When Is the Best Time to Move Long Distance?

Quick answer: The cheapest time to move long distance in Canada is fall through winter, on a mid-week, mid-month date, when demand and mover rates drop by roughly 20-30% versus summer. Summer gives you the best driving weather but peak prices and calendars that book out weeks ahead. The best time balances your budget, your schedule, and how much cold or heat you are willing to move in.

I am Mete Kalfa, Director of MTS Moving and a second-generation long-distance mover based in Mississauga, Ontario. My family has been loading trucks for interprovincial moves for decades, and the question I get asked more than any other is simply: when should I do this? Below is how we actually think about timing when we help families plan a cross-country move.

When do most Canadians move long distance?

Moving in Canada is heavily seasonal, and that concentration is the single biggest thing driving your price. More than 60% of moves happen between May and September, and the busiest single stretch of the year is the weekend of June 30 — the run-up to Quebec’s traditional July 1 Moving Day, when most residential leases turn over on the same date.

For scale, Statistics Canada found that 2.1 million Canadian households moved in the two years leading up to 2021. Cram most of that volume into four warm months and you get exactly what we see on our dispatch board: summer trucks, crews, and preferred dates disappear first, and they command the highest rates of the year.

The reason is not weather — it is the school calendar. Families with kids want to be settled before September so the move does not interrupt a school year. If you do not have that constraint, you are free to move when it is cheaper and easier to book.

How much more does a peak-season move cost?

Peak-season moves typically cost 20-30% more than the off-season. On a long-distance move that already runs into the thousands, that swing is real money — often the difference between hiring full packing service or doing it yourself.

Three levers move your price, in order of impact:

• Season. Fall and winter are the off-peak floor. Summer is the ceiling.
• Day of the week. Weekends and holidays cost more than mid-week dates. Movers, trucks, and building elevators are all in shorter supply Friday through Sunday.
• Time of the month. The first and last few days of a month are busy because that is when leases start and end. A move around the 10th-20th is usually easier to book and priced lower than a month-end date.

Stack the cheap side of all three — a Tuesday in mid-November, say — and you are booking at close to the lowest rate a mover will quote all year. Stack the expensive side — a Saturday at the end of June — and you are paying top dollar for the hardest slot to get.

Ways to trim a summer move if you cannot avoid it

If your date is locked to summer, you can still control the total:

• Move less. Long-distance pricing is driven by weight and volume, so purge before you pack. Sell, donate, or clear out what you will not use in the new home before the truck is priced.
• Be flexible on the exact date. Even shifting off a weekend or off month-end within the same week can lower the quote.
• Combine services. Bundling storage-in-transit or auto shipping with your move is often cheaper than sourcing each separately.
• Book early. Locking a summer date well in advance protects both availability and price (see the booking timeline below).

Which season is best for a long-distance move?

Every season is a trade-off between cost, weather, and mover availability. Here is how they compare:

A few things our crews have learned that the table cannot capture:

• Summer heat is a real operational risk, not just discomfort. On a 30-plus-degree day, a loaded trailer becomes an oven, candles and electronics can warp, and the crew’s pace has to slow for hydration and breaks. We start early and load the heat-sensitive items last for a reason.
• Winter is the cheapest season for a reason, and it is manageable. Cold and ice mean we protect floors and clear walkways before anything moves, and a car being shipped needs to be winterized. Snow rarely cancels a well-planned winter move — it just means building extra time into the day.
• Fall and spring are the quiet sweet spot. You get off-peak rates and easier booking without summer’s heat or winter’s ice. The catch: a spring move may mean pulling kids mid-school-year, spring brings rain and allergies, and fall leaves can be as slick underfoot as ice.

What is the weather like in the city you are moving to?

A long-distance move has two climates — where you load and where you unload — and they can be a full season apart. Plan your window around the harsher of the two.

Calgary’s Chinooks can briefly push winter temperatures well above freezing, which occasionally opens a friendlier winter window there than in Edmonton — but never plan a move assuming one will arrive. Build your date around the normal seasonal climate, not the exception.

Booking timeline: how far ahead should you lock your date?

Availability, not just price, is the reason to plan early on a long-distance move. As a rough guide for how far ahead we recommend booking:

• Summer (June-August): six to eight weeks minimum. Late-June and July-1 dates go first and can be gone months out.
• Spring and fall: three to four weeks is usually comfortable.
• Winter: one to two weeks is often enough, though holidays around late December still tighten up.

The earlier you book, the more you can shape the move to the cheap side of the season, the week, and the month, instead of taking whatever slot is left.

How to decide your own best time to move

Put the levers together and the decision is straightforward:

• On a tight budget with a flexible schedule? Move mid-week and mid-month in late fall or winter. That is the lowest rate you will find.
• Moving with school-age kids? Summer is worth the premium so the move does not split a school year — just book early and lean on the cost-trimming tips above.
• Want the easiest balance of price, weather, and availability? Aim for spring or fall, avoiding month-end and weekends.

There is no single best date for everyone. The right one is the intersection of your budget, your family’s schedule, and the climate at both ends of the move — and once you know those three things, the calendar largely picks itself.

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  Spring long-distance moves: why the shoulder season wins

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  Summer long-distance moving tips

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