What’s the Cost of Moving Across Canada?

O Canada!

Getting ready for a cross-country move across your home and native land may turn out to be more challenging than you first envisioned. But why? – you may wonder.

In addition to all the possible complications a long-distance move can present, your potential lack of information about the cost of moving across Canada will probably keep you tossing and turning at night.

How much do movers cost in Canada? Can you afford to hire one of the best long-distance movers in the country?

Read on to find actual sample costs of moving across the Great White North, both for local and interprovincial moves.

Also, get familiar with the factors that will affect your moving price and learn what you can do to cut those moving costs and expenses.

Take a deep breath, for the answers are coming…

Cost of local movers in Canada [local moves]

The price of local moves in Canada is calculated on the basis of the overall duration of the move (number of hours), the number of movers working to get the job done, and the extra services requested by the client – e.g. packing, storage, etc.

Price check: How much does it cost to hire movers in Canada? The local moving costs checklist goes like this:

• 1-bedroom apartment. Moving out of a 1-bedroom apartment will cost you approximately $600-$800 with 2 movers completing the job in 4-6 hours. The price includes the usage of a moving vehicle as well – most often a 26-foot truck.
• 3-bedroom home. Moving out of a 3-bedroom home will cost roughly $1,100-$1,500 with 3 movers finishing the moving job in 8-10 hours. The price also includes the usage of a moving vehicle – usually a 26ft or 28ft truck.
• Extra help. Each additional moving crew member will cost you approximately $35 per hour. Time may be a critical factor for you, so sometimes it’s worth paying more to get the move completed faster.
• Packing service. The cost of the packing service will depend on the number and nature of the household goods to be protected. To have the content of a 1-bedroom apartment packed by professional packers, expect to pay somewhere in the range of $600-$900. If you wish your entire house to be professionally packed, that extra service can cost $1,500-$1,900. All necessary packing supplies are included in the price.
• Peak season. Expect higher rates when the demand for professional moving services reaches its peak. The moving price can increase by around $100 at the beginning and end of each month. Also, expect higher moving rates on weekends and holidays – an increase of around $10 per mover per hour.
• Fuel surcharge. The fuel surcharge is usually a flat rate charge when moving locally – around $40 within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), for example, and a fixed percentage of the total moving cost when moving long distance across different provinces.
• Travel time. Local movers in Canada usually charge an extra fee known as Travel time – the time the moving crew needs to reach your home. On most occasions, that additional charge equals 1 hour of labor.

You have to see it to believe it: The Greatest Moving Checklist of All Time

Cost of long-distance movers in Canada [interprovincial moves]

Now that you are familiar with how much movers cost in Canada when moving locally, let’s take a look at 7 sample costs of moving from one province to another in the country.

To add greater specificity to your request for precise information, we’re offering concrete city-to-city moving costs quoted by top-rated Canadian moving companies.

Please keep in mind that all sample rates below are only approximated costs, meaning that your own cost to move from city to city or province to province within the country will depend on the specifics that define your own home move:

• selection of a moving company,
• number of movers working on the job,
• number and type of household items,
• total shipment weight,
• request for extra services,
• seasonality, and so on.

Price check: All actual sample costs of moving within Canada are for moving out of 2-bedroom homes in the middle of the week – weekend or holiday moves are usually more expensive. All prices below are in Canadian dollars, include a 13% tax but do NOT include any additional moving services such as packing or storage.

• Cost of moving from Vancouver to Toronto: $2045. The cost of moving from Toronto to Vancouver should be roughly the same, depending on your specific home moving characteristics.
• Cost of moving from Edmonton to Toronto: $6455. The cost of moving from Toronto to Edmonton should be similar but the exact sum will depend on your relocation specifics.
• Cost of moving from Toronto to Ottawa: $2011. The cost of moving from Ottawa to Toronto should be about the same but you should expect differences due to the varied price factors.
• Cost of moving from Montreal to Vancouver: $6044. The cost of moving from Vancouver to Montreal should be comparable but the choice of moving company, the additional services, and the number of household goods will influence the final price.
• Cost of moving from Montreal to Ottawa: $839. The cost of moving from Ottawa to Montreal should be similar but your distinct house-moving parameters will define the final relocation cost.
• Cost of moving from Vancouver to Edmonton: $2650. The cost of moving from Edmonton to Vancouver should be roughly the same but your concrete choice of an interprovincial moving company can introduce substantial price variations.
• Cost of moving from Winnipeg to Calgary: $1610. Expect the cost of moving from Calgary to Winnipeg to be more or less the same with certain price fluctuations due to varied cost-defining factors.

If your move requires the usage of a shuttle van, then be ready to pay an additional sum of approximately $300 for shuttle services.

Moving to a New Province in Canada: What to Know & What to Do

Factors affecting the cost of moving across Canada

You already have a good idea of the cost of moving companies in Canada, both for local and long-distance moves. Now let’s turn our attention to the major factors that will influence those costs with the purpose of better managing your relocation budget.

