Best Long Distance Movers in Ottawa: 8 Companies Ranked for 2026

Updated September 2026. Eight companies handle most long-distance moves that start in Ottawa: Ottawa-based movers with their own trucks, two national van lines working through local agents, and one national franchise. We ranked them on the things that decide how a long-distance move actually goes: who drives, whether your goods travel on a dedicated truck or a shared load, how far the company goes, how it quotes, and whether it handles packing, storage and heavy items in-house. Men In Trucks Moving is our top pick and the company behind this guide; the method is spelled out below and every competitor is described from what its own website states.

Quick comparison

#1 Men In Trucks Moving Inc. — Best Overall for Long-Distance Moves from Ottawa

Ottawa-based since 2010 · own trucks and crews · dedicated-truck long-distance moves · written flat-rate quotes · licensed and insured

Men In Trucks is an owner-operated long-distance moving company based in Barrhaven that has handled local, long-distance, interprovincial and cross-Canada moves out of Ottawa since 2010. It is the only company on this list that combines four things a long-distance customer usually has to trade off against each other: an Ottawa base you can visit and call, its own trucks and crews rather than an agent network, a dedicated truck for your household with the same crew from your driveway to the destination, and a single written flat rate settled before the date is booked.

How the long-distance service works

• Dedicated truck, no consolidation. Your belongings are loaded once, travel alone in a 26-foot truck, and are unloaded once by the crew that packed them. There is no hand-off to another carrier and no waiting on other households’ shipments.
• Fixed dates. Same-day delivery to Toronto and Montréal; about two days to Halifax; four to six days to Calgary and Edmonton; five to seven to Vancouver. The delivery date is confirmed in writing before the truck is booked.
• One written flat rate. The quote is built from a virtual or in-home walkthrough and covers the truck, fuel both ways, the crew, wrapping and standard stair work, so the number on the quote is the number on the invoice. What a long-distance move from Ottawa costs, and what moves the price, is set out in the long-distance moving cost guide.
• Every corridor has a page. Route-specific drive times, delivery windows, neighbourhoods and quoting for Ottawa to Toronto, Ottawa to Montréal, Ottawa to Calgary, Ottawa to Edmonton, Ottawa to Vancouver and Ottawa to Halifax, with the full list on the long-distance movers Ottawa page. Inbound moves to Ottawa are quoted the same way.
• Interprovincial paperwork covered. Province changes come with a 90-day clock for licences, registration and health cards; the interprovincial movers page and the Ontario to Alberta and Ontario to Quebec checklists walk through it.

What is handled in-house

• Residential moving for houses, condos, apartments and townhomes, and commercial and office relocations, including long-distance office moves.
• Packing and unpacking, and disassembly and reassembly of beds, dining tables, wardrobes and modular furniture at both ends.
• Storage between move-out and move-in when closing dates do not line up.
• Heavy and specialty items: pianos, safes, gym equipment, hot tubs and antiques, with the equipment for them on the truck.
• White-glove delivery and pallet and skid transport with liftgate-equipped trucks for furniture retailers, offices and commercial shippers.
• Bilingual crews for Québec destinations, and experience with federal, military and government relocations out of the capital.
• Surrounding-region origins. Long-distance moves that start in Kingston, Cornwall, Brockville, Pembroke, Smiths Falls, the Ottawa Valley or the Outaouais are quoted on the same terms as Ottawa pickups.

Limitation to know about: Men In Trucks moves within Canada only. For a move to the United States or overseas, the van-line companies below are the right call.

#2 Cassidy’s Moving & Storage

Cassidy’s is a long-standing Ottawa company that handles regional moves with its own crews and partners with United Van Lines for cross-Canada, USA and international shipments. Its long-distance page is one of the most complete in the market, with an interprovincial section, destination pages from Ottawa, a US and international section and a long FAQ. Storage is in-house.

Strengths: an Ottawa company you can visit, with van-line reach for US and overseas destinations. Ask about: where a shipment is handed to the network and how that affects the delivery window.

