Moving to Another Province in Canada: What Changes and a Checklist

Moving to another province changes which provincial income tax and sales tax you pay, which health plan covers you, the driver’s licence you hold and which provincial benefits you can apply for. Federal programs (EI, OAS, the Canada Child Benefit, the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, and CPP everywhere outside Quebec) keep paying once your address is updated. This page covers health coverage, your licence and vehicle, and the full moving checklist; the guides at the bottom cover taxes, payroll, benefits and individual provinces.

What changes when you move provinces

Taxes in brief. CRA treats you as a resident of the province where you lived on December 31, so a move during the year puts all of that year’s income under the new province’s rates; the tax implications of moving provinces page covers that rule, updating CRA and the moving expense deduction. Combined sales tax runs from 5% in Alberta to 15% in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island, and income tax at the same income differs by province too; the lowest-tax provinces page compares income tax and take-home pay in every province.

Health coverage when you move provinces

You become covered by the new province’s health plan after its waiting period, and the plan you’re leaving keeps covering you in the meantime. Apply to the new province as soon as you’ve moved, keep your old health card until the new one arrives, and tell your old plan the date you left.

When coverage starts in the new province:

How long the plan you’re leaving covers you:

Public plans cover medically necessary doctor and hospital care, but what they add on top (prescription drugs, ambulance trips, eye exams) differs by province, so a move can change what you pay out of pocket; the government benefits by province page compares the drug programs. Care you get in your new province while your old plan still covers you can be billed differently from care at home, which is one reason some movers keep travel medical coverage for the transition. Waiting periods for newcomers to Canada and returning residents follow different rules, covered in provincial health insurance in Canada.

Your driver’s licence and vehicle

Each province sets its own deadline for switching an out-of-province licence and registering your vehicle.

Ontario’s licence exchange includes a vision test. In British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, basic car insurance comes from a public insurer, and in Quebec the SAAQ covers bodily injury while private insurers cover property damage, so the insurer you deal with can change along with the premium; car insurance costs by province compares premiums. A policy written in one province doesn’t carry over to another, so your insurer needs your moving date.

Moving to or from Quebec

Quebec runs its own income tax return (see Quebec income tax rates), its own pension plan and its own parental benefits. Working in Quebec means contributing to the QPP instead of the CPP, as the EI and CPP page explains, and new parents who live in Quebec are covered by QPIP rather than EI maternity and parental benefits.

Moving checklist

Before you move

• Compare income tax, sales tax and living costs in the new province (Ontario vs Alberta and BC to Alberta are worked comparisons).
• Ask your current health plan how long it covers you after you leave, and check the new province’s waiting period (tables above).
• Tell your car and home insurers your moving date, and get quotes in the new province.
• If an employer is paying for the move, check how the package is taxed (is relocation assistance taxable); if you’re paying, keep receipts for the moving expense deduction.
• Budget for the move itself: see moving costs in Canada.

In the first weeks

• Apply for the new province’s health card.
• Update your address with CRA (My Account) and with Service Canada if you receive EI, CPP or OAS.
• Tell your employer, so payroll withholds the new province’s income tax.
• Update banks, investment and registered-plan providers, and insurers.

Within the licence and registration deadlines

• Switch your driver’s licence, and register and insure your vehicle in the new province.

After you settle

• Apply for the new province’s own benefits (child benefits, disability support, drug programs, seniors’ supplements); see benefits by province.
• At tax time, file as a resident of the province you lived in on December 31.

Moving provinces guides

Taxes, payroll and benefits

• Tax implications of moving provinces: the December 31 rule, residential ties, updating CRA and which benefits change.
• EI and CPP when you move provinces: payroll deductions, CPP and QPP, and EI hours.
• Government benefits by province: child benefits, disability support, drug coverage and seniors’ supplements compared.
• Choosing a province to retire in: tax, housing, health programs and climate for retirees.

Moving between two provinces

• Moving from Ontario to Alberta: income tax at several incomes, sales tax and what else changes.
• Moving from BC to Alberta: tax, PST, health coverage, benefits and car insurance.

Provincial guides

• Money guide to Alberta
• Money guide to British Columbia
• Money guide to Ontario
• Money guide to Quebec

Related

• The Canadian snowbird guide and retiring abroad cover moves and long stays outside Canada.