Your new life in Canada starts here, straight from the States

When your things reach Canada, they clear through CBSA (the Canada Border Services Agency). The part to hold onto: your customs treatment is fixed at your first entry as a settler, not when the truck arrives. Because your shipment often crosses separately from you, the goods-to-follow declaration you make on arrival becomes the anchor for the whole customs file.

The US side is refreshingly light by comparison. Used personal and household effects leaving the States for Canada don't need a formal export filing the way commercial cargo does, so there's no heavy paperwork at the American end. The one thing that matters is that your inventory and declared values line up cleanly with what CBSA sees on the Canadian side.

On a cross-border road move you'll often reach Canada around the same time as your things — but plenty of people fly up first and let the truck follow, or drive ahead of a consolidated load. Either way is fine; it just needs declaring properly at your first Canadian entry. The goods-to-follow list has to match what's actually still travelling. A gap between what you declared on arrival and what turns up at delivery is far slower and pricier to untangle later than it is to get right at the start.

For a full household, most families take a dedicated truck or a 20ft or 40ft container. A single room or a studio's contents usually travels as a shared load (LTL groupage), consolidated with other US-to-Canada shipments heading the same way.

For an American mover, two questions really matter: does your shipment qualify as settler's personal effects under CBSA rules, and do your US-origin items travel duty-free under CUSMA (the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement that replaced NAFTA in 2020)? For most household moves both work in your favour — used effects clear as settler's effects, and genuinely US-origin goods qualify for CUSMA preference. A customs broker can confirm the tariff classification for anything you're unsure about.

A US-to-Canada file is nearly always cleaner when your qualifying used belongings are clearly separated from everything else. The things that blur the line — new electronics, unopened purchases, a spare appliance still in the box — are worth flagging before the truck is loaded, not after it's sitting at the border.

If you're not sure whether something belongs on the goods-to-follow list or should be declared on its own, ask us before it ships. Sorting a category question at origin is quick; sorting it after arrival is not.

Even a cross-border road move puts your things through loading, a long highway haul, and a border inspection, so transit insurance is well worth having on any household move — especially anything that matters to you or carries real value.

Always go through the policy terms, exclusions, and declared values with your broker or insurer before you commit to cover.

Americans have some of the smoothest routes into Canada of any nationality. The right one comes down to whether you've got a job offer, your profession, and how long you're planning to stay. A US passport already gets you across the border for visits without a visa or eTA — but visiting and settling are two different things. Programs and quotas shift often, so always confirm the current rules with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) before you lock in any relocation or shipping decisions.

Unlike an overseas move, most US-to-Canada household shipments never see a ship — they cross a land border by road. The crossing you use and the Canadian city you're headed to both shape your transit time, your cost, and how simple that final delivery leg is. For coastal or long-distance moves, sea or air can still make sense, and we'll route whichever way suits your address and timeline.

Since 1999 we've been moving people from the US to Canada — from collection at your American address through the border crossing, CBSA clearance, and delivery to your new home. We handle every step, so you can put your energy into the move itself rather than the logistics.

1. Collection and packing at your US address

2. Cross-border transport and CBSA clearance

We plan the route to the crossing that suits your destination, prepare the paperwork, and manage CBSA clearance at the border — sea or air freight where that fits the move better. The customs sections above cover exactly what's needed.

3. Tracking and updates on the way

We keep you posted from pickup through the crossing to delivery, so you always know where your things are and when they'll land.

4. Delivery to your new Canadian home

Once your shipment clears CBSA, we arrange the final leg and the drop at your Canadian address.

5. Unpacking and setting up

Our local delivery team places the furniture and boxes where you actually want them, so you can start settling in rather than facing a mountain of unpacking on your own.

Our US-to-Canada support is built around a single contact: a dedicated Move Manager who owns your file from the first quote through US collection, the border crossing, CBSA clearance, and Canadian delivery. You're not handed off between teams at each stage.