#3 Boyd Moving & Storage

Boyd has moved Ottawa households since 1947 and states that final shipment charges come in within 10% of its estimate, with guaranteed delivery dates and itemized invoices. It advertises security-cleared movers, which matters for federal-government and defence relocations, and offers storage. Its long-distance page describes moves across Canada and internationally.

Strengths: a very long Ottawa track record and a formal estimate guarantee. Ask about: the conditions on the guarantee and which routes run on Boyd’s own trucks.

#4 First Rate Movers

First Rate is an Ottawa company with a clear Ontario focus: moving within Ontario, consolidated moves, and Ottawa to Toronto in both directions. Consolidation is its point of difference; sharing a truck with another household lowers the price of an Ontario route in exchange for a wider delivery window. Crews are described as bonded and WSIB-covered, and its long-distance page publishes example pricing.

Strengths: price on flexible-date Ontario moves. Ask about: the delivery window on a consolidated load and what happens if the other shipment is delayed.

#5 Atlas Van Lines (Ottawa agents)

Atlas is a national van line: the brand, network and long-haul coordination are national, and the crew that loads your Ottawa home works for a local Atlas agent. Its Ottawa page separates moves out of Ottawa from moves into Ottawa and lists the agents that serve the city. Long-distance shipments in this model are normally consolidated on a national schedule.

Strengths: a known brand with an agent at the receiving end anywhere in the country. Ask about: the delivery spread on your route, which agent dispatches, and how claims move between agent and network.

#6 Allied Van Lines (Ottawa)

Allied’s Ottawa page covers local and long-distance service through its national and international agent network, notes a Canadian Association of Movers certification, and includes an agent locator and a section for people moving into Ottawa. Long-haul loads are typically consolidated.

Strengths: cross-border and international relocations and employer-sponsored moves routed through Allied. Ask about: transit windows and whether your shipment changes trucks en route.

#7 TWO MEN AND A TRUCK Ottawa

The Ottawa franchise is locally operated and covers home and business moves, with climate-controlled storage among its services. Long-distance runs through the brand’s national programs, listed on its site as Expedited long-distance and Value Flex, the latter a portable-container option for smaller loads. As a national brand it has the largest review footprint of any mover in Ottawa.

Strengths: brand recognition and a container option for a studio or one-bedroom load. Ask about: whether your route is served by the franchise’s own truck or a national program, and the container delivery window.

#8 Prestige Moving

Prestige is an Ottawa mover covering residential, commercial and long-distance work, with a dedicated Ottawa to Montréal page and a long-distance service page that advertises binding quotes. Its site also publishes its own rankings of Ottawa movers.

Strengths: Ottawa base and binding quotes on Québec and Ontario corridors. Ask about: whether the truck is dedicated and who the crew on the destination end will be.

Other names you will see in search

• Smart Movers Ottawa (longdistancemoversottawa.ca) ranks well for long-distance searches. Its website is part of a multi-city group with sister sites for Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver and other cities, and lists no Ottawa address or local phone number. Ask where the crew and truck actually dispatch from.
• Vasy Movers and Easy Moving are Toronto-based companies that run the Ottawa–Toronto corridor frequently, Vasy on a weekly schedule with a shared-truck option.
• Déménagement Total, Déménagement Alex and Up&Out are Montréal-side companies marketing the Montréal–Ottawa corridor.
• Cactus Moving and Superior Mover are Alberta-based companies with Ottawa-to-Edmonton and Ottawa-to-Calgary pages; the truck typically originates in the west.

How we ranked them

• Who drives. A company with its own trucks and crews scores higher than one that quotes and then hands the move to an agent or a national program, because accountability stays with one company.
• Dedicated truck or consolidated load. Dedicated means your goods travel alone and arrive on a set date. Consolidated means a lower price and a delivery window that depends on other shipments. Dedicated scores higher for households with fixed dates; consolidated is noted where it is a genuine cost advantage.
• Ottawa base. An Ottawa address, Ottawa crews and knowledge of Ottawa buildings and neighbourhoods on the pickup end.
• Coverage. Ontario and Québec corridors, cross-Canada, or cross-border and international.
• Quote method. A binding written flat rate scores higher than an estimate with a tolerance or hourly-plus-travel.
• In-house services. Packing, storage, heavy items and commercial work done by the company itself rather than subcontracted.
• Insurance clarity. Whether the company can explain the difference between its liability coverage, cargo coverage and the valuation you choose for your goods. Coverage amounts are not compared; ask each company for its current certificate.

