Red Foot Haulers provides car shipping Canada–wide, moving vehicles door-to-door between every major province on lanes like Vancouver–Calgary, Toronto–Edmonton, and Halifax–Montreal. Transit windows typically run 2–4 days for regional moves and 7–13 days coast-to-coast, depending on distance, transport type, and whether your vehicle runs. Quotes are built around your specific year, make, model and route — not a flat national rate.
Car Shipping Across Canada
Red Foot Haulers moves cars door-to-door anywhere within Canada — open or enclosed, running or not. We regularly serve Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax, along with smaller centres between them. Every quote depends on three things: how far the vehicle is travelling, whether it goes on an open or enclosed trailer, and whether it starts, rolls, and steers on its own. We do not publish a single per-kilometre rate because those three variables change the number more than distance alone ever could — a running sedan going open transport on a busy lane costs meaningfully less to move than a non-running enclosed load of the same distance.
This page is the starting point for car shipping Vancouver, car shipping Calgary, car shipping Edmonton, car shipping Montreal, and car shipping Halifax — each city page covers local pickup zones, common destinations, and lane-specific timing in more depth than we can here. If you're moving a recreational vehicle instead of a car, our RV shipping team handles that separately with its own equipment and load rules.
How Car Transport Works
Vehicle shipping Canada-wide follows the same sequence regardless of which two cities you're connecting, though the details shift with distance and load type.
- Quote request. You give us the year, make, and model (or a VIN), plus the pickup and delivery addresses. This is enough to price the move accurately, because vehicle size, ground clearance, and weight all affect which trailer and how much deck space are needed.
- Carrier assignment. We assign a carrier running your lane, or one that can build a route around your pickup and delivery windows. Carriers plan multi-stop loads days in advance, picking up and dropping off several vehicles along a single corridor — this is what keeps open transport efficient and is also why a rigid same-day pickup demand can be harder to slot in than a flexible two- or three-day window.
- Condition report at pickup. The driver walks the vehicle with you, noting existing scratches, chips, dents, and odometer reading, and photographing all sides. Both of you sign it. This document is the baseline for any damage claim, so it matters more than most people expect at the time.
- Transport. Most cars travel on a multi-car open trailer alongside several other vehicles; higher-value or low-clearance vehicles travel enclosed, usually in smaller groups. Drivers operate under federally regulated hours-of-service rules, meaning mandated rest breaks are built into transit time — a 4,000 km lane is never just "distance divided by highway speed."
- Delivery condition report. At drop-off, the same walk-around happens again, compared against the pickup report, before you sign for the vehicle.
All of this applies to domestic moves only — Red Foot Haulers ships within Canada, and does not run cross-border loads to or from the United States.
Open vs Enclosed Transport
Most vehicles travelling within Canada go by open transport, and for the overwhelming majority of daily-driver cars, trucks, and SUVs, that's the right call. Enclosed car shipping exists for the specific minority of vehicles where weather exposure, road debris, or simple visibility risk isn't acceptable.
| Factor | Open Transport | Enclosed Transport |
|---|---|---|
| Weather & road debris exposure | Exposed to rain, snow, salt, and highway debris | Fully shielded from elements and debris |
| Vehicles per load | Typically 7–10 vehicles per trailer | Usually 1–4 vehicles per trailer |
| Availability | Widely available on almost every lane, most days | Fewer trucks; longer lead time on some lanes |
| Typical vehicles | Daily drivers, commuter cars, standard SUVs and trucks | Classics, exotics, low-clearance sports cars, high-value vehicles |
| General suitability | Appropriate for the vast majority of vehicles moved in Canada | Justified when the vehicle's value or clearance makes exposure a real risk |
If your vehicle is a modern SUV, sedan, or pickup with ordinary ground clearance, open transport is the sensible default — it's what most of the Canadian carrier fleet runs, and it's what keeps a lane like Vancouver–Calgary or Halifax–Toronto moving quickly. Enclosed makes sense when a stone chip, brake dust film, or a few hours of highway grime would actually matter to the vehicle's value or your peace of mind.