On a Canada move, that continuity really matters, because your BSF186 and goods-to-follow paperwork has to stay consistent across every document in the file. Any gap between what you declared on your first day in Canada and what actually arrives causes friction that's slow and costly to fix afterwards. One accountable person who knows the whole file is how that gets spotted before it becomes a problem.

From collection in the States through the border crossing, CBSA clearance, and the final delivery to your Canadian door — your Move Manager stays in touch and keeps you posted at every stage.

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Here's where American movers have it easy: US vehicles are left-hand drive and built to standards Canada recognises, so many can be imported and registered for everyday road use. Most passenger vehicles run through the Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV) program, which confirms the car meets Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Before you commit, check your exact make, model, and year against Transport Canada's list of admissible vehicles — a small number aren't eligible.

Bringing a dog or cat across from the States is one of the more straightforward pet moves there is — and if you're driving, your pet simply rides along in the car. Canada's entry rules are specific but reasonable, and because there's no long-haul flight in the hold to plan around, most of the usual pet-move stress just isn't there.

Canada is where more Americans put down roots than almost anywhere else abroad — for work, family, study, and a change of pace. The two countries share a border, a language, and a lot of daily-life common ground, but Canada isn't just the US with different money. The differences that catch newcomers out are worth knowing before you pack.

From a shipping point of view, an American move is about as predictable as they come — same power supply, same plugs, a land border, and a CBSA process that behaves consistently when your file is clean. The real things to plan for are the distance on cross-country moves, winter disruption on northern routes, and lining up your Canadian address before the truck leaves.

Toronto and Vancouver are Canada's expensive cities, but the sticker shock depends on where you're coming from. A one-bedroom in the centre of either regularly runs CAD 2,200–2,800 a month — steep, but often gentler than Manhattan, San Francisco, or Boston, and comparable to a mid-tier US metro. Montreal, Calgary, and Halifax are noticeably kinder on the wallet than any of them.

Groceries land close to US prices, though dairy runs higher thanks to supply management, and alcohol costs more because the provinces control the liquor stores. Healthcare is the flip side of the ledger: once you're covered, you're not budgeting for US-style premiums, deductibles, and surprise bills. Transport depends on the city — Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver have real transit; a lot of Canada still expects you to drive.

Salaries in skilled roles read lower in raw dollar terms than US equivalents, but that gap narrows once healthcare and paid leave are counted in. For planning your shipment, the thing that matters most is housing: whether you've got a confirmed Canadian address before the truck leaves decides whether you'll need temporary storage on arrival. Lining up the delivery with a confirmed address is the single most important call in the whole move.

Americans moving to Canada usually find salaries lower in raw dollar terms — but that's not the whole story. Mid-career software developers or data engineers in Toronto or Vancouver commonly earn CAD 95,000–140,000+, and once you factor in that healthcare isn't tied to your paycheck, the comparison tightens. Tech, finance, healthcare, and the skilled trades are the sectors behind most employer-sponsored US-to-Canada moves.

US professionals are well placed for Canada's Express Entry system, which rewards age, education, language, and work experience. If your occupation is on the CUSMA professionals list, an employer offer can turn into a work permit remarkably fast — sometimes issued at the border. One thing to check early: Canadian regulators assess qualifications through provincial licensing bodies, so confirm your specific credential-recognition path before you build a job-offer timeline around it.

Canada trimmed its 2026 permanent-residence targets by roughly 25% against previous plans, which makes PR more competitive. Tying your shipment's arrival to confirmed status — rather than betting on approval by a target date — keeps your things from landing before you have a confirmed Canadian address to deliver to.

Here's the one Americans can't sidestep: the US taxes its citizens on worldwide income no matter where they live, so moving to Canada does not switch off your IRS filing. You'll file a US Form 1040 every year alongside your Canadian T1 return. The US-Canada tax treaty and the foreign tax credit are what stop the same income being taxed twice — but they don't remove either filing obligation, and Canada's rates are generally higher, so most movers end up owing little or nothing extra to the IRS while still having to file.

