Montreal to Moncton Movers

Montreal to Moncton: leaving Quebec by the east

Moncton is the first large city you reach in the Maritimes when you drive east from Montreal. The road is about 980 km: Autoroute 20 along the south shore of the St. Lawrence to Rivière-du-Loup, Autoroute 85 across the Témiscouata to Edmundston, then the Trans-Canada — Route 2 — down the Saint John River valley past Grand Falls and Fredericton, and east to Moncton. It is roughly ten hours of driving.

With a dedicated truck, that becomes a two-day move: loading in Montreal, the drive, delivery in Moncton the next day. With a shared truck heading to the Maritimes, it costs less and arrives within five to ten days. Either way, the price is one amount written before anything is loaded.

A move that changes province — and time zone

This is the first route on our list that leaves Quebec, and it is worth knowing what that changes:

• Time. New Brunswick is on Atlantic time, one hour ahead of Montreal. We give you the delivery time in Moncton time, so nobody waits an hour at a locked door.
• Health coverage. New Brunswick has its own Medicare. Coverage usually begins after a waiting period set by the province; your RAMQ coverage continues until then. Register as soon as you arrive.
• Driver’s licence and vehicle. New Brunswick sets a deadline to exchange your Quebec licence and register your vehicle. Keep your Quebec documents until you do.
• Taxes. New Brunswick uses the HST instead of the GST and QST. It does not affect the move itself, but it changes your first shopping bills.
• Language. Moncton is officially bilingual, and Dieppe next door is largely French-speaking. Families moving from Montreal can choose French or English schools.

None of it involves the mover, but it is easier when it is planned alongside the move. For moves to other provinces, see interprovincial moving.

Greater Moncton: three cities

What people call “Moncton” is really three municipalities around the Petitcodiac River:

• Moncton — the centre, with the downtown, the university (Université de Moncton), the hospitals and most offices; older neighbourhoods with houses and small apartment buildings, newer subdivisions on the edges.
• Dieppe — east of Moncton, francophone, fast-growing, mostly newer houses and townhouses.
• Riverview — across the river, residential, houses with yards.

Most deliveries in Greater Moncton are houses with a driveway and a basement. That makes unloading easier than in Montreal — but basements mean stairs, and new subdivisions sometimes mean unpaved driveways during construction. Send a photo of the new address if you can.

Why people move from Montreal to Moncton

• Housing. A house in Greater Moncton costs a fraction of one in Montreal, and many families move for space they could not afford on the island.
• Work. Moncton is a regional hub for transport, logistics, health care and customer service, and bilingual workers are in demand.
• Family and language. For Acadian and francophone families, Dieppe and Moncton offer a French-speaking life outside Quebec.
• The coast. Shediac and the Northumberland Strait beaches are half an hour away.

Housing in Greater Moncton

The houses you move into in Greater Moncton are different from Montreal’s plexes, and that changes delivery day:

• Bungalows and split-levels in the older suburbs: easy access, but split-levels mean short flights of stairs between every level.
• Two-storey houses in new subdivisions in Dieppe, Moncton North and Riverview: driveways, garages, basements — and, in phases still under construction, unpaved streets.
• Apartment buildings and condos downtown and near the university: elevators where they exist, walk-up stairs where they do not.
• Mini-homes and rural houses around the city: long driveways, sometimes gravel, sometimes a slope.

Send a photo of the new address and its driveway. It takes a minute and avoids surprises with the truck.

How a shared truck to the Maritimes works

A shared truck combines several households heading east. Each load is inventoried and labelled separately, loaded in its own section of the truck and strapped off from the others. The truck collects in the Montreal area over a few days, drives east and delivers along its route — Moncton, Fredericton, Saint John, Halifax — in the order that makes sense for the road. You get a pickup window and a delivery window in writing, and the crew calls ahead before arriving. It costs less because you share the truck and the trip; it takes longer because the truck waits for a full load.

Choosing the season

Late spring and early fall are the easiest times to move to New Brunswick: dry roads, mild weather, and easier dates than in July. Summer is the busiest season for moves in both provinces, especially around July 1. Winter moves are routine, with a weather buffer for the Témiscouata and the Saint John River valley — and snow removal to arrange at the new house before the truck arrives.

Dedicated truck or shared truck to the Maritimes

If you can stay with family for a few days, a shared truck saves real money on a route this long. If your closing date is fixed and you have nowhere to wait, a dedicated truck is worth it. If dates do not line up at all, storage bridges the gap.

Preparing a 1,000 km move

• Everything closed, everything labelled. The load is stacked and strapped for ten hours of highway.
• Inventory with photos of valuable pieces before the move; it is what a claim relies on.
• Defrost the freezer two days before and keep perishables for the trip.
• Keep documents with you — passports, the closing documents, medical records, school records.
• Plan the first night. With a dedicated truck, the furniture arrives the day after you leave Montreal. Pack an overnight bag.

Winter on the 85 and the Trans-Canada

Winter moves to New Brunswick are routine, but the Témiscouata and the upper Saint John River valley get heavy snow. We watch the forecast and road reports before departure, keep you informed if the timing moves, and protect floors from snow and salt at both addresses. If a storm makes the road unsafe, the truck waits — your price does not change.

