Can You Get a Fixed-Price Move From Montreal to Toronto (or Toronto to Montreal)? How the CNS Logistics Guaranteed Move Works Between Quebec and Ontario (2026)

Answer. From Montreal to Toronto, yes; from Toronto to Montreal, no. CNS Logistics writes a fixed price into the contract for a guaranteed move: "A guaranteed move is offered for a move that CNS packs, that starts at an address in Quebec, for a customer who lives in Quebec when the contract is made. The move may end in Quebec or in Ontario." (clause 2) Toronto to Montreal gets a video quote and a quote at our hourly rates.

The Montreal to Toronto corridor is where a moving bill has the most room to grow: a full day of loading, a long drive, unloading in another province, and a second set of stairs, elevators and parking rules. This guide answers the questions people ask before booking that move with CNS Logistics: which direction can have a fixed price, what the price includes, what can still change it, which taxes apply, what happens if delivery in Toronto cannot be made, and who is responsible for your goods on the road.

Can I get a fixed price for a move from Montreal to Toronto?

Yes, when the move qualifies as a guaranteed move under clause 2 of the CNS contract. The Firmio page says it plainly: "So a move from Montreal to Toronto can have a fixed price." (Firmio) Four conditions decide it, all written in the contract.

1. CNS packs. The fixed price comes with CNS's packing; if you pack yourself, the online calculator's estimate is the option.
2. The move starts at an address in Quebec. Montreal qualifies.
3. You live in Quebec when the contract is made.
4. The move ends in Quebec or in Ontario. Toronto qualifies.

In the contract's words: "A guaranteed move is offered for a move that CNS packs, that starts at an address in Quebec, for a customer who lives in Quebec when the contract is made. The move may end in Quebec or in Ontario." (clause 2)

Once the price is written, it holds: "The price in the table is fixed. It covers the move as filmed and declared. Everything in a filmed space is covered, however many boxes it takes to pack it. The number of boxes is our estimate and our risk. We do not bill the move by the hour, and the price does not go up because the work took longer than planned." (clause 3)

Can I get a fixed price for a move from Toronto to Montreal?

No. A Toronto to Montreal move can use Firmio, the CNS video quote, but it leads to a quote at our hourly rates, not a fixed price. The Firmio page says so in one line: "A move from Toronto to Montreal gets the video quote and a quote at our hourly rates, without a fixed price." (Firmio)

The video quote itself is offered for "Any move that starts or ends in Greater Montreal: the Island of Montreal, Laval, the South Shore and the North Shore, including a move to or from another province." (Firmio) So a household coming from Toronto still films each room and gets a written quote built from the video; the bill then follows the hours worked at the rates in that quote.

What does the fixed price include on a Montreal to Toronto move?

The fixed price covers the whole job as filmed: the crew and truck, travel, fuel, full packing and materials, disassembly and reassembly, loading, the drive and unloading. The contract lists it in clause 4:

• the packers and movers shown in the table, and the truck;
• travel to your addresses, "the truck's drive back to the place where it is kept (this is not a second delivery), and fuel";
• packing everything in the filmed spaces, and protecting the furniture;
• boxes, paper, tape, wardrobe boxes, blankets and stretch wrap;
• taking apart and putting back together the furniture that needs it;
• "loading, the drive, unloading, and placing each piece in the room you choose. The drive and the unloading are included once, on the days in the table." (clause 4)

On a long-distance move, the crew's road costs are CNS's: "On a long-distance move with at least one night on the road, we pay the hotel and meals for the whole crew." (What We Publish, and Why)

What clause 5 puts on CNS's side also matters more over a long distance: more boxes than expected from what was filmed, heavier or harder furniture, packing that takes longer, traffic, weather, the speed of the crew, and a breakdown, a truck that is too small or a second trip (clause 5). "Traffic and weather are never extras." (clause 8)

What taxes apply to a move that ends in Toronto?

