Canadians Can Switch Phone and Internet Plans for Free Beginning June 12

A sweeping new ban on fees associated with Canadian phone and internet plans takes effect on June 12, allowing consumers to change providers or modify their plans without facing additional fees.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announced in March its plan to prevent companies from charging customers when they cancel, change, or activate cellphone or internet plans. 

Activation fees have traditionally fluctuated between $30 and $80, discouraging Canadians who wanted to capitalize on competitive offers, the CRTC said. 

The CRTC characterized the new rules, outlined in the Consumer Protections Action Plan, as an effort to make it easier for Canadians to find less expensive cellphone and internet plans, without fear of incurring extra fees that could undermine their potential savings.

“We are increasing competition so that Canadians have access to more choice and affordable Internet and cellphone services. But having more choice is not enough,” CRTC CEO Vicky Eatrides said in an April press release. “Canadians need simple ways to take advantage of that choice. Our recent decisions make it easier to manage services, shop around, and switch plans.”

The rules apply to individual and small-business customers of most major mobile service providers, as well as individual residential internet users.

The CRTC was mandated to implement new consumer protection measures after the federal government made changes to the Telecommunications Act last October.

The regulator conducted a public consultation to explore how service providers could give consumers additional options to modify their internet and cellphone plans. The consultation incorporated feedback from consumers, advocacy organizations, and telecommunications providers.

The CRTC has also said it intends to further strengthen consumer protections in the coming months, focusing on simplifying the shopping experience for internet services by ensuring that plans are clearly and simply presented.

It will also review its Consumer Protection Codes in a future public consultation, with “the goal of simplifying and combining them into one code,” the agency said.

Canadian internet and cellphone bills rank among the highest in the G7, according to 2024 data from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED).

Canadians incur the highest costs for ‘Level 7’ broadband services, defined as having download speeds of 900 Mbps or greater, with an average monthly cost of $113.11 among the seven countries. Australia was the closest in cost, at $107.60 per month, while the United States was significantly cheaper, at $83.

The findings also indicated that Canadians pay some of the highest mobile wireless costs in the G7. The country was ranked as the most costly for Level 2 service, with a monthly fee of $63.80, the second most expensive for Level 3 at $65.40 per month, and third for both Level 4 and Level 5 plans.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.