This checklist is for anyone moving from one Canadian province or territory to another, especially if you get CPP, OAS, disability support or child benefits. Government offices don’t share your new address with each other, so you need to tell each one yourself.
As soon as you know your moving date
- Change your address with the CRA. Your benefit and credit payments may stop if the CRA doesn’t have your new address, even if you use direct deposit and your bank doesn’t change. The fastest way is your CRA account, where the change takes effect right away. You can also call 1-800-959-8281, or mail form RC325, which takes 4 to 6 weeks to process.
- Tell Service Canada about your move for CPP and OAS. For OAS, you can update your address in My Service Canada Account. For CPP (and EI and the Canada Disability Benefit), you can’t change your information online, so call 1-800-277-9914 or visit a Service Canada Centre.
- Tell your old province’s assistance office your moving date. Provincial programs such as ODSP, AISH, ADAP and B.C. disability assistance are only for people who live in that province. Your old payments don’t transfer, so plan for a gap while you apply in your new province.
- Check how long your health coverage takes to start. Some provinces make new residents wait up to 3 months. During that wait, contact your old province to make sure you stay covered. The table below shows the rules for four provinces.
| Moving to | When health coverage starts |
|---|---|
| Ontario | No waiting period if you’re eligible. Apply as soon as you arrive. |
| British Columbia | After the rest of the month you arrive, plus 2 months. Arrange coverage with your former plan for the wait. |
| Quebec | Up to 3 months after you register. Your old province covers you meanwhile. Children under 18 don’t wait. |
| New Brunswick | First day of the third month after the month you move. Contact your old province to stay covered. |
In your first weeks in the new province
- Apply for your new health card. Apply as soon as you arrive, since the clock usually starts from your arrival or registration date. B.C. and Quebec both suggest private insurance to cover any gap.
- Apply fresh for provincial assistance if you need it. You start a new application with new income and asset checks. Where to start: ODSP in Ontario, the combined AISH/ADAP application in Alberta, B.C. income and disability assistance (1-866-866-0800), Saskatchewan Income Support (1-866-221-5200) or SAID (1-888-567-7243), Manitoba EIA (1-855-944-8111 outside Winnipeg), Quebec social assistance, New Brunswick Social Development (1-833-733-7835) and Nova Scotia Income Assistance (1-877-424-1177).
- Check your child benefits. The CRA pays the Canada Child Benefit together with most provincial child benefits, such as the Ontario Child Benefit, the BC Family Benefit and the Alberta Child and Family Benefit. Once the CRA has your new address, it works out the new province’s amount for you. Keep your information up to date online or at 1-800-387-1193. Quebec is different: its Family Allowance comes from Retraite Québec, and you apply online.
- Update your driver’s licence and vehicle registration. These are provincial, so your new address isn’t passed along. Contact your new province’s licensing office to switch your licence and register your vehicle, and ask about its deadline.
In your first year
- Check when you can get your new province’s seniors top-up. OAS and the GIS are federal and keep going wherever you live in Canada, but provincial top-ups have their own residency rules. Ontario’s GAINS needs you to have lived in Ontario for the past 12 months (or 20 years in total since age 18). The Alberta Seniors Benefit needs at least 3 months in Alberta right before you apply. The BC Senior’s Supplement is for low-income seniors living permanently in B.C. who get the GIS, and there’s no separate application.
- File your tax return for the province you live in on December 31. Your province of residence for the whole tax year is the one where you lived on December 31. That province’s tax rules apply to the full year, and the CRA uses where you live now to work out provincial credits and benefits.
- If you move to Quebec, file a Quebec return too. If you live in Quebec on December 31, you pay Quebec income tax for the whole year and must file a separate Quebec return with Revenu Québec as well as your federal return. Quebec also has its own pension plan, the QPP, run by Retraite Québec.
Money you may now qualify for
- Ontario GAINS: a monthly top-up for low-income seniors once you meet Ontario’s residency rule.
- Alberta Seniors Benefit: for seniors getting OAS after 3 months in Alberta.
- BC Senior’s Supplement: added to your GIS once you live in B.C.
- Ontario Trillium Benefit: tax credits for energy, property tax and sales tax, based on your tax return.
- Child benefits: the Ontario Child Benefit, BC Family Benefit, Alberta Child and Family Benefit or Quebec Family Allowance.
- Quebec Solidarity Tax Credit: for lower-income households who file a Quebec return.
- Disability support in your new province: ODSP, ADAP, AISH, BC disability assistance or Saskatchewan SIS and SAID. See also our disability checklist.
Common questions
Does my ODSP or AISH follow me to another province?
No. Provincial assistance is only for people who live in that province. You need to apply to the program in your new province, and it will do its own income, asset and disability checks.
Do my CPP and OAS payments change when I move provinces?
They are federal, so they keep coming wherever you live in Canada. You still need to give Service Canada your new address so letters and slips reach you.
I moved in October. Which province do I file taxes for?
The province where you lived on December 31. Its rules apply to your whole year, even the months you lived somewhere else.
Am I covered for health care while I wait for my new card?
If your new province has a waiting period, your old province usually covers you during it. Call your old health plan before you leave to confirm, and consider private insurance for any gap.
Will my child benefits switch provinces automatically?
For most provinces, yes, once the CRA has your new address. If you move to Quebec, apply for the Family Allowance through Retraite Québec.
Not sure what your new province offers? Try our benefits checkup. Service Canada and the CRA never ask for fees, gift cards or passwords by text or email.