The taxes of the province where the move ends, so Ontario's for a move to Toronto. The contract says: "Taxes are added. For the move, they are those of the province where it ends: in Quebec, GST (5 percent) and QST (9.975 percent); in Ontario, for example, HST (13 percent)." (clause 6)

Apart from taxes, three things can be added to the fixed price, and nothing else: the extras on the closed list of clause 8, storage, and the credit card fee on the balance. Clause 6 adds that there is "no fuel fee, no administration fee". Each extra costs "52 dollars per packer or mover per hour, before taxes", for the real time, in 15-minute steps (clause 9), and "Before any extra work, the crew lead shows you what is extra, using your video." (clause 9.3)

What happens if delivery in Toronto cannot be made on the day?

The contract names the delivery day and arrival window in the table, and says what happens in each case. "The table (line 8) shows the day of delivery. If delivery is not made on the move day, it also shows the arrival window at the destination." (clause 14.6)

• If CNS is late for a cause that is its own, the price drops by 130 dollars before taxes when the crew arrives more than 2 hours after the end of the arrival window, and "This also holds for the arrival for delivery (line 8)." (clause 14.2)
• If delivery is impossible for a cause that is not CNS's, or the balance is not paid on arrival, a move that ends outside Quebec has its own rule: "If the crew leaves with your goods (paragraph b), it brings them back to our warehouse in the Montreal area, and we keep them there. That drive is not billed." The return to deliver is billed at real time, and "It never costs more than the cap on line 26 of the table: if the real time costs less, you pay the real time." (clause 17.4 h)
• If a road is closed by the authorities or a storm stops traffic, "we set a new date with you at the same price", and "No time is billed for such an event." (clause 15)

Who is responsible for my goods between Montreal and Toronto?

CNS is, from the moment it takes charge of your goods until delivery, and on a guaranteed move that responsibility is not limited by weight. "We are responsible for your goods from the moment we take charge of them until they are delivered." (clause 23.1) "On a guaranteed move, our responsibility is not limited by the weight of your goods." (clause 23.2) "There is no deductible and no fee to make a claim." (clause 23.3)

That is the difference with a regular move between provinces, where CNS's terms calculate compensation by weight: "Compensation is calculated by weight, at $1.32 per kilo per article within Quebec and $4.41 between provinces, unless a declared value is agreed in writing." (What We Publish, and Why)

If something is damaged, the contract's fast track applies to claims of less than 2,000 dollars reported in writing within 72 hours after delivery: within 48 hours after CNS receives your complete claim, it writes to say whether the claim is accepted, accepted in part or refused, and why (clause 26.3). The law's own limits still apply: "The law requires a written notice of claim to the carrier within 60 days after delivery, even for damage that could not be seen at delivery. For an item that was never delivered, the time is nine months from the move." (clause 26.5)

Is CNS allowed to move me from Quebec to Ontario?

Yes. "CNS operates under NIR permit R-160041-1 (CTQ), recognized across Canada under the National Safety Code." (Firmio) You can look up the permit file yourself in the Commission des transports du Québec register, as explained on our transparency page.

How do the deposit and dates work on a long-distance fixed-price move?

Every contract is confirmed with a deposit that "is never more than 300 dollars", paid by credit card and taken off your price (clause 16). If the move day is more than two months after the date of the contract, the law requires CNS to keep the deposit in a trust account until the move is done (clause 16).

You may change your dates once at the same price if you ask in writing at least 7 days before the packing day, the new date falls in the same price period, and CNS is available (clause 13). If you cancel: "There is no fixed cancellation fee and no penalty." (clause 18.2)

How does a Firmio video quote work for a Montreal to Toronto move?

