Where can one start in Ontario?

ok, that suggests to me you are reasonably well established enough to try something completely different- you will have to get your own licence to start, then wander around trying to find a drive, with a strong possibility you'll be getting into long haul- meaning a month or so on the road with no real time for yourself and for less than min. wage paycheques too. you'll get around to see a lot of different places and meet a lot of great folk- which is fine- but most likely it'll end up being a working holiday before you decide to move on to something else. best of luck to you.

 

Like they say.. The world needs ditch diggers too.. Or truck drivers in Ontario (same thing)

 

You can end your dream if you wish but I live in Ontario, and have been driving a truck there for a number of years. I can assure you that there is no reason for even a new driver to spend a month on the road.

Why don't you post where you intend to live in Ontario and maybe we'll be able to make some specific suggestions as to how to get started and where to look for your first driving job?

 

The Guelph area would probably be my first choice if I had to have relatively easy access to the GTA, heaven forbid.

On to truck driving in Ontario. To the best of my knowledge (which is not all inclusive), no company offers free truck driver training in Ontario. Depending on your ability to adapt to handling a truck, you can probably expect to spend several thousand dollars in order to get your Ontario A-Z license. The schools will usually help you with job placement.

Before you spend the money though, I'd suggest that you define what it is that you're trying to accomplish. If you're just looking for a change of scenery, truck driving will fulfill that need well enough but if you have "financial requirements" - meaning that you're not independently wealthy - driving may not work for you. It's reasonable to expect that you'll earn between $2,500 and $3,500 per month as an inexperienced driver. With some experience, good work habits and a bit of 'right place, right time" luck, you may be able to top out at $5,500 - $6,000 per month. I should mention that as an Ontario born, ex-Californian (San Diego, mainly) myself, the cost of living in Ontario - housing aside - may be somewhat shocking.

Living near 401 and being able to travel to the U.S., eliminates the need for you to remain on the road for more than a week at a time. Due to U.S. immigration laws restricting "foreign" employment, Canadian trucking companies are allowed to travel to the U.S. to pick up and/or deliver goods but, having done so, must then return, loaded or empty, directly to Canada. Canadian trucks are not allowed to pickup and deliver goods within the borders of the U.S. (known as 'interstating'). The one exception to this rule is Celadon but I'd avoid those axxholes like the plague.

If being away from home & hearth for a week at a time is too long for you, you may be able to find jobs that will get you home several nights, or even every night, within the GTA. The odds of landing those types of jobs will increase with your experience.

BTW, most companies in southern Ontario no longer advertise jobs in their local newspaper. If you'd like to see job availability in the Guelph area, go to Kijiji. There's no shortage of driving jobs.

 

For all intent and purpose, dual citizenship is unlikely to help, or hinder, your job search. Being able to work in the U.S. is only useful as far as the company's ability/need to move freight point to point within the U.S.. Most Canadian companies, because of the interstating restriction, plan for a load into the U.S. and a return load to Canada and, therefore, have no need to move freight within the borders of the U.S..

The exceptions to that are the U.S. companies which also hire in Canada. If you choose to drive for one of them, and they know that you're able to work in the U.S., you can expect to stay on the road for weeks at a time.

Whereas a Canadian company is unlikely to send you into the U.S. without a return load booked - they're not making any money if you're sitting in El Paso for six days - a U.S. company will gladly use you to run loads from El Paso to Abilene to San Antonio to McAllen. You may have to wait a day or two at each location but that's of little concern to them. Whereas the smaller Canadian companies have to make a substantial profit from the truck, the larger U.S. companies are happy with any type of positive return - a couple of bucks net per truck per day runs into major money with a large fleet.

However, what will enhance your job search and ultimately make you more employable is a F.A.S.T. card.

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/prog/fast-expres/

 

The best thing in Ontario to get into if your physically able to is flat bed. Especially multi axle steel. Probably some of the best paying work around here and there is a lot of it. Usually only gone a night at a time and home on weekends. I had 3 months experience when I started multi axle steel. Was making $0.50 a mile and $21 a pick-up and drop. At 21 that was huge money. No problem could bring home over $2000 every 2 weeks.

 

Jeff: As an old, and I do mean old, ex-flatbedder myself, do you mind if I ask between where & where?