One thing to remember when moving to another part of the country is that the cost of moving across Canada is calculated differently than the cost of moving locally. The main difference is that the TIME factor loses its importance when you’re moving long distance just because you won’t be charged by the hour anymore.

You may have guessed correctly that it’s the combination of MOVE DISTANCE + TOTAL SHIPMENT WEIGHT + EXTRA SERVICES that will determine how much interprovincial movers will charge you at the end of your cross-country move.

MOVE DISTANCE

A quick look at the staggering distances between 3 random Canadian cities should give you a taste of the strong influence that the DISTANCE factor will have in the formation of your moving cost.

• Move distance from Vancouver to Toronto: 4,382 km (2,723 mi);
• Move distance from Edmonton to Montreal: 3,579 km (2,224 mi);
• Move distance from Calgary to Ottawa: 3,340 km (2,075 mi).

Click here to check the most popular moving routes in Canada.

Even though you’re moving between two cities or towns in Canada with a known, fixed, and invariable driving distance between them, the other two price-forming factors (overall shipment weight and accessorial services) will not be known until you have moving company representatives come to your home for an in-home evaluation.

SHIPMENT WEIGHT

Here’s a fact: you yourself cannot possibly know the weight of the stuff you’re moving. However, interprovincial moving companies can and will estimate it for you during a free moving evaluation – the best way to know your own cost of moving in Canada.

It’s a fairly simple process, really – you request a moving estimate and professional moving consultants will visit your home to look at your belongings in order to give you detailed price estimates. Under provincial law, such binding moving cost estimates in writing are required to stay within 10% of the final bill.

Do not agree to price quotes prepared over the phone or via e-mail because those estimates can never be accurate enough. Instead, make sure you get experienced movers at your home to inspect your furnishings and give you precise quotes that will reflect the final price you pay.

Moving Costs Calculator Canada

Request your free quote now by following the link above.

ADDITIONAL MOVING SERVICES

The third essential price-forming factor is related to the extra moving services that you will need in order to successfully ship household goods across Canada. This is the home moving aspect where you can save the most money – read on to learn just how to do it.

• Packing and unpacking. Professional packing and unpacking services are readily available to you upon request. If you’re pressed for time or if you have too many fragile or special items in your home, consider hiring professional packers for ultimate protection and peace of mind. All necessary packing supplies are usually included in the price.
• Crating services. Certain household items may be too expensive or too fragile to be packed in a standard way. In such cases, you may opt for the creation of custom wood crates that will keep those super special items 100% intact.
• Furniture disassembly. If you’re thinking of moving some of your furniture pieces across Canada, then they will most likely need to be partially disassembled for secure packing and safer transportation. If you don’t know how to do it by yourself, then your Canadian moving company will do it for you. Furniture re-assembly at the new home is also available upon request.
• Temporary storage. For some reason or another, your new home may not be ready yet to accommodate your belongings. In such cases, you may request the service of temporary storage from your Canadian mover.

How to Save on Additional Moving Services

What is the cheapest way to move across Canada?

As you can see for yourself, moving across the country can be rather expensive, which basically means that you’re going to have to look for and find the cheapest way to move stuff across Canada.

In reality, saving money on your long-distance move is easier than you think – you only need to follow the following 3 money-saving tips for moving across Canada so that you can cut moving costs and expenses in the most effective of ways.

Tip 1: Find affordable movers in Canada

Of course, the cheapest way to move furniture across Canada is to not move them at all, while the next best thing is to find a low-cost moving company that will still offer great services. The only minor problem is that finding high-quality yet affordable Canadian movers is not an easy task by any means.

Fill out a cost estimate, and then request in-home visual surveys from the Canadian moving companies that contact you. Once the moving consultants have inspected both your home and the things you intend to move, they will prepare accurate cost estimates for you.

And then, it’s time to compare those quotes and choose the one that shows good compatibility with your financial situation.

How to Find the Best Movers in Canada

Tip 2: Take only things you will use in the future

Remember that more things to move will mean higher transportation costs. Does it make sense to pay for the relocation of furniture and other household goods across the country only to never use those things again? No, it does not.

Moving across Canada is a great chance for you to get rid of any unwanted or useless things you’ve accumulated over the years. To save money on your cross-country move, inventory your home very early in the preparation period (definitely before the packing process), and then sort out your belongings into three categories:

1. items to take to the new home,
2. items to gift to friends or donate to charity, and
3. items to recycle or throw away.

20 Things to Do Before Moving Home

Tip 3: Pack up your things by yourself

Sometimes paying for professional packing services can be well worth the investment, especially when you’re forced to execute a last-minute move or when you own special items that are really expensive and delicate, such as a valuable piano, a priceless grandfather clock, or antique furniture.

After all, professional packers are not only vastly experienced in protecting household items, but they will also be fully responsible for the well-being of the things they themselves pack.

Nevertheless, you don’t need to hire the pros to pack your clothes, shoes, books, or anything else that is not breakable in any way. Save BIG by packing up anything that you can manage on your own.

Packing Timeline: What to Pack When for Moving