CANADA AREA CODES

Canada currently uses 50 area codes which are assigned to specific geographic areas plus area codes 600 and 622 which are not assigned to a geographic area. The province using the most area codes is Ontario which is using nineteen area codes followed by Quebec which is using twelve area codes. Several other locations share area codes such as Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island which use area codes 902 and 782, as well as, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut which use area code 867. The province of New Brunswick uses two area codes which are area codes 506 and 428. Newfoundland and Labrador uses two area codes which are area codes 709 and 879. Read more about recent and upcoming area code changes.

Although area codes in Canada are not assigned based upon population, the locations with greater populations have an increased demand for area codes. The non-geographic Canadian area codes 600 and 622 are reserved for services such as data links, mobile satellite services and ISDN.

Canada participates in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) which also includes the United States and eighteen countries and island nations in the Caribbean. In Canada the responsibility for area codes is administrated by the Canadian Numbering Administrator which acts as a neutral administrator with decisions about implementation shared by the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) and the ten provinces and three territories. The North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANP) is responsible for the administration, assignment and management of area codes.

In 1947 when the North American Numbering Plan was established Canada was assigned nine area codes. These included Area Code 204 - Manitoba, Area Code 306 - Saskatchewan, Area Code 403 - Alberta, Area Code 416 - Ontario, Area Code 418 - Quebec, Area Code 514 - Quebec, Area Code 604 - British Columbia, Area Code 613 - Ontario, Area Code 902 - Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.

Within the North American Numbering Plan calls made between participating countries and nations, including Canada, use the country code 1 followed by the area code and local phone number. This results in a consistent dialing pattern of 1 + Area Code + Local Phone Number. You may view dialing instructions for calls within the North American Numbering Plan, including Canada, on our International Calling Tool.