What Your Quote Depends On
We don't publish a flat per-kilometre rate for car shipping Canada-wide because no single number could honestly reflect how much these variables move the price. Here's exactly what a quote is built from and which direction each one pushes.
| Cost Driver | Effect on Price |
|---|---|
| Distance tier (short regional vs long-haul cross-country) | Longer distances cost more in total but typically less per kilometre; very short local moves can carry a higher per-km rate to cover minimum trip costs. |
| Open vs enclosed transport | Enclosed costs more because fewer vehicles fit per load and equipment is more specialized. |
| Vehicle size, weight & ground clearance | Larger, heavier, or low-clearance vehicles take up more deck space or need special loading, increasing cost. |
| Whether it runs, rolls & steers | Non-running vehicles need winch-equipped carriers and take longer to load, increasing cost. |
| Season | Peak moving months and winter weather on mountain or prairie routes can tighten capacity and raise cost; shoulder seasons are typically more favourable. |
| Pickup-window flexibility | A flexible multi-day window lets us slot your vehicle into an existing route, lowering cost; a rigid single date can force a dedicated trip. |
| Distance from a main highway | Rural or remote addresses off the primary corridor add drive time for the carrier, increasing cost. |
| How regularly carriers run the lane | Busy, well-travelled lanes (like Vancouver–Calgary) are more competitively priced than thin or one-off lanes. |
For most people getting a quote on this page, three factors usually dominate: distance tier, open vs enclosed, and pickup-window flexibility. Whether the vehicle runs matters enormously when it applies, but it's a smaller share of quotes overall since most vehicles shipped are driveable.
Non-Running and Inoperable Vehicles
Yes, we ship vehicles that don't run — but it has to be arranged deliberately, not discovered by the driver at the curb. A non-running vehicle needs a carrier equipped with a winch to load it onto the trailer, and that loading process takes longer than driving a car up a ramp, which affects how the carrier schedules the stop. At booking, we'll ask three direct questions: does it roll freely, does it steer, and do the brakes hold? A car that rolls and steers but won't start is a very different loading job than one with a seized wheel or a dead brake system — the second scenario may need a flatbed or additional equipment.
Being upfront about condition at the time of quote is what keeps the pickup smooth. Our non-running car shipping page walks through the full checklist we use for inoperable vehicles, including what "doesn't run" actually means for loading purposes and how to describe your vehicle's condition accurately when you book.
Cities and Lanes We Run Most
These are the metro pairs we move most often. Each city page below covers local pickup areas, common destinations, and typical timing for that market in more detail.
| City Page | Flagship Lane(s) | Approx. Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Car shipping Vancouver | Vancouver–Calgary; Vancouver–Toronto | 971 km; 4,383 km |
| Car shipping Calgary | Calgary–Vancouver; Calgary–Edmonton | 971 km; regional |
| Car shipping Edmonton | Edmonton–Vancouver; Edmonton–Toronto | 3,480 km; long-haul |
| Car shipping Montreal | Montreal–Toronto; Montreal–Halifax | regional; regional |
| Car shipping Halifax | Halifax–Toronto; Halifax–Montreal | 1,801 km; regional |
A few of these corridors run often enough that we've built dedicated pages for them specifically: the Vancouver to Calgary lane is one of the busiest short-haul corridors we run, and Toronto to Edmonton is one of our most common long-haul prairie routes. If your move touches Atlantic Canada, our Maritimes car shipping page covers New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and PEI pickups specifically, since carrier frequency in that region works differently than it does on the Toronto–Calgary–Vancouver spine.
Other popular routes worth checking if your city isn't listed above: we also regularly connect Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, and Ottawa into these same corridors as multi-stop pickups, even without a dedicated city page — ask when you request a quote.
Preparing Your Vehicle for Pickup
A little preparation the day before pickup makes both the condition report and the trip itself go more smoothly.
- Fuel level: Keep it to around a quarter tank — enough to load, unload, and drive short distances at the destination, without carrying unnecessary weight.
- Remove toll tags and transponders: Any active toll device should come out or be switched off so you're not billed for tolls along the carrier's route.
- Clear out personal belongings: Empty the glovebox, trunk, and back seat as much as possible. Carrier cargo insurance covers the vehicle, not its contents.
- Disable the alarm: A car alarm that trips repeatedly during loading or transit is more than an annoyance — it can delay a multi-vehicle load.