It takes eight steps, and the first four happen on your phone. In the Firmio page's words: "A video quote takes eight steps: you fill in the form, you film, an estimator checks, you confirm the list, we write the price, you hold your dates, we pack while filming your furniture, then we move you. The first four steps happen on your phone." (Firmio)

1. You fill in the form. "The rooms, the access and both addresses: the floor, the stairs, the elevator, where the truck can park. These answers prepare the quote and plan the crew." (How it works) Describe the Toronto address in the same detail as the Montreal one.
2. You film each room. "One short video per room, in your phone's browser, with no app. The page tells you what to show, and tells you right away if the clip is clear enough. You also film the path to the truck and the building access." (How it works)
3. The inventory is checked. A person checks the list line by line before any price is written.
4. You confirm the list. "What goes, what stays. If a line is wrong, you fix it before the price." (How it works)
5. CNS writes the price. "It is set by a CNS moving consultant, from your checked inventory. You get the offer by email, as a PDF, with the table filled in and your inventory list" (How it works).
6. You hold your dates, then you accept. You pay the deposit, at most $300, by credit card, and "Paying the deposit is what makes the contract" (How it works).
7. On the packing day, the crew lead films your furniture. "Before touching anything, with you present. That is the proof of its condition" (How it works). Then the crew packs everything in the filmed spaces.
8. The move day. Loading, the drive, unloading, and each piece in the room you choose; "The balance of the fixed price is paid at the destination, before unloading" (How it works).

Steps 5 to 8 belong to the guaranteed move. For a Toronto to Montreal move, the path stops after the check: "For other moves, after the estimator checks your video, we send you a quote at our hourly rates, without a fixed price." (How it works)

Before you film, the page asks for two simple things that protect your privacy: "Ask everyone else to step out of each room before you film." and "Put documents and mail away before you film" (How it works).

What does CNS ask of you on packing day and moving day?

A short list, the same at both addresses, and the contract says exactly what happens if a point is missed. Clause 20 sets it out:

• "You are on site on the packing day, and at both addresses on the move day. You may name an adult who can decide and sign for you." If you are on the road on the move day, name an adult who can wait at the Toronto address.
• "The elevator is reserved for the hours in the table, at both addresses." Book the elevator at the Toronto address as soon as you have your dates, not the week before.
• "The parking in the table is kept clear for the truck, when the table says you take care of it."
• "The path is clear, inside and outside. In winter, the steps and the walkway are cleared of snow and ice before we arrive."
• "The fridge and the freezer are empty and defrosted. The washer, the dryer, the stove and the dishwasher are disconnected. A gas appliance is disconnected by a qualified person."
• "Children and pets stay away from the path of the crew." (clause 20)

If one of these points is not met, the contract limits the consequences to what it lists: "If one of these points is not met, the only results are those of clauses 8, 9, 11.2, 17.4 and 20.8." (clause 20.7) Clause 20.8 covers the case where no one is on site: the waiting time counts from arrival, CNS calls you, and "If, after 60 minutes, no one is on site and we cannot reach you by phone, the crew may leave. You then owe the 60 minutes of waiting." (clause 20.8)

Who takes care of parking and permits in Toronto?

The contract table names, for each address, where the truck parks and who handles it, and a city permit CNS obtains is included in the fixed price. "The table says, for each address, where the truck parks and who takes care of it. If the city requires a permit and we get it, its cost is included in the fixed price." (clause 10)

When the planned space is not free, the crew lead tells you before parking and the truck uses the nearest allowed space. Who pays for the longer walk depends on who was handling the parking: "If the table says you take care of the parking, the real time the longer walk adds is an extra (clause 8.5). If the table says CNS takes care of it, the longer walk costs you nothing." The contract ends the clause with two lines worth knowing on any long-distance move: "The speed of our crew is never an extra. We do not bill you for a parking ticket." (clause 10)

What if your Toronto home is not ready when the truck arrives?

