Well this may come as a surprise to some, and not to others. Moving to Canada has always been a part of our family plan. We just didn’t know when, how, or if it was what God wanted for our family.

First, I feel like I need to preface that I myself am Canadian—if you didn’t know that already 🙂 Secondly, my husband, Zach, has been THE MOST supportive husband on trying to move our family up to Canada.

A Little Backstory Before Moving to Canada

Back in 2019, Zach and I started to talk about moving to Canada, specifically, Calgary. My hometown. At the time, Zach was working for a company that also had a location in Calgary. When he dug deeper we found out that no one wanted to work at this location—mostly due to the cold weather that Calgary gets.

But Zach told his company that he was willing and eager to move there. They shared with us that they would not cover any visa expenses, but if we got ourselves up to Calgary, the job was his.

We prayed over it, and felt it was the perfect transition. There was more work opportunities and growth for Zach with this company up in Calgary, than if we stayed we in Oregon. We had friends, and family there so we could join a community. So we began the paperwork for a Canadian work permit.

Moving To Canada Put on Hold

Fast forward, we shared the news with our families, Zach’s work, and our church. We were waiting on the government to approve the work permit. We waited. And we waited. Then 2020 hit and we hadn’t heard from the government about his paperwork, but the borders were closed.

We took that as sign from the Lord to wait and not move forward with our Canadian move. Thankfully, God in His goodness provided job security for Zach in Oregon, and we were able to buy our first home in the middle of the pandemic.

We built our life in Oregon and grew our family with the addition of our daughter in the fall of 2022. You can see our cute announcement photos here by Amy Winsor.

Reignite a Dream

In the beginning of 2023, Zach came to me with an idea. He had felt God stirring in his heart to begin the moving process to Canada again/.

I had always told Zach that if we wanted to try again to move to Canada, that it needed to be his idea. I would support him, and join him in the move—obviously—but I wanted it to be him being the driver.

So we prayed over it and began thinking about the logistics. One big piece was where we’d live. We didn’t want to worry about selling our Oregon home and finding a home in Calgary in the same timeframe. So we thought about living with family—which made the most logistical sense.

In that summer, we came to visit my friends and family and boldly asked if we could move here and move into my childhood home with my parents. My family joyfully agreed.

Begin the Move to Canada

So after our summer trip we began the process of applying for Zach’s Canadian permanent residency. We knew this process would be long, with lots of paperwork and some turns.

Well it was MUCH longer than we anticipated.

We applied for the PR card in October 2023 and it wasn’t until January 2024 that things began moving forward. We sent off multiple forms, photos of Zach, copies of his passport, my passport, and documentation of our marriage.

In March 2024, we had Zach’s PR Dr. visit—this is standard for any immigration process where they want to make sure the new person is not bringing any infectious diseases into the country. I can share my experience immigrating to the USA in another blog post.

Then silence as we waited LONGER.

At the end of May we received notice that we needed to send a prepaid envelope to the government with the final pieces of documentation. We prayed that the end was drawing near. But as like anything with the government and immigration, it is ALL snail mail. The journey was being marked with “not our timeline” over and over again.

Something that Zach and I prayed continuously during this process was for God to make a way. To open doors only He could. And for Him to close the door if He didn’t want this move to continue.

The Race to Move to Canada

The first Monday in June, I open the door to see a UPS envelope on our doorstep. Finally with the confirmation of Zach’s PR status. We cried, laughed, and danced. God had opened the door to Canada!!

But, the day before this amazing blessing showed up on our doorstep, Zach and I booked non-refundable tickets to Calgary for the whole month of July. We were tired of things happening to us, and we didn’t know when the visa would arrive. So we just booked a month-long trip to see family and attend my best friend’s wedding.

I always joke that God has a sense of humour, and goodness did we see it.

Now came the tough decision of what to do next. As we had less than a month before our trip, and the beginning of the worst logistical nightmare ahead of us.

How the Move to Canada Unfolded

Friends, this journey has been NOTHING short of an adventure. There is so much that has happened since our first decision to move to Canada, and the second time. I did gloss over some of those details, but if you’re curious reach out to me in my DM’s on the ‘gram, and I’d love to share!

The second part of this story is FULL of turns, crazy decisions, and God’s providence. I will say that when you say “yes” to God, He can take that “yes” and bring it into fruition in His perfect timing. So stay tuned for part 2 of the Hoffmans Move to Canada.