British Defence Liaison Staff Ottawa

Top Tips

The tips below have been shared by fellow exchange officers who have previously lived and worked in these locations. They are based on personal experience and aim to provide practical insights to help you settle in and make the most of your posting. While they reflect real, on-the-ground perspectives, they should be taken as informal guidance rather than official advice from our team.

New Brunswick (specifically, the Gagetown base / Fredericton area):

Accommodation

  • PMQs (CAF version of Families accommodation) are smaller than you might be used to; often have joined up gardens (no fences) and are always on a mixed patch. I had a backed garden with a house full of Inf corporals who would sometimes be rowdy and once needed a guy tased on the lawn by police. Also, random people would use the gardens as a shortcut and just wander across your lawn. Put in a business case for family safety and get a nice high wooden fence put up (I did).

  • Ice Hockey is awesome. But expensive. Enrol your kids and get them started! Join a team yourself! The CAF love that you are trying it, and it is honestly way better than any other sport. 
  • The Gagetown Gym is probably in the top 3 of army gyms that you will ever encounter. Complete with pool, climbing wall, dojo, squash courts, and the ability to sign out kayaks, skis and snowshoes. 
  • The officers mess offers very discounted tickets to the Crabbe Mountain ski hill (50 mins away). They go fast. If you will be arriving in Dec – March, contact your predecessor and ask them to stock up (you are only allowed to buy 2 per week). 
  • Get a UK Amex as soon as you know you are coming. Makes it easier to get Canadian AMEX
  • MFRC (Military Family Resource Centre) is a fantastic childcare centre. Spaces are waitlisted and in short supply. As soon as you know you are coming, contact your predecessor with details of your kids to enrol.
  • For NB Grade 1 and Grade 6 (only), Schools offer an entry ramp into the French Immersion programme, where your (anglophone) kids will attend classes and learn almost all their lessons in French. UTTERLY FANTASTIC opportunity. Contact your predecessor to enrol you asap if you fancy it. If you don’t, normal English language classes are default.
  • Family Doctors are in short supply. Contact your predecessor to try and ‘swap over’ your family / kids with their slot with doctor. Otherwise there are waiting list.
  • Dentists. Same as above.

 

 

 

  • If you have a dog, it’s difficult / impossible to fly them over in winter (Dec-March).
  • Buying a car, your 20yrs of UK credit history means nothing. Only North American credit history matters. You are unlikely to be able to secure financing and may well need to pay almost the total amount in cash to a dealership. This might mean you need $20,000+ cash to hand
  • Car insurance – Infuriatingly, NB seems the only province that you can’t get your visiting relatives / friends with a UK or international driving licence put on your insurance to drive your car. They must rent. It’s expensive and very irritating.

Ottawa, ON:

Activities
  • There is so much to do in Ottawa area, skiing, skating, climbing, mountain biking, hiking, museums, bars, etc within about 30 mins from any location so make the most of it.
  • Check all trails app.
  • Buy season passes early for the things you want to do! Example: Camp Fortune is a great smaller ski hill (4 lifts and about 20 runs) that we use several times a week and treat it like a gym, go for 2/3 hours then go home. If you buy your season passes in May it will cost $250 CAN per person for anytime skiing for the entire season (Dec – Apr snow dependant)
  • Other nearby skiing:
  1. St Marks
  2. Edelweiss
  3. Pakenham
  • Some Canadian retailers do not accept Debit card payments, and it takes 6 months to gain a Canadian credit history to gain a Canadian Credit card. Ways around this is to use a Monza card – prepaid from UK banking system for day-to-day use. Alternatively, the BMO, favourite for Canadian/UK military as it waives annual fees, offer a pre-loaded credit card option.
  • Those SP renting out their personal homes will need to complete a NR1 form to inform HRMC and UK banking.
  • Recommend incoming staff bring soft and hard copies for provision to Canadian car insurance companies. The companies we contacted would not accept NCB certificates if there was a break in cover. We also wrote in previous UK Insurance providers to draft a letter confirming no claims, no accidents, etc which was well received.

Victoria, BC:

Accommodation/Camping
  • Whistler epic military ski season passes… No brainer if you have any intent to ski at Whistler! They have declined giving a pass because ID card says ‘Allied and Visiting Forces’ on the Identification card. Use temporary pass if possible as it won’t say foreign military. Give service number and explain you are Canadian Armed forces.
  • Mount Washington Military discounted season pass is $499 and sale ends November
  • Pacific Fleet Kayak Club– if you do level 1 course (either through the club if they have any dates or privately) you can rent unlimited kayaks and paddleboards for $75 a year. BC marine trails is great resource for kayak campsites Public Map – BC Marine Trails  
  • Backroads map is a good resource for outdoors spots
  • You can borrow camp and backcountry gear from PSP at Naden. They have two sets of everything. Also, website Meerkat lets you borrow outdoor and sports gear from others in Victoria https://meerkatapp.ca/
  • Facebook groups are popular in Canada, and almost any activity has a group with great advice, for example ‘Vancouver Island Climbing & Mountaineering’ and ‘Hiking Enthusiasts Vancouver Island’ are great resources.
  • Island/Victoria food to try – London fog, Nanaimo bar and a Shaft 
  • Crow and Gate is probably the closest to a British pub on the island, near Nanaimo
  • Facebook marketplace is very popular here, people don’t use eBay or other sites as much. You may have issues with FB marketplace overseas before you arrive as FB may block overseas users. 
  • Learn about indigenous culture and history, in particular Truth and Reconciliation and the history of residential schools
  • The Golden Spruce is a good book that tells some history about the logging industry around BC
  • Lamppost – email mailing list for events in Victoria lamppostsocial.com
  • Service members can visit CFB hospital, and both service member and partner can get blue cross card and claim back medical expenses. Contact Jupp@forces.gc.ca/ Tel: 250-363-5606  
  • When getting your Canadian driving license, give BCAA the BHC driving license letter first. Otherwise, if they have started the application, you have to surrender your UK license. We did not do that and surrendered licence
  • If you like outdoors, expect to drive on lots of logging roads. Consider decent tires, and at least an AWD or maybe even a 4×4 or truck! Maybe even winter tires and chains if you’re going up island during winter for skiing. No need if just driving round Victoria
  • If on the Island you will love and hate the BC ferries! Book in advance as sometimes they sell out (although they usually always keep a percentage of reservations for walk-ons). With reservation you can always get an earlier sail. Much cheaper to walk on as passenger. If all reservations sold out, consider a big roof box to make size of vehicle bigger as they reserve the bottom deck for bigger vehicles (but must actually be at the right height otherwise they will put you in the non reservation queue). Also consider other routes e.g. from Nanaimo
  • UMO – sign up to UMO app to pay on public transport in Victoria. You may need to change Appstore to Canada

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