Your goods stay safe in the locked truck or the CNS warehouse, the first three nights cost nothing, and delivery is arranged when you are ready. Clause 11.2 covers the cases people worry about on a long-distance move: "This clause applies when delivery is physically impossible that day because we have no access to the destination, for any reason that is not ours. Examples: no one has the keys; no one is there to let us in; the building refuses us access." (clause 11.2)

When it applies, "we keep your goods in the locked truck or in our warehouse", and CNS remains responsible for them (clause 11.4). The storage rule is written in the contract: "The first three nights after this clause starts to apply are free. From the fourth night, storage costs 250 dollars per night, before taxes (line 19 of the table)." (clause 17.4 c) For a move that ends outside Quebec, the goods come back to the Montreal-area warehouse, that drive is not billed, and the return to deliver never costs more than the cap on line 26 of the table, as explained above (clause 17.4 h).

If the cause is CNS's own (its crew, its truck, its planning), none of this costs you anything: "we finish as soon as possible, at no cost to you." (clause 11.1) And an elevator breakdown or a case of superior force is treated separately: "There is no charge for the return or for storage." (clause 11.3)

What will CNS not put in the truck to Ontario?

Valuables, documents, keys, medication, dangerous goods, animals and perishable food travel with you, not in the truck. Clause 21 lists them: "cash, bank cards, jewellery, watches, precious metals and precious stones"; "documents such as passports, wills, notarial deeds, tax and medical records"; "keys and medication"; "dangerous goods: propane tanks, gasoline, solvents, ammunition, fireworks, pool chemicals"; "animals"; and "food that can spoil and opened liquids." (clause 21)

On a drive to Toronto, plan a box for the car with what you need the first night and everything on that list. The contract explains why it matters: "If you put documents or money in a box without telling us, the law says that a carrier is not responsible for their loss." (clause 21)

Can you cancel a Montreal to Toronto move, and what does it cost?

You can cancel at any time in writing, there is no fixed cancellation fee, and before the packing day your deposit comes back within 10 days, less a city permit already paid. "You may cancel at any time. Write to info@cnslogistics.ca." "There is no fixed cancellation fee and no penalty." (clauses 18.1 and 18.2)

• Before the packing day: "we refund your deposit within 10 days. We keep back only the cost of the city permit, if we have already paid it for your move. We show you the receipt." (clause 18.3)
• In the 48 hours before the packing day, or that day before the crew has left, CNS may keep back a loss it can prove, and "This amount is never more than your deposit." (clause 18.4)
• After the crew has left and before the work starts, CNS may keep back or claim a loss it can prove; "No amount is fixed in advance and there is no minimum charge." (clause 18.5)
• After the work has started, "you pay for the hours worked at the rate on line 12 of the table, never more than the fixed price, and the cost of the permit." (clause 18.6)

A Firmio contract is usually made at a distance, and the law adds rights the contract repeats. You may cancel within 7 days after you receive your copy in four listed cases, such as when required information was missing (clause 19.1); "If we do not send you a copy within 15 days after the contract is made, you have 30 days from the date of the contract to cancel." (clause 19.3) Once you cancel under those rights, "The law then requires us to refund, within 15 days, everything you paid." (clause 19.5)

Fixed price or a quote at our hourly rates: which fits your Montreal to Toronto move?

Choose the fixed price when uncertainty is expensive; it is the only way to a guaranteed move, and it comes with CNS's packing. The Firmio page puts the rule simply: "Choose a fixed price when uncertainty is expensive: a large home, many boxes, stairs, a total that cannot run over." (Firmio)

The page lists when a fixed price is worth the most. Each point weighs more on a move between two provinces, where the day is longer and a second visit is costly:

• "The home is large. A 5½, a 6½ or a house means more rooms, more storage and more boxes. The more there is to foresee, the wider the possible gap between the description and the day."
• "The number of boxes is hard to guess. A full basement, packed closets, a shed, books, a full kitchen. With the fixed price, the number of boxes is our estimate and our risk"
• "Access is hard. Stairs with no elevator, a long walk to the truck, heavy furniture."
• "The total cannot run over. A family buying a house, someone who has to count every dollar, a move an employer or a relative pays for and needs a known amount in advance."
• "You do not want to pack. Packing is part of the fixed price" (Firmio)

