Long distance and interprovincial moves

Once a move leaves the Ottawa region the pricing model changes. A local move is hours times a rate. A long distance move is weight or volume times distance, with a list of accessorial charges attached, and the quote is only meaningful if the weight estimate behind it is honest. This page explains how those quotes are built and what to check before you sign one.

Step one: the survey and the weight estimate. Long distance pricing starts from an estimated weight of your shipment. The estimator either uses a room-by-room inventory converted to weight, or estimates volume and converts. Either way the number matters more than anything else on the page, and it is the number that most commonly moves between the estimate and the invoice. Ask what weight the quote assumes and how it was reached. On a proper interprovincial move the truck is weighed empty and loaded, and you are entitled to see both figures.

Step two: choosing between exclusive use and a consolidated load. An exclusive truck leaves when you want and arrives when it arrives, and you pay for the whole vehicle. A consolidated load shares the trailer with other households, costs considerably less, and comes with a delivery window rather than a delivery day, often five to ten business days on a cross-country run. For an Ottawa to Vancouver move the difference in price is large and the difference in certainty is larger. Decide which one you are buying before you compare quotes, because the cheap quote is usually the consolidated one.

Step three: the accessorial charges. These are the line items that turn a good quote into a bad invoice. Long carry, when the truck cannot get within a set distance of the door. Stair carry. Shuttle service, when a tractor trailer cannot reach a residential street and a smaller truck has to relay. Storage in transit. Elevator charges. Bulky item handling. Ask for the full accessorial schedule in writing and check whether shuttle service is likely at either end, because it is expensive and it is the one people never anticipate.

Step four: loading, transit and delivery. On an interprovincial move every carton and every piece of furniture is inventoried and tagged, and you sign the inventory. At delivery you check the tags off against the same sheet before the crew leaves, and note any damage on the paperwork at that moment. A note made later is much harder to pursue. The bill of lading is the contract, so read what liability option is recorded on it before you sign.

How long it takes. For an Ottawa to Montreal or Toronto move, confirm pickup, delivery timing and terms in the written estimate. Ottawa to the Maritimes is two to four days. Ottawa to the Prairies is four to seven, and Ottawa to British Columbia is commonly seven to twelve on an exclusive truck and longer on a consolidated load. Loading a three-bedroom house takes most of a day at the origin and a similar time at the destination.

What it costs from Ottawa in 2026. Indicative only. A long distance move over 100 km commonly starts around $2,060 and runs to $5,150 and above depending on weight and distance, with Ottawa to Toronto around $2,060 and Ottawa to Quebec City around $4,120 and up on published 2026 ranges (CompareMovers, Ottawa moving prices 2026). A full three-bedroom household to British Columbia is a materially larger number again. What moves it: weight, distance, exclusive versus consolidated, shuttle service at either end, storage in transit, and how much packing the crew does. Get three written quotes on the same assumed weight or the comparison is meaningless.

What makes an Ottawa long distance move different. Two practical things. Ottawa sits close to the Quebec border, so a very large share of long distance moves out of this city are interprovincial rather than interstate or intra-Ontario, and a move across the river into Gatineau is a different tax and paperwork situation than a move to Kingston even though the drive is shorter. Second, the Highway 417 and Highway 401 corridor is the spine of every westbound move, and winter closures on it are the most common cause of a missed delivery window between December and March. If your delivery date is tied to a closing date, build slack into it and ask the mover in writing what happens if the truck is delayed by weather.

Who should do this work, and which credential is real. Long distance household moving is not a licensed trade in Ontario (Hiring a mover). The credentials that do exist are about the vehicle and the association. Any truck over 4,500 kg registered or actual weight needs a Commercial Vehicle Operator's Registration in Ontario, and the CVOR carries the operator's safety and inspection record. Membership in the Canadian Association of Movers adds a Code of Ethics and a complaints route outside the company. A broker who subcontracts your move to a carrier you have never heard of is a different animal from a carrier with its own trucks, and you are entitled to ask which one you are hiring.

What to ask before you hire. What weight does this quote assume, and how was it estimated. Is this exclusive use or a consolidated load, and what is the delivery window in days. Will my goods be weighed. Is a shuttle likely at either end, and what does it cost. What is the full accessorial schedule. Are you the carrier or a broker. What liability option is on my bill of lading, given that the default is $0.60 per pound, $1.32 per kilogram, per article.