhere is as cheap to live as Saskatchewan or Manitoba though but wages are higher to compensate. After all lots of other people manage to live there! Don’t forget to take your raincoat though.
newmercman:
I can’t and will not slag off my country of birth, but I’m glad I didn’t have to stay for any longer than I did.
Just voted with your feet instead. But the more those of us still here call a spade a spade the quicker we might turn the place into another Switzerland.
Nowhere is as cheap to live as Saskatchewan or Manitoba though but wages are higher to compensate. After all lots of other people manage to live there! Don’t forget to take your raincoat though.
[/quote]
Cheap to live in Saskatoon is a myth now and has been for the past 3 years. Since the housing boom prices have gone up by 150%.
Its actualy as cheap to buy in Toronto. my first house i bought for $99000 and sold one year later for $200000 that was 5 years ago Prices are still going up. you cant get anything worth living in for less than $300,000 in saskatoon. Average house price is $350,000.
That buys a lot of wood wouldnt mind if they where built out of brick
We did look at moving within canada and that can always be an option for us but before i do that i need to know that i either do or dont want to return to the UK. if thats the case we have some friends that live just outside toronto like 10 mins NE in Ajax and they have nothing but good things to say about living there
so who knows eh!!!
Stay warm and stay safe, thankyou everybody and i certinaly wont be a stranger on here !! !!!
ppc25:
Cheap to live in Saskatoon is a myth now and has been for the past 3 years. Since the housing boom prices have gone up by 150%.
Its actualy as cheap to buy in Toronto. my first house i bought for $99000 and sold one year later for $200000 that was 5 years ago Prices are still going up. you cant get anything worth living in for less than $300,000 in saskatoon. Average house price is $350,000.
That buys a lot of woodWe did look at moving within canada and that can always be an option for us but before i do that i need to know that i either do or dont want to return to the UK. if thats the case we have some friends that live just outside toronto like 10 mins NE in Ajax and they have nothing but good things to say about living there
so who knows eh!!!
Stay warm and stay safe, thankyou everybody and i certinaly wont be a stranger on here !!
Saskatchwan is supposed to be the fastestet growing province in the near future with natural resources and energy being the driving forces in the economy.
Prices of houses are only important if you own more than just the one you live in or you want to move out of the area. If you want to live in the house you already have the price ticket someone attaches to your house is unimportant.
For comparison of wages accross the various provinces for the same job take a look at the entry jobs for FedEx Canada. Some provinces pay quite a lot more than others for exactly the same position.
fedexcanadaeng.hire.com/frameset … er-joblist
Note the first page only shows 20 of 61 jobs listed at the time I posted this. You need to move to the next pages to see the other jobs.
For the other TruckNet UK members who were thinking of moving to Canada:
This site is full of classified adverts for jobs, houses, vehicles, and almost anything else you can think of.
The link will take you to the index page for Edmonton but you can select other places instead.
You can compare housing costs and wages in different areas by doing a bit of research.
Just remember the jobs are only open to people with permission to work in Canada be that citizenship, PR or TWP.
Most jobs are not open to TWP holders.
Visitors can only remain in the country for 6 months and cannot work while visiting.
(PR = Permanent Residence, TWP = Termporary Work Permit)
Actually, Big Jons Dad, You just rememnded me to say something else here.
If you are a nominee, and if you decide to change jobs, you generally can providing that the PNP people agree to it. If you call them then, although you have to go get a new work permit, you shouldn’t need any rigmorole like the LMO. The nomination is enough, you see.
So all you drivers who are thinking of moving out, remember that not all is lost if firms are not hiring on HRSDC. Most of them would have no issue hiring as a nominee as far as I know.
bobthedog:
Actually, Big Jons Dad, You just rememnded me to say something else here.If you are a nominee, and if you decide to change jobs, you generally can providing that the PNP people agree to it. If you call them then, although you have to go get a new work permit, you shouldn’t need any rigmorole like the LMO. The nomination is enough, you see.
