Newcomers and students
Your first weeks in Prince George, in order: the paperwork with waiting periods first, then everything else, with the local office for each step.
Your first weeks
Steps marked “New to Canada” are for people arriving from another country; everything else applies to anyone moving here.
Week 1
Apply for MSP, then get your BC Services Card
EveryoneMSP is BC’s public health insurance. Coverage starts after a waiting period, so apply as soon as you arrive and buy private coverage for the gap. Once enrolled, you get a BC Services Card (your health card and government photo ID) at a Service BC centre or ICBC office.
Get a Social Insurance Number (SIN)
New to CanadaYou need a SIN to work in Canada and to file taxes. Apply online or at the Service Canada centre with your immigration or study documents.
Open a bank account
New to CanadaBanks must open an account for you with acceptable ID, even without a job or a credit history. Ask about newcomer and student packages and fees before you choose.
Get a phone plan and home internet
EveryoneCompare what is actually available at your address before you sign: providers, technology (fibre, cable, fixed wireless) and advertised speeds differ from street to street. Check contract length, data caps and installation fees.
Set up power, gas and City utilities; find your garbage day
EveryoneElectricity is BC Hydro and natural gas is FortisBC; water, sewer and garbage are billed by the City to the property owner. Find your garbage day and sign up for emergency alerts.
Learn the buses
EveryonePay with exact cash, the Umo app or a contactless card. Post-secondary students: ask your school whether a transit pass comes with your fees.
Week 2
Register for a family doctor
EveryoneJoin the Health Connect Registry online or by calling 8-1-1. Until you are matched, use the Urgent and Primary Care Centre or a walk-in clinic, and 8-1-1 for nurse advice.
Prince George Urgent and Primary Care Centre
143-1600 15th Ave (Parkwood Place), Prince George, BC V2L 3X3
Mon–Fri 8 a.m.–8 p.m.; Sat, Sun and holidays 9 a.m.–5 p.m.; closed Christmas Day
Connect with settlement services
New to CanadaFree settlement help (language classes, employment support, help with forms, connecting with cultural communities) is funded for permanent residents and some other newcomers. The Immigrant and Multicultural Services Society (IMSS) is the local agency.
Immigrant and Multicultural Services Society (IMSS)
1270 2nd Ave, Prince George, BC V2L 3B3
Mon–Fri 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Find work, or get help looking
EveryoneThe WorkBC Centre offers free job search help and training funding. Regulated jobs (nursing, trades, teaching, engineering) need your credentials recognized first; WelcomeBC explains how.
103-1600 15th Ave, Prince George, BC V2L 3X3
Mon–Thu 8:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m.; Fri 9 a.m.–4 p.m.; closed statutory holidays
Get a library card
EveryoneFree for city residents, with Wi-Fi, computers and free programs.
Prince George Public Library – Bob Harkins Branch
888 Canada Games Way, Prince George, BC V2L 5T6
Mon 10 a.m.–6 p.m.; Tue–Thu 10 a.m.–8 p.m.; Fri 10 a.m.–6 p.m.; Sat 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sun 12–4 p.m.
Within 90 days
Switch to a BC driver’s licence and insure your vehicle
DriversNew BC residents have 90 days to exchange their licence at an ICBC driver licensing office. Vehicles brought from elsewhere need an inspection, registration and ICBC insurance through an Autoplan broker.
Update your address
EveryoneAddressChangeBC updates several provincial agencies at once; update the Canada Revenue Agency separately.
Offices, addresses and hours come from our public services directory, where each is checked against the operator’s own page. Steps last checked October 1, 2026.
Students: getting to campus and where to live
Apply for campus housing early. Off campus, living on a route that stops at your campus saves a transfer; these are the routes and the neighbourhoods they pass through, from the current bus schedule.
CNC College of New Caledonia, Prince George campus
Routes stopping at CNC
Neighbourhoods with a direct bus
- Austin West 88, 89
- Carrie Jane Gray Park 46, 47, 88, 89
- Central Hart 88, 89
- College Heights 88, 89
- Cranbrook Hill 15, 88, 89
- Crescents 15
- Downtown 15, 46, 47
- East Central Fort George 15, 47
- Fraserview 46, 47
- Hart Highlands 88, 89
- Millar Addition 46, 47
- Perry 46
- Seymour 15, 46, 89
- South Fort George 46, 47
- Southwest 88
- Van Bow 15, 46, 47
- VLA 46
- West Bowl 15, 46, 47, 88, 89
Routes from BC Transit’s published schedule (GTFS, loaded October 12, 2026); neighbourhoods are those with at least one stop on the route, from the City’s boundaries. Compare rents on the housing dashboard.
Area names you will hear
Locals and listings use subdivision names (Southridge, Highland Park, Birchwood Heights) more than the City’s neighbourhood names. Our table of 85 area names says which neighbourhood each one is in, and which ones are outside city limits.
