Contracting in Canada

[Bluespider]

Hi All,

I've made the decision along with the missus that its time for a change of scenery and we have been looking into emmigrating to Canada.
From the info I can find it appears that the contract market over there is very different, no agencies and most roles being direct to employers, meaning that networking/finding these roles is key to success and survival.

I'll go permie if i have to, to get over there initially but I enjoy contracting and want to continue over there if I can.
Does anyone have any experience of the Canadian market and any pointers of what to do and what not to do?

[backlight]

Allot of it depends on where you are moving to in Canada, any thoughts? Contract positions are available but I’d say there is a higher weighting to permanent in comparison to the UK. Recruitment agencies do have a presence in the market (and they tend to be a bit more professional and hold more respect than they do in the UK), but again there are allot of direct contracts which can be found via online listings or your network.

[Bluespider]

Hi Backlight, thanks for that.

We were thinking either Toronto (for the financial markets) or Quebec (Montreal most likely) as the visa entry suits us and with a bit of polishing I reckon I could pass the french exam (I'm aware there is a huge difference in passing a conversational exam and operating in a french technical environment!)
I guess I'm trying to figure out where the listings are and how I start of in the market with zero relationships.

[Sockpuppet]

Mate is looking at moving to Canada. By far the easiest way is to secure a perm job then move. Also wait till you get a visa before jumping, another mate got a job offer and despite being told by me to wait for the visa before quitting his old job did so and the visa was denied.

So he was jobless.

[jungleboogy]

Not sure about the contracting market, but you have to get yourself over to the west coast. Vancouver is the best city in terms of lifestyle I've visited, right on the sea, mountains overlooking the city, fantastic park next to downdown and nice beaches too. I've been to Toronto but thought Vancouver was far superior. Heard good things about Montreal though. Good luck.

I thought about immgrating too, filled out the forms, waited 2 years and then when they were due to be processed my wife got cold feet !

Hi Backlight, thanks for that.

We were thinking either Toronto (for the financial markets) or Quebec (Montreal most likely) as the visa entry suits us and with a bit of polishing I reckon I could pass the french exam (I'm aware there is a huge difference in passing a conversational exam and operating in a french technical environment!)
I guess I'm trying to figure out where the listings are and how I start of in the market with zero relationships.

[backlight]

I live in Toronto at the moment, I’ll be the first to say Vancouver is a prettier city. It's much closer to outdoor activities, and it’s milder than the rest of the country, but they get allot of rain, and the cost of living is much higher than any other Canadian city. Montreal is also a great place, it has a European feel, unfortunately my French is not fluent enough to take a role there. I have no way to know for sure but I have a suspicion that as you are not French you may struggle in Montreal from an employment perspective (more so than another city in any case). Toronto has its pros and cons but it would be the best place in Canada for IT employment.

You can take a look at workopolis.ca, monster.ca or any of the big banks web-sites for roles, CIBC, TD Canada Trust, Scotia Bank, RBC, BMO, or look at some recruiters sites, GSI, TEKsystems, Ranstad (there are lots).

[backlight]

Mate is looking at moving to Canada. By far the easiest way is to secure a perm job then move. Also wait till you get a visa before jumping, another mate got a job offer and despite being told by me to wait for the visa before quitting his old job did so and the visa was denied.

So he was jobless.

Not sure how that happened - think we let everyone in..

[Sockpuppet]

Not sure how that happened - think we let everyone in..

Apparently they didn't look hard enough in Canada first. They did head hunt him from old company so technically didn't look at all.

[Robinho]

A french person would struggle to speak the "french" they speak in Montreal

[portseven]

I have a brother in Alberta, and he tells me Calgary has quite a bit of tech work, though he is in Edmonton and doing sparky work for the oil industry.

Great place to live, and I would go tomorrow but wife wouldn't