What the price is made of

• The load, measured on a short video call or from your list.
• Access at both ends — stairs, elevators, the distance from the truck to the door, an unpaved driveway.
• Dedicated or shared truck.
• Extras — packing, specialty items, storage.

The price card at the top of the page shows where prices start for a one-bedroom, a 2–3 bedroom home and a house. Moncton sits in our 700–1,500 km band, with Halifax.

Beyond Moncton

From Moncton, the rest of the Maritimes is close: Halifax has its own page — Montreal to Halifax — and Fredericton, Saint John, Charlottetown and the rest of New Brunswick and PEI are quoted the same way.

From Moncton to Montreal

The same move in the other direction works at the same terms. On the Montreal side, plan for the street: in most boroughs, a temporary parking permit is requested by you if the truck must park on the street, and condo buildings require an elevator booking.

The road east, stage by stage

The province changes at the Témiscouata, and with it the time zone, the speed limits and the road signs — which are in both languages in New Brunswick. The truck covers the route in a long day; the delivery is the next morning in Moncton.

Towns on the way

A move to Moncton passes several places people also move to, and we deliver to all of them on the same terms: Edmundston and the francophone Madawaska region, Grand Falls, Woodstock, the capital Fredericton, and Saint John on the Bay of Fundy. Southeast of Moncton, Shediac, Cap-Pelé and Sackville are a short drive further. If a load has two destinations — part for a student in Fredericton, the rest for the house in Riverview — the stop is added to the written price.

Students: Université de Moncton and Mount Allison

The Université de Moncton is the largest French-language university outside Quebec, and Mount Allison in Sackville draws English-speaking students from across Canada. Student moves are small and tied to a residence date or a September lease. A shared truck to the Maritimes is usually the cheapest option; tell us the move-in time and we plan the delivery within it.

What goes in your car, not in the truck

On a two-day move with a night between Montreal and Moncton, keep these with you:

• Passports, birth certificates, the closing or lease documents, medical and school records.
• Medication, chargers, a change of clothes for two days, toiletries.
• Jewellery, cash and anything irreplaceable.
• Pets, plants and anything that must not freeze in winter.
• A small tool kit and bedding for the first night in case the truck arrives in the morning.

Eight weeks to Moncton

Bringing a car to New Brunswick

A second car can travel to Moncton on our own truck, with the household or on its own, priced on request — see car shipping. Once you arrive, the car is registered with Service New Brunswick and needs New Brunswick insurance; ask your insurer how to transfer your Quebec policy before the move, because auto insurance works differently in the two provinces.

Moncton, Fredericton or Saint John?

People moving to New Brunswick for the first time often compare the three cities:

• Moncton — the province’s fastest-growing area, bilingual, a hub for transport, logistics, health care and customer service, with Dieppe and Riverview around it.
• Fredericton — the capital, on the Saint John River, with the provincial government, the University of New Brunswick and a quieter pace.
• Saint John — the port city on the Bay of Fundy, with industry, older neighbourhoods and some of the province’s most affordable houses.

All three are on or near the road from Montreal, and all three are priced the same way: from the load and the distance. If you are still deciding, we can quote two destinations so the moving cost is not what decides it.

Coming to Montreal from the Maritimes

Many people make this trip in the other direction: students heading to Montreal universities, young professionals taking a first job in the city, Acadian families following work. Coming from Moncton, the household is usually easy to load — a house or a ground-floor apartment — and the Montreal end needs the planning: a walk-up with an outdoor staircase, a condo tower with elevator rules, or a street that needs a borough parking permit, which you request and we size.

Moving a business to New Brunswick

Small businesses and professional practices move east too: a clinic opening in Dieppe, a consultant following a contract to Moncton, a company setting up a regional office. A commercial move on this route is planned like our office moves: an inventory by room and by desk, computers and files packed separately, and a delivery timed so the new office can open as soon as possible. Equipment that needs to be taken apart and reinstalled is handled by the same crew at both ends.

Retiring to the Acadian coast

Shediac, Cap-Pelé, Bouctouche and the shore of the Northumberland Strait draw many retirees from Quebec — French-speaking communities, warm water in summer, and houses at prices Montreal has not seen in years. These moves are often from a large family home to a smaller house or a cottage, sometimes with a long driveway or a gravel road. Measure the new rooms before the survey, decide which pieces go to family, and send us a photo of the access; we plan the truck accordingly.

Your first week in New Brunswick

• Service New Brunswick handles driver’s licences, vehicle registration and many provincial services; book an appointment to exchange your Quebec licence.
• Medicare registration for New Brunswick health coverage — apply early, because coverage starts after the province’s waiting period.
• NB Power for electricity, and your internet provider, ideally set up before you arrive.
• Schools — the francophone or anglophone school district, depending on the language you choose.
• Canada Post and the federal government — update your address with the Canada Revenue Agency.

Why move with us

• Our own crews, never subcontractors, from Montreal to Moncton.
• A written price before loading, unchanged by weather or traffic.
• Dedicated or shared trucks to the Maritimes.
• Bilingual crews, which on this route means a crew that can speak with you, your building and your new neighbours in either language.

Asking for a Moncton quote

Tell us where you are leaving from in Greater Montreal, where you are going in New Brunswick, and when. A few minutes on a video call with the crew lead is enough to measure the load; the written price follows, with the dedicated and shared options side by side.