The other path suits other moves. If you would rather pack yourself, or part of the home cannot be filmed, the guaranteed move is not available, and the video quote leads to a quote at our hourly rates. The page is frank about the trade-off: "A fixed price can be higher than the low end of an estimate's range, because it includes the packing and the risk of time; in return, it does not go up on the day." (Firmio) Its last line on the subject is the one that matters most for a long move: "What you are buying is certainty: the amount in the contract is what you pay for the move as filmed and declared, and the list of extras is closed" (Firmio).

Montreal to Toronto or Toronto to Montreal: what you get

How do I get a fixed price for my Montreal to Toronto move?

Request a Firmio video quote, film every room and the paths at both addresses, and confirm your inventory. Before CNS sends the contract, it checks that you filmed every room and every storage space, filmed the path from your door to where the truck parks, filmed or described the path at the destination, gave the floor, stairs and elevator at both addresses, and confirmed your inventory list. Then: "By sending you the signed contract, we acknowledge that these conditions are met. We do not cancel the fixed price later because one of them was incomplete." (clause 2)

For the Toronto end, film or describe the destination path carefully: an access or destination different from what was filmed or declared, such as another floor or stairs instead of an elevator, is one of the extras on the clause 8 list (clause 8).

Frequently asked questions

Can a moving company give a fixed price from Montreal to Toronto?

CNS Logistics can, for a guaranteed move: "A guaranteed move is offered for a move that CNS packs, that starts at an address in Quebec, for a customer who lives in Quebec when the contract is made. The move may end in Quebec or in Ontario." (clause 2)

Why is there no fixed price from Toronto to Montreal?

A guaranteed move must start at an address in Quebec, for a customer who lives in Quebec. A Toronto to Montreal move gets the video quote and a quote at our hourly rates instead (Firmio).

Which taxes apply to a move from Montreal to Toronto?

Ontario's, because taxes are those of the province where the move ends; for example HST at 13 percent (clause 6).

Does the fixed price go up if the drive to Toronto takes longer?

No. "We do not bill the move by the hour, and the price does not go up because the work took longer than planned." (clause 3) "Traffic and weather are never extras." (clause 8)

Who pays the crew's hotel on a long-distance move?

CNS: "On a long-distance move with at least one night on the road, we pay the hotel and meals for the whole crew." (transparency)

What if my goods are damaged on the way to Toronto?

On a guaranteed move, CNS's responsibility is not limited by weight and there is no deductible (clauses 23.2 and 23.3). Claims under 2,000 dollars reported in writing within 72 hours after delivery get a written decision within 48 hours after the complete claim; the law's 60-day notice still applies (clauses 26.3 and 26.5).

What if I do not have the keys to my Toronto home on delivery day?

CNS keeps your goods in the locked truck or its warehouse and stays responsible for them. The first three nights are free; from the fourth night, storage costs 250 dollars per night, before taxes (clauses 11.2 and 17.4 c).

Can I cancel a fixed-price move to Toronto?

Yes, at any time, in writing to info@cnslogistics.ca: "There is no fixed cancellation fee and no penalty." Before the packing day, your deposit is refunded within 10 days, less a city permit already paid for your move (clause 18).

Who pays for a parking permit at the Toronto address?

"If the city requires a permit and we get it, its cost is included in the fixed price." (clause 10)

Get your fixed price for Montreal to Toronto

Firmio, the CNS Logistics video quote, is in beta. Film your home, a person checks the inventory line by line, and for a move CNS packs that starts in Quebec and ends in Quebec or Ontario, the price is written into the contract. Request yours at /video-quote#start, read the conditions in clause 2 of the contract, and see the seven tests any guaranteed price should pass in our guide Will a Moving Company Really Guarantee Your Price in Quebec?