Canada - USA Blues
REALLY SORRY that I just today saw your posting. I spent three months going around in circles on this one myself. And on this board, great as it is, no one seems to know much about what wannabe drivers in Canada are going through. And, ok, why should they care?
I got it right between the eyes, when I read a blog written by a retired RCMP guy who went through trucking school in Ontario, and then COULD NOT find a job, because the Canadian carriers insisted on 1-yr OTR experience. And this ex-policeman probably went to one of those schools which are good at taking money and little else.
Now since I'm a woman, and not RCMP calibre by any stretch of the imagination, I was appalled at what my own prospects for work would be. In Ontario as you probably know already, unless you live close enough to the school location to commute, you have to add $1,500 living expenses on top of the $6-7,000 you have to shell out for your training.
Good news, brother, if you're in Quebec. With a year's residency in that province, you pay $150.00 Canadian for a FOUR-MONTH TREMENDOUS TRAINING SCHOOL, IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, plus room rental and meals.
But getting the job in Canada -- Who is there to hire a new graduate? Schneider? CRT? Challenger Motor Freight is very good, I think.
But for me, I'm still an American citizen anyway, after living north of the border in Canada for years. And not having all that money, I just decided to go to a PTDI (Professional Truck Driver Institute) certified school in Missouri. The only PTDI schools in Ontario are Fifth Wheel and KRT. Fifth Wheel up is Liskeard is out-of-the-way. Their campus in Caldeonia opened about a year ago. They supply room-and-board, but you still pay a lot for tuition.
Yes, I was told that some U.S. states across the Great Lakes will take a Canadian Class A as a U.S. CDL license. I never checked into that. I do know a lot of things have changed and things have tightened with the U.S. companies and schools, even for Americans trying to get into truck schools in different states, if they live in other states.
I HOPE YOU'VE FOUND SOME ANSWERS SINCE YOU POSTED EARLIER THIS MONTH. I almost gave up myself several times.
But now I'm starting school October 23rd.
Good luck!
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