Canada Questions

Class 1/AZ licence acquisition will depend on where you land. Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario are Mandatory Entry-Level Training (MELT) provinces, and I believe British Columbia is not far behind. The specifics of licensing and MELT requirements vary somewhat from province to province, but in general:

• If you have held the equivalent licence from a US jurisdiction for more than 24 months I believe you can exchange your licence in SK and MB.
• In BC, AB and ON you can only exchange your US licence for a passenger car (Class 5 in BC and AB, G in ON) licence.
• In non-reciprocity provinces (BC, AB, ON), if you have held your US CDL for more than 24 months, you must re-test, regardless of the length of time you have had a US CDL; there is no exchange reciprocity for a US CDL. I do not believe that MELT is required in this circumstance.
• If you have held your CDL for less than 24 months, but more than 12 months you may be able to re-test without completing MELT in the provinces which have a reciprocity agreement (SK, MB).
• In reciprocity provinces, if you have held your CDL for less than 12 months and in non-reciprocity provinces for less than 24 months, you will be required to complete the full MELT requirement for that province (~103-125 hours in an approved program).
• You can't exchange your licence in a reciprocity province and then further exchange that licence in another province as your Canadian licence will be new and you will be subject to the full MELT requirements.

Whew!

All of the above is subject to verification, but it should be reasonably accurate.

It is my understanding that in the US you effectively have two licences; your regular licence and then your CDL. In all Canadian provinces it is illegal to have two licences, so there is no separate CDL. Also all licensing is strictly provincial with no federal jurisdiction and that is why there are differences from province to province.

So that should be the hard part. Once you are licensed and can provide verification of experience and proof of work eligibility, you should be just as viable a candidate as anyone else.


P.S. Is it because of a girl?

 

Grain, Oil and Gas, and most general freight OTR is in the toilet. The best jobs right now, are food service, private fleets (Walmart/Costco/Safeway/Coop). If you want to do OTR, expect it to be 99% runs to the US. Being a dual citizen, they're gonna want you to interstate.

 

We don't have endorsements for tankers, hazmat, doubles, etc.; generally a Class 1 is a Class 1. However, once again, there are differences from province to province. Some provinces have a "S" endorsement for school buses and some have one for Long Combination Vehicles (LCV)/Extended Length Vehicle Combinations--two 53 foot trailers (may also include triples and SK's b-train + 53 foot, but not sure). Ordinary doubles (eg. Rocky Mountain doubles), a-, b- or c-trains, etc., do not require an endorsement.

We don't have a separate air brake endorsement for Class 1 as air brakes are part of the licence. All lower classes do have a separate air brake endorsement ("Q" in Alberta). For example, my wife has a Class 2 Q S.

Motorcycle is a separate class (Class 6) on the same licence. I believe a valid US motorcycle licence can be exchanged for the equivalent licence in every province without any education or testing requirements. I have one, so my licence is a Class 1, 6. I'm legal to drive anything with wheels except a school bus or LCV.

 

@Dan.S

Old guy here.
Regarding wilderness adventures and pesky cities, I was the out doors adventure type and would advise to stay away from AB and southern SK.
Alberta sucks, always has, too busy, too unpredictable, not real friendly as provinces go. it's the oil.
Between Regina and Calgary there's only 4 trees to be seen, one has been dead for 30 years.

I'm recommending MB, not because it's a transportation hub, but because of the access to the outdoors and there's only one big city for hundreds of miles in any direction, Winnipeg, plus you're close to N Ontario, which is "The Wilderness."

For example, there's over 100,000 lakes in MB, and a whole bunch more in ON.
I've fished in north ON, north SK and all over MB, fresh water fishing doesn't get much better.

Look at the map, the green area can be considered wilderness, where the trees are the people are more sparse.
Stay close to the green area and you'll be fine, safely rural and closer to paradise.
https://www.google.ca/maps/@52.927465,-105.2494105,6z

Don't forget your winter boots, parka and long underwear.

 

You can look forward to not having to carry a seperate medical card too. License is only issued if you pass the physical (literally just a cash grab lol).

 

I disagree. I gave up the BC wilderness for Alberta and I'm out hiking and biking in the wilderness all the time. Depends where in the province you go. Plus its really the only way anybody can afford to enjoy BC cause the cost of living and wages suck out there lol.

 

Anyone who actually wants to live in MB is a loner..... BC / AB is where it’s at if you want work plus life style ( granted I just left AB to the USA because work has hit the toilet )

Edit: I’m an oilfield truck driver