Moving to Canada as a Truck Driver? Here’s What You Need to Know

Truck drivers in Canada enjoy benefits like paid vacation, sick leave, medical or dental insurance, short-term and long-term disability coverage, and a pension plan. Plus, there are tons of vacancies; Canada has seen a truck driver shortage since 2021.

The country needs more than 17,000 new truck drivers annually to close the supply and demand mismatch through 2025. In other words, this is your chance to enter the market and advance your career. There’s a greater need than ever for truck drivers.

Here’s a summary of the steps to take to become a truck driver in Canada.

Truck drivers’ immigration options to Canada

If you enjoy driving trucks, you can immigrate to Canada in one of the following ways:

Express Entry Program

The Express Entry Program is the quickest route to immigrate to Canada as a skilled worker and get permanent status. You must create an Express Entry profile and complete all the required fields before applying. You’ll receive a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score and be assigned to a candidate pool based on various criteria, including your age, education, language skills, employment history, and more.

Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP)

Foreigners seeking temporary employment in Canada are eligible for the TFWP, a temporary work visa. The Canadian government established it to allow firms to hire foreign workers if they cannot fill open positions with Canadians.

You’re only permitted to work for one employer in Canada for six months on this visa. Extensions may be given if you’ve chosen to switch jobs, employment, employers, or other work-related factors. To be eligible for a TFWP, you must:

• Have a job offer from a Canadian employer

• Hold a valid passport

• Prove your intention to leave Canada after your work permit expires

• Demonstrate your command of English or French

• Have no criminal history and pose no threat to Canada’s national security

• Demonstrate you’ll be able to sustain yourself while in Canada, pay for your and your family members’ return trip

• Be healthy

Your firm must have a Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) document, which explains that it could not locate qualified candidates nationwide. If you meet the abovementioned conditions, you can submit your TFWP application.

Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)

Through the Provincial Nominee Program, a division of Express Entry, you can relocate to a particular Canadian province or municipality. It’s a fantastic choice for truck drivers looking to settle down and advance their careers in Canada. Eleven provinces and territories carry out this initiative. Therefore, you can be confident that finding a job that meets the labor needs of a participating province or territory won’t be difficult.

For some specialized and in-demand jobs, there are specific PNP streams. For instance, the Long-Haul Truck Driver Project in Saskatchewan tries to assist transportation companies in bringing international truck drivers to Canada. The best aspect of this program is that you could get a permanent Canadian residency. It’s a significantly quicker way to enter Canada and find employment, plus it boosts your CRS score by 600 points.

Immigrating from an English-Speaking Nation

Are you traveling to Canada from a country with a large English-speaking population? Then your chances of making a good move increase even further. Being from the US gives you an advantage because of the special bond between the two nations. Both are connected socially and economically in addition to physically. Whatever the purpose of the vacation, the average American citizen can visit Canada without restriction.

This is especially true for truckers because more than five million trucks cross the US-Canada border every year. The process is pretty easy for you if you’re interested in relocating to Canada as a truck driver. The basic qualifications for the employment role are the same in Canada and the US. Simply get hold of the appropriate Canadian license.

Likewise, the procedure is quite simple whether you are travelling from Australia or the UK. However, if you want to feel at ease driving on the right side of the road, you might need to put in a little extra practice. Also, you must swap your current license for a legitimate Canadian license. Before you can get your Canadian permit, you must pass a knowledge test, a road test, and a set number of driving hours.

How You Can Find Truck Driving Jobs in Canada

If you’re now eager to hunt for employment opportunities as a truck driver in Canada, you can do a quick Google search, revealing thousands of job listings. Use job portals, too, to locate new positions posted daily. Here are a few that are worth mentioning:

• LinkedIn, a popular social media site for job-seekers, recruiters, and employers

• Driverlink, a renowned Canadian online employment board dedicated to truck drivers

• Indeed Canada, a well-liked website that features millions of job listings from thousands of various job boards

Career Development Opportunities

There are many benefits to becoming a truck driver in Canada, including:

• You can usually discuss working hours and the frequency of trips over a specific period of time

• You can have paid days off and enjoy your time abroad

• An excellent salary of $50,000 to $70,000 per year, with the chance to earn even more

• As the demand is so high, your job is secure

• You get to enjoy Canada’s incredible sights while doing your job

• Some employers provide extra insurance coverage

How Can You Get Help with the Process?

Great North Visa is happy to help if you feel overwhelmed. We’re convinced that our knowledgeable team will give you the specialized immigration assistance you need to migrate to Canada easily. Our team work around the clock to address your questions. Contact us today.