Canada's area codes, province by province

Canada is a full member of the North American Numbering Plan, so its numbers look American even though Canadian regulators manage the codes.

One numbering plan, two countries

Canada has been part of the North American Numbering Plan from the start, so Canadian numbers use the same ten digits, the same plus-one country code and the same area-code structure as numbers in the United States. A Canadian number is not a US number, however: it is an international call for billing purposes even though the dialing looks identical. From Canada you dial 1 + area code + number for long distance, and from the United States to Canada you dial the same eleven digits.

Who assigns the codes

Canadian numbering is managed separately from the American system. The CRTC sets the rules and the Canadian Numbering Administrator allocates area codes and exchange codes inside Canada. Canadian codes are mixed into the same number space as US ones, with no separate prefix range, which is why Ontario's 613 sits next to US codes such as 612 and 614.

Codes by province

Codes are added and rearranged as regions grow, so read the table as the long-standing picture rather than a permanent one.

Overlays are routine

Most Canadian population centres have more than one code. Toronto's 416, 647 and 437 cover the same city; Montreal's 514 and 438 do the same; Calgary and Edmonton share the 403, 587 and 825 group in the south and 780, 587 and 825 in the north. As in the United States, an overlay code is not a different neighbourhood, so ten-digit dialing is required across the entire overlay region. New numbers may be issued in any of the codes covering the address.

Why Canada shares +1

The numbering plan was built as one continental system for the telephone network that spanned both countries, and Canada has stayed a full participant while regulating its own portion. That shared root is why a Toronto number looks exactly like a New York number, and why a caller dialing internationally cannot tell the two apart until the area code is checked.

Dialing and billing across the border

Dialing is seamless: 1 + ten digits in both directions, or +1 + ten digits from outside North America. Billing is not. Calls between the two countries are international calls under most plans, so a domestic US minute may not cover a call to Canada. Canadian mobile numbers are billed to the caller, as in the United States.