So all you drivers who are thinking of moving out, remember that not all is lost if firms are not hiring on HRSDC. Most of them would have no issue hiring as a nominee as far as I know.
Thanks Bob. For all you potential emigrants reading this, Bob is the most helpful person I know for people coming to Canada from the UK. Listen to what he says. I’ve never yet found anything he’s written to quarrel with. Bob knows first hand what the problems can be and how to overcome them. Bob helped Big Jon (my eldest son) when he first moved there from the UK. I and my kids haven’t had to jump through hoops to get to Canada as I emigrated when I was 3 and became a citizen when I was 8 years old. I have been able to pass citizenship on to my kids even though they were born in the UK after I returned from Canada. Most of what I know may be out of date or has been found while looking for info on how to get the kids’ wives into Canada (sponsorship). So Bob, this is a public thank you from me for all the help you freely gave Jon and for all that you do for others that make the move. Thank You Bob the Dog! You are a cool guy. 
PS sorry if I embarrassed you.
Absolutly return to the U.K.Let’s face it Canada is nothing but white empty space.The people are the rudest on the planet.This is not what I say but what the hotel owners in Florida say.They actually had a proposition to ban Canadians from their hotels due to their rudeness.Canada is for Canadians.That is if you dont want a life but love working 60 to 90 hours a week Canada is for you.If you are a trucker then it is 100 to 168 hours a week.Canada has no culture , no character.absolutly nothing going for it.To top it all off the weather is a nightmare.British weather is paradise in comparison.In contrast to Canadians Americans are friendly and stand up for what they believe in.I know all this from experience.I have lived in the Far East,Canada,the U.S.A. and spent considerable time in Germany ,France and Australia.The U.K. is by far and away the best country to live in.That is for those that have an interest in history and culture and proper sports.Those Brits that live there and go on about how great it is are terrified of admitting they made a mistake moving there or they are in fact Canadians.Dull,dull,dull.You also have to keep in mind that Canada is very much a backwater.It’s especially funny to hear about people that claim Edmonton is a great place to live.Even Canadians say it is their dullest city.When the winter Olympics were on it had the unenviable reputation as a place to avoid like the plague.I really cannot say enough about how bad Canada is.Just look at the three Russians that jumped to their deaths in Glasgow this summer rather than be deported back to Canada where they had been living.I think that says it all.
robbbie:
Absolutly return to the U.K.Let’s face it Canada is nothing but white empty space.The people are the rudest on the planet.This is not what I say but what the hotel owners in Florida say.They actually had a proposition to ban Canadians from their hotels due to their rudeness.Canada is for Canadians.That is if you dont want a life but love working 60 to 90 hours a week Canada is for you.If you are a trucker then it is 100 to 168 hours a week.Canada has no culture , no character.absolutly nothing going for it.To top it all off the weather is a nightmare.British weather is paradise in comparison.In contrast to Canadians Americans are friendly and stand up for what they believe in.I know all this from experience.I have lived in the Far East,Canada,the U.S.A. and spent considerable time in Germany ,France and Australia.The U.K. is by far and away the best country to live in.That is for those that have an interest in history and culture and proper sports.Those Brits that live there and go on about how great it is are terrified of admitting they made a mistake moving there or they are in fact Canadians.Dull,dull,dull.You also have to keep in mind that Canada is very much a backwater.It’s especially funny to hear about people that claim Edmonton is a great place to live.Even Canadians say it is their dullest city.When the winter Olympics were on it had the unenviable reputation as a place to avoid like the plague.I really cannot say enough about how bad Canada is.Just look at the three Russians that jumped to their deaths in Glasgow this summer rather than be deported back to Canada where they had been living.I think that says it all.
You sound a 100 years old Robbie i agree with some of what you say but dont tell me in all your travels you have not found somewhere better than England i am born and bred a Londoner and over the last ten years this country has become a dumping ground for half of the worlds riff raff i know there are good and bad in all peoples the trouble is a lot of the bad has turned up here.