Canada has a long history of having people fly around for a living who did not even have commercial licence etc. I know of one foreign well heeled guy who operated an unofficial charter business for years.
I recall one dubious character operated chisel charters, mixed with smugglers, and was repeatedly investigated without ever a charge that I'm aware of. He was also an accident going to happen. He also employed pilots and I don't think he would have worried about any licence but that's speculation.
Then there are the semi professional operators where its a very gray line between what requires an operator certificate and what does not. You could be an experienced private pilot and have an official job with them.
When I first arrived, one of my first job offers (that I turned down) was a "government Job" and it was not in Canada. At the time, they were actively recruiting and their same sub-contractors are still at it in various locations.
Most of that sort of contract work has been taken over by more legitimate operators with a lot more official cover.
Going up the ladder, if you convert or obtain a Canadian Commercial Licence, that gives you the qualifications required but a work permit, is something else and in some operations, its not exactly the first thing that needs checking.
Operators if they can't locate a Canadian to do the job, well its very easy to hire a foreigner and all it takes is one motivated person with a good relationship with the local politicians and the local manpower office.
That bit of paper can be signed in a flash and have give you a legal work permit for that employer which means he has a slavery licence. Getting out of bad operator is difficult. That means finding another right set of factors and getting another bit of paper. Not impossible but you would be wise to make your first choice a good one.
On the whole, your flying career in Canada either short term or long term can be very easy to kick start.
Ignore all the negative crap you see here written for their own reasons that don't add up.
Then there is marriage to a Canadian. Not that difficult and easy to establish, also easy to get a work permit while the application is being processed. It can be screwed up, you could be asked to leave but bonafide marriages will probably not have a problem.
Then there is that under 30 one year work permit that Commonwealth countries share. Very easy to get and its a start. For Australians, it may well be easier to get a job in Alaska then Canada as the Aus-USA agreement is better than the Canadian US agreement.
Getting qualified is a breeze if you have experience. The Theory exam is simple, the INRAT is probably the most difficult one of the lot anyone will face and all it takes is study. It is very different to the US instrument written and very also different to anything in most other countries.
In time, you change from a visitor on a work permit to a landed immigrant and or citizen. It's just time.
Then there are employer requirements. I can think of a number of employers who operate in multiple countries and transferring an employee to Canada is again fairly easy.
So, don't believe all the negative posts. There is however a group who don't like foreigners and if you check into them, you find that the most aggressive are actually immigrants themselves.
My view is that Canada is a great place to fly, a great place to visit but it's one country where many immigrants are bitterly disappointed and return to their former countries.
Canada has serious problems of corruption in various forms that Canadians take for granted and accept but which foreigners know does not exist in their own countries to the same extent.
The trouble is, once you move to Canada, you can end up being trapped here and unable to ever leave as a result of that corruption and lawlessness that makes Canada in some respects a less than third world country.
To be blunt, I wish I had never set foot in Canada and would leave in a flash and tear up my Canadian passport with glee.
There are lots of places in the world where you can fly for a living and have adventure.
Canada has its own unique aviation that you won't see anywhere else. For those reasons, if you come here, seek out that adventure which means getting a float rating, float experience etc that you are unlikely to get anywhere else.
That will give you a life time of memories and experience that you won't get anywhere else. Moving to another country can be intimidating and stressful but don't even think about sending a resume first. If you want to do it, buy a ticket and get on a plane and the rest will work out for you.
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