I did this on my first full day in the country. I was armed with my passport, and my copy of the Permanent Resident form, and again, it went wonderfully. I think it took about half an hour from end to end.
I opted for the CIBC, for a couple of reasons. The main one was that I remembered them being willing to cash my £UK traveller's cheques when I was travelling in Canada a couple of years back; and the other is that, well, it was there.
They offer free banking for the first year, which is nice; and I'm more than happy to move to a different bank further down the line if required - I think a credit union is probably the way to go - but that will have to wait til I'm settled, and I can figure out what branches there are in the neighbourhood.
The banking system in Canada does seem a little backwards compared to the UK, I should say. You pay for each transaction, though you get a certain number free; and you also get to pay if you use a different bank's ATM - I don't think that's been the case in the UK for what? A decade?
I'm also intending to get a safe deposit box; some of the paperwork I've got, I'm going to have to keep for life (!), and really, who wouldn't want a safe deposit box?
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