Two disclosure rules catch people out. On the US side, if your Canadian accounts total more than USD 10,000 at any point in the year, you file an FBAR (FinCEN Form 114), and larger balances may also trigger Form 8938 (FATCA), depending on filing status and residence. On the Canadian side, Form T1135 generally applies when the total cost amount of specified foreign property exceeds CAD 100,000; personal-use property and property held in registered plans are excluded, and an individual does not file T1135 for the tax year in which they first become resident in Canada. And watch the TFSA: it's tax-free to Canada but the IRS doesn't recognise it, so a Tax-Free Savings Account can create US reporting headaches. An RRSP, by contrast, is generally eligible for treaty-based US tax deferral.

Retirement accounts and Social Security are governed by the treaty and the US-Canada totalization agreement. Your 401(k) and IRA can generally stay put and keep their deferral; US Social Security paid to a Canadian resident is taxed only by Canada (which includes 85% of it). Because citizenship-based taxation makes cross-border returns genuinely complex, it's worth lining up an accountant who handles both sides before your first Canadian tax year.

Canada remains a major destination for American skilled workers, corporate transfers, and career changes. Express Entry runs federal skilled-worker permanent residence; provincial nomination programs let provinces target specific occupations. Americans in tech, healthcare, engineering, and the skilled trades are among the most in-demand groups in recent draws.

The route that sets Americans apart is CUSMA. If your profession is on the list, an employer offer can become an LMIA-exempt work permit issued at the port of entry — no months-long wait. It's a low-commitment way to try Canadian working life, build Canadian experience, and use that to strengthen an Express Entry profile if you decide to stay for good.

Quebec's labour market runs on its own logic: French is the working language under the Charter of the French Language, and immigration goes through the Quebec-Canada Accord rather than federal Express Entry. If you're heading to Montreal, factor in French-language requirements for certain sectors and the different provincial nomination route.

Canada's provincial healthcare (Medicare) is free at the point of use for registered residents — a big shift from the US insurance model. But some provinces have a waiting period of up to three months before new residents are enrolled, so check your destination province's rules and arrange private interim health cover if you face that gap. Dental, vision, and prescriptions aren't universally covered by provincial plans and usually need private top-up insurance, often through an employer.

Banking is easy. The big Canadian banks (RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO, CIBC) all run newcomer packages for people arriving without a Canadian credit history — worth knowing, because your US credit score doesn't cross the border and you'll be building a Canadian one from scratch. For a large USD-to-CAD transfer — savings or a home deposit — a specialist service like Wise usually beats a traditional bank wire by a meaningful margin.

US driving licences can generally be exchanged for a provincial one, though the reciprocity rules vary by state and province — some allow a direct swap, others ask for a test. Check your destination province's rules and the exchange window, which is usually 60–90 days from arrival. The good news: you already drive on the right, so unlike movers from the UK or Australia, there's no side-of-the-road adjustment at all.

Canada uses the Canadian dollar (CAD), and one US dollar has traded broadly in the 1.34–1.40 CAD range in recent years — so your dollars stretch a bit further on arrival, though the rate can move over a multi-month relocation. If you're converting US savings to dollars for a rental deposit, first-month costs, or a Canadian home purchase, the timing and the method of the transfer can make a real difference to what you end up with.

Wise (formerly TransferWise) gives mid-market rates with transparent fees and is widely used for USD-to-CAD transfers. A traditional US bank wire to a Canadian account is slower and usually less cost-efficient for a personal transfer. If you'll have ongoing US income — rental income, a salary paid in dollars, investment distributions — set up a regular-conversion service or a multi-currency account before you leave the States.

Your shipment is priced in CAD too — cross-border handling, Canadian delivery, and any temporary storage all sit in a currency that may drift against the dollar between booking and paying. On a large move where the final delivery cost is substantial, it's worth confirming the CAD total at the time you book.