Reviews are not scored, because review counts favour national brands with dozens of locations; every company here has public Google reviews you can read directly. Prices are not compared, because none of these companies publishes a full long-distance price list.

Choosing between them

Dedicated truck or consolidated load

Dedicated means your belongings travel alone, loaded once and unloaded once, on a date you agree in writing. Consolidated means your goods share a trailer with other households heading the same way; you pay for the space you use and delivery lands in a window. A family moving into a house with a closing date wants dedicated. A student moving a one-bedroom to Toronto in August can save on a shared load if the window works.

Van line or independent

Van lines give you a national network and an agent at the destination; the trade-off is that the company that quoted you is not necessarily the company that drives, and claims can pass between agent and network. An independent with its own trucks gives you one accountable company and the same crew at both ends; the trade-off is that few independents move you to the United States or overseas.

Three kinds of “insured”

Every company on this list says it is insured. Ask which of three things they mean, because they are different products:

• Commercial general liability covers damage the crew causes to property: a scratched hallway, a broken railing, a building’s elevator. Condo boards ask for a certificate naming them for this reason.
• Cargo coverage is the carrier’s own policy on the goods while they are in the truck.
• Valuation is the declared value of your belongings that the mover is responsible for. Basic released-value protection is calculated per pound per item and does not reflect what a sofa or a television is worth; declared-value or full-replacement options cost more and are the ones to ask about for a long haul.

Questions that separate the quotes

1. Is this a binding flat rate, an estimate with a tolerance, or hourly plus travel?
2. Is the truck dedicated to my move? If not, what is the delivery window and what happens if it slips?
3. Who loads, who drives and who unloads? Same crew, or a hand-off?
4. Is fuel included both ways? Are stairs, elevator waits and long carries included?
5. What valuation applies to my goods, and what would full replacement cost?
6. Is storage in transit available, and when does it start billing?
7. What is the deposit, and is it refundable if my closing date moves?

The Ontario government’s page on your rights when signing or cancelling a contract is worth ten minutes before you pay any deposit.

What a long-distance move from Ottawa costs

The price depends on volume, access at both ends, the date and whether the truck is dedicated, which is why none of these companies publishes a full price list. Our long-distance moving cost guide works through the factors with example ranges by home size, and the cost of moving from Ottawa to Edmonton page shows the math on a cross-country move.

Frequently asked questions

What counts as a long-distance move from Ottawa?

Anything the crew cannot do as a local hourly job in one day with a return trip. Kingston and Montréal are the shortest routes most companies quote as long-distance, and anything that changes province is treated as interprovincial with its own paperwork.

Is a van line better than a local company for a cross-Canada move?

Not automatically. A van line brings a network and a receiving agent; a local company with its own trucks brings one accountable crew and a fixed date. For US or overseas moves you need a van line or an agent like Cassidy’s; for Canadian corridors the deciding factors are the load model and the quote type.

How far ahead should I book?

Four to six weeks for peak dates: the last weekend of any month, July 1 in Québec, August student move-ins and May-to-August Fridays. Off-peak, two weeks is usually enough for a dedicated truck.

Should I trust a quote given only by phone?

A serious long-distance quote needs an inventory, from a virtual walkthrough or a visit. A number given without one is a starting point, not a price.

What should the written quote include?

The load model, the pickup and delivery dates or window, everything included (fuel, stairs, wrapping, disassembly), the valuation option, the deposit terms and the certificate of insurance.

Do these companies move within Ottawa too?

The Ottawa-based ones do. For a local move the comparison is different; see best moving companies in Ottawa.