Montreal to Ottawa: a short drive with a provincial line in the middle
Ottawa is close enough that a move rarely needs a second day. Autoroute 40 west, then Highway 417 from the Ontario border — about 200 km and two hours in a car. For most apartments, we load in Montreal in the morning and deliver in Ottawa the same afternoon or evening. The price is fixed in writing before we start, and our bilingual crew does both ends.
Ottawa or Gatineau?
The first question for anyone moving toward the capital is which side of the Ottawa River they will live on. Gatineau is in Quebec: the move stays inside the province, your health card and driver’s licence stay Québécois, and the move is covered by our moving within Quebec service. Ottawa is in Ontario: the move is interprovincial, and after it you switch to OHIP, an Ontario licence and Ontario plates. Many people who work in Ottawa choose Gatineau for rent or school, and many who work in Gatineau live in Ottawa — decide before you book, because the address changes both the paperwork and the drive.
The Ottawa neighbourhoods and what they mean on moving day
- Centretown, the Glebe, Sandy Hill — older houses and low-rise apartments, many with narrow staircases and on-street parking. These look a lot like a Montreal move.
- Byward Market and downtown — condos with elevator bookings, loading docks and building rules about hours.
- Kanata, Barrhaven, Orléans, Nepean — suburban houses with driveways, larger volumes and straightforward truck access.
Tell us the address and the type of building during the survey. For condos, send us the property manager’s contact and we send the certificate of insurance the building asks for.
Federal and military moves
Many Montreal–Ottawa moves are tied to a job in the federal public service, a posting or a transfer. When an employer or a relocation provider pays for the move, they usually have a policy on what is covered — packing, storage, the number of trips. We quote to that policy and invoice the way it requires; see corporate relocation for how we work with employers.
One day, start to finish
A typical same-day move to Ottawa runs like this: the crew arrives in Montreal in the morning, protects floors and doorways, wraps and loads; the truck leaves around midday; the crew unloads, reassembles and places furniture in Ottawa in the afternoon. A large house, or a condo with a late move-in slot, can split it into two days — we tell you at the survey which one you are.
When to move
The week around July 1 is the hardest week to book in Montreal, because so many Quebec leases end on June 30. Ottawa does not share that date, so moving a week before or after makes both ends easier. Winter moves on the 417 are routine; the crew protects floors from snow and salt at both addresses.
For other Ontario destinations, see interprovincial moving.
