Quick answer
Moving from Ontario to Quebec is not just a change of lease. You leave one provincial system and join another. Do these four things in the first weeks after you have a Quebec address:
1. Health
Apply for RAMQ. Keep your OHIP card until the new plan confirms coverage. Federal portability allows up to 3 months of coverage from the province you left.
2. Driving
Tell SAAQ your new address within 30 days. Then follow SAAQ rules to exchange an Ontario licence and register a vehicle.
3. Tax
Quebec residents file with both CRA and Revenu Québec. Update both when you become a Quebec resident.
4. Address
Use Quebec's official change-of-address service so RAMQ, SAAQ, Revenu Québec, and other agencies get the same new address.
Before you leave Ontario
Update your Ontario address with ServiceOntario if you are still receiving Ontario mail, then switch to Quebec agencies after you arrive.
OHIP to RAMQ
Ontario's public plan is OHIP. Quebec's is run by the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ). Health Canada states that provincial plans must cover residents who move to another province or territory for up to 3 months until they can register under the new plan.
Apply for RAMQ as soon as you are living in Quebec. RAMQ tells newcomers who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents that they can often register for health insurance online from inside Quebec, with a Quebec mailing address. If you already have RAMQ coverage and later move again, use RAMQ's moving page.
Who pays the doctor while I wait for RAMQ?
Your old province, for covered doctor and hospital care, not a private policy you have to buy on day one. RAMQ says someone moving from another Canadian province usually waits up to three months, and that the home plan pays the covered care under interprovincial agreements. Register with RAMQ and keep your Ontario card. OHIP sets a shorter clock: coverage continues until the last day of the second full month after you leave Ontario. A doctor can still bill you after seeing the Ontario card. Pay, keep the original itemized statement, and send OHIP the claim within 12 months. OHIP pays Ontario rates, which can be less than the bill. Prescriptions filled outside a hospital, ambulances and home care are on the OHIP not-covered list for care outside Ontario, so do not assume the old plan pays the pharmacy. Confirm the end date with both offices before you cancel the card.
For how public coverage works in general, see Canada's health care system explained. Moving somewhere other than Quebec? Use the checklist for moving to another province.
Driver's licence and vehicle (SAAQ)
The Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) handles licences, registration, and Quebec's public automobile insurance. The Government of Quebec says you must send your new address to the SAAQ within 30 days of your moving date.
Start with the official moving page — How to send your new address to the government when you move — and the SAAQ home page for exchanging a Canadian licence and registering a vehicle brought from Ontario. Use SAAQ's current document list; do not rely on a friend's memory of whether a road test is required.
Quebec's public auto plan covers bodily injury differently from Ontario. Ask a Quebec-licensed insurer about the private coverage you still need for the vehicle itself.
Taxes: CRA and Revenu Québec
When your tax home becomes Quebec, you file:
- A federal income tax return with the Canada Revenue Agency
- A provincial return with Revenu Québec
Most other provinces let CRA collect provincial tax on one return. Quebec does not. Update your address with both agencies and keep records of your move date. Sales tax in Quebec is GST plus QST, not Ontario's HST.
Does a September move split my provincial tax?
No. The CRA says your province of residence is where you lived on 31 December of the tax year (the instructions posted now are for the 2025 return), and that is the province it uses to calculate provincial tax. A move in September does not divide employment income by the months you spent in each place, and you do not file a full provincial return for every province you lived in that year. Quebec is the extra return: if Quebec is your province on that date, you file with Revenu Québec as well as the CRA. Self-employment is the exception the same CRA page flags. You list each province where the business had a permanent establishment, so that income is not automatically all in the December 31 province. Ask a tax professional if you moved and kept a business in Ontario.
One official change-of-address service
Quebec recommends the Service québécois de changement d'adresse so you can notify several departments together, including RAMQ, SAAQ, Revenu Québec, Retraite Québec, Élections Québec, and others listed on the government moving page.
Also update:
- Canada Post mail forwarding
- Your bank, employer, and professional regulator
- CRA My Account
- Hydro-Québec or your municipal utility once you have an account
French language and schools
French is Quebec's official language. Many workplaces, government services, and daily interactions assume French. Budget time for language training if you are not already functional.
Access to English-language public school is restricted under Quebec's language laws. Check eligibility with the school service centre before you assume a child can attend an English public school. Start from Quebec education.
Does our cheap daycare spot move to the new province?
No. The lower fee is what you pay at a provider licensed where you live now. It is not a benefit that follows the child. Ontario's reduction applies only if the licensed program your child attended is in the Canada-wide system, at a capped fee of $22 a day as of January 2025. Quebec's 2026 reduced contribution is $9.65 a day in a subsidized place. Canada signs a separate agreement with each province, and no federal page describes moving a space or a waitlist position. When you move, ask licensed programs in Quebec for a place.
First-month checklist
Frequently asked questions
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