Martin and Jacqui Wright, and son Alex

Calgary the 'Wright' fit for new family and their robot

It's been a busy time for the Wright family since arriving in Calgary from England on January 14, 2006. They've recently moved into a spacious new house, and these days, most of their free time is spent unpacking boxes.

As Martin, his wife Jacqui, and son Alex sort through their belongings, they are observed by a curious contraption that has taken refuge in a quiet corner by their computer desk. His name is Jim Bob, the family robot, and he too has relocated from Milton Keynes, which is located about 75 kilometres north of London.

The robot, which was one of the original Daleks from the Dr. Who sci-fi television series, doesn't seem to be an oddity for Martin Wright. But then again, Martin's quite accustomed to marching to the beat of a different drum. After all, he was a professional drummer in England, playing in the band Togmore for 12 years. And his day job was sales manager for a company that distributed horseshoes and farrier's equipment to a wide range of clients, including Buckingham Palace.

The Wrights started getting serious about coming to Canada after watching a BBC show on television. "We started thinking of relocating to Canada three years ago," said Martin. "We watched a TV show -- Get A New Life. It features families that relocate to other countries. One of the episodes was about a family that went to Bragg Creek, Alberta, and we were motivated by that."

After the show ended, the groundwork to relocate to Canada began. "We started putting our file together very early in 2003," recalls Martin, "and we spent the best part of six months preparing it. We'd touched base with an immigration consultancy just outside of London, and they told us what was required, so what we hadn't got, we went about getting. And I think we finally took the completed file to them round about September."

The family also began doing research on Canada, and planned a trip to come over to Vancouver in May 2004. Just before their trip, Martin spotted an advertisement that caught his eye. "About a week before we travelled there was an advert in Canada News put in by the London Alberta Office, and they were looking for skilled people," said Martin.

Prior to his sales career, Wright did an aerospace engineering apprenticeship at a helicopter company in England. He'd always thought of returning to the profession. "So I got in touch with the people in London," said Martin, "and they told me if we were coming over, it would be well worth my while visiting the office in Edmonton."

Wright took their advice, and travelled to Edmonton during his initial Canadian visit. "I had a meeting with an Immigration Officer with Alberta Employment and Immigration and an aerospace trade director and they were terrific," said Martin. "They gave me lots of encouragement, and I think at the time, you never assume anything in life's a done deal in case you get disappointed, but they made me feel that there was a lot more certainty of us coming over than not."

Once the Wrights returned to England, they became even more focused about coming to Canada. "I was tremendously buoyed up by what I was told when I was with Alice and Orest," said Martin. "We then came home and went into an even bigger period of research."

The Wrights immediately started getting the word out to Canadian companies. "Jacqui and I would sit at the computer late at night," said Martin, "and she would run through the list -- I got my resume onto the computer -- and over the course of maybe two consecutive evenings, we would send out about 30 emails. And we did that roughly every month from the time we got back in June, 2004."

Their persistence paid off the following year. "Very early in 2005, we sent out another round of emails," recalls Martin, "and in early February of 2005, I got an email back from the Vice President of Field Aviation in Calgary. He said that he'd looked at my resume and that they were interested in me. So I made arrangements, and after having a telephone interview that went well, I came over and had interviews just after Easter last year.

"I came for a week, and I had interviews with Field Aviation, and I had a meeting with Helen. And I went around and opened a bank account, which was a very useful thing to do. I just got a general feel for what the city was like, and I went around and looked at some houses. And I felt that there was a lot more a certainty that things were definitely going to happen now."

Martin was offered a job by Field Aviation in June, but the Wrights' immigration application didn't go through until September. "We'd already been trying to sort of prepare for things. I'd already sold my car by then, and we'd started putting things together, packing things up. And then we were told to go for our medicals, and round about that time, we put our house on the market in England."

Martin was impressed by the patience and flexibility that Field Aviation showed. "They were great. They just said don't worry, we're not going anywhere, the job's not going anywhere, the job's here for you, we'll be pleased to see you soon as you can make it."

The Wrights sold their house in England in December, 2005. "It was all legally binding literally two days before Christmas," recalls Martin. "So we'd already had on board people like currency exchange people, pet carriers (because we brought our pet cat with us), and removal people. Everything was kicked in the week commencing the 8th of January, and we hopped on a plane on Friday the 13th."

Martin, Jacqui and Alex arrived in Calgary on January 14, 2006. Older son Ashley stayed behind to finish his schooling, and joined the family at the end of June, once exams were completed.

Upon their arrival in the Stampede City, the Wrights moved into their short-term lodging at the Residency Inn. "The whole staff were fantastic -- they made us feel welcome, they were helpful -- everybody just wants to bend over backwards to try and point you in the right direction," noted Martin.

After getting settled in, the family immediately started house hunting. "We went and looked at some houses on the 17th of January, and this was one of six houses that we looked at," explained Martin. "After setting foot in this house, within two and a half hours, we had legally made an offer. Which is just so different to the system in England.

"We couldn't believe it was that easy. We moved in on February 8. We were looking to get into somewhere quickly, because all the time, we had a 40-foot container bearing down on us from England. And so we moved in on February 8, and on February 9, our container arrived."

It's been an exciting time for the new Calgarians. "Everything's massive," said Jacqui, "there's loads of space. It's nice to see some snow, which we very rarely see in England. It's been a mild winter, so I'm pleased that we've sort of been allowed to acclimatize. And the people have been really friendly."

Alex, who'll be a teenager in a couple of months, is getting used to his new surroundings. He's already tried snowboarding at Canada Olympic Park, and has been skating at the Olympic Oval. He's even managed to meet Canadian rock star Bryan Adams, and has attended several hockey games at the Saddledome.

School is working out well for Alex, and he's taking a full range of subjects, including social studies and home economics, where he's learned to make a pin cushion and chocolate chip muffins. He's also making new friends, and has some words of wisdom about keeping an open mind regarding the adventures that await in his new country: "Moving to Canada's like a box of chocolates- you never know what you're going to get."

Date Updated: Mar 19, 2009
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