- Take dated photos from every angle: Front, back, both sides, roofline, and close-ups of any existing damage, with a timestamp. This backs up the condition report and is your own record if a claim is ever needed.
- Fold in spoilers, mirrors, and roof racks: Anything that extends the vehicle's profile should be retracted or removed where possible, especially for enclosed loads with tighter clearances.
- Note any starting quirks: If the vehicle needs a specific sequence to start, or has a known quirk with the battery or ignition, tell the driver directly at pickup.
- Check that tires hold air: A vehicle needs to be safely rolled onto and off the trailer; a flat or low tire complicates that at both ends.
- Confirm the parking brake releases: A seized parking brake can turn a driveable car into a winch-load situation at the curb.
The condition report signed at pickup is the document any damage claim will be measured against, so the more thorough your own photos and notes are beforehand, the stronger your position if something needs to be raised at delivery.
How to Choose a Car Shipping Company in Canada
Not every company advertising vehicle shipping Canada-wide operates the same way, and the differences matter more than the marketing suggests.
- Canada-only vs. cross-border brokers. Some companies primarily broker cross-border US loads and treat domestic Canadian moves as a side business. Ask directly whether the company operates within Canada as its core focus, or whether your load will be handed to whoever happens to be available.
- Cargo insurance certificate and per-vehicle limit. Ask for the carrier's cargo insurance certificate before booking, and check the stated per-vehicle coverage limit against what your car is actually worth — this matters most for higher-value and enclosed loads.
- Do they operate carriers, or only broker auction loads? Some companies simply resell your shipment to whichever carrier is cheapest that week, with no ongoing relationship or accountability. Ask whether they run their own trucks, work with vetted regular carriers, or purely broker to the lowest bidder.
- A written quote with clear inclusions. A legitimate quote should specify open or enclosed, the pickup and delivery addresses or zones, and whether the price is door-to-door or terminal-to-terminal, in writing — not just a verbal number over the phone.
- Review volume and consistency. A handful of five-star reviews tells you little; hundreds of reviews across years tells you how the company performs at scale. Red Foot Haulers has shipped vehicles across Canada since 2016 and has more than 700 customer reviews on file — look for that kind of track record, not just a polished homepage.
If a company can't answer these five questions clearly and in writing, that's worth treating as a warning sign regardless of how competitive the quoted number looks.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cheapest way to ship a car within Canada?
Open transport on a multi-vehicle carrier, booked with a flexible pickup window, on a lane carriers already run regularly. Enclosed trailers carry fewer vehicles per load; a rigid pickup date can force an empty slot; an established lane means the truck is already going. Terminal-to-terminal helps only when a terminal is genuinely convenient.
How long does it take to ship a car from Ontario to BC?
Typically 7–13 days for Toronto to Vancouver (about 4,383 km), depending on season, pickup flexibility and whether the load is open or enclosed. That window is carrier transit, not solo drive time — it includes mandated rest, other vehicles on the load, and the pickup window itself.
How much does it cost to ship a car from Vancouver to Toronto?
It depends on distance tier (this is one of the longest domestic lanes at about 4,383 km), open vs enclosed, whether the car runs, and how flexible your dates are. Ask for a quote on your specific vehicle and dates rather than relying on a generic range — we do not publish a single flat rate for this lane.
Can you ship a car that does not run?
Yes. A non-running vehicle needs a carrier with a winch and takes a loading slot a driveable car would not, so tell us at booking whether it rolls, steers and brakes. See our non-running car shipping page for the full checklist.
Is my car insured while it is being transported?
Yes. Every vehicle moves under the carrier's cargo insurance for the whole trip. Ask for the certificate and check the per-vehicle limit against what your car is actually worth — especially for enclosed loads. Your own policy generally covers the vehicle as an owned asset, not the carrier's handling of it.
Can I leave personal belongings in the car?
Keep it to nothing, or close to it. Carrier cargo insurance covers the vehicle, not the contents. Loose items add weight and can damage the interior. If something must travel, keep it light, in the trunk, and out of sight — and accept it is not covered.
Can Red Foot Haulers ship my car to or from the United States?
No — Red Foot Haulers ships within Canada only. Bringing a vehicle in from the US involves customs clearance, Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV) registration and a federal inspection, all outside domestic transport. Contact the CBSA or RIV for that process.