New rules for cellphones and home Internet: activation fees, cancellation fees, notices and complaints (CRTC rules)

1. Two organizations and two codes to know first

Who the CRTC is. CRTC stands for Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. It is the federal agency that regulates telephone, cellphone, Internet and TV services across Canada. It made all of these new rules.

Who the CCTS is. CCTS stands for Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services. It is an independent, not-for-profit organization that helps customers and providers resolve disputes. If you and your provider cannot agree, you go to the CCTS. The CCTS website says its service is completely free and anyone in Canada can use it, whatever their immigration status.

What the two codes are. The CRTC has set one code for cellphones and one for Internet. They are the minimum rules providers must follow, and the CCTS enforces them:

• The Wireless Code covers cellphones. Every wireless provider must follow it, and it protects individual and small business customers.
• The Internet Code covers fixed Internet service at home. The CRTC lists nine large companies that, together with their Internet brands and affiliated companies, must follow it: Bell Canada, Cogeco, Eastlink, Northwestel, Rogers, SaskTel, TELUS, Videotron and Xplore. TELUS and Rogers, which are common in Victoria, are on the list. Smaller Internet companies that are not on the list do not have to follow it, but the CRTC says it would like all Internet providers to follow it.

Starlink is not one of these nine companies. But Starlink is on the CCTS list of participating companies, and Starlink's terms also say you can go to the CCTS if you cannot reach agreement with it. For how to take a Starlink dispute to Starlink first and then to the CCTS, see sections 2 and 12 of Guide No. 62.

→ No. 62 · Starlink: signing up and whether it is worth it

Not sure whether your Internet company has to follow it? Just ask customer service: "Is my home Internet service covered by the CRTC Internet Code?" To find out whether you can go to the CCTS if something goes wrong, look the company up on the "Participating Service Providers" list on the CCTS website.

There is one exception. The new rule in section 11, that you can change or cancel your plan yourself, is not part of the codes. Every provider must follow it, and the CRTC enforces it directly.

The codes may be combined into one. From June to August 2026, the CRTC held a public consultation on combining the wireless, Internet, TV and other codes into a single code. After they are combined, the names and the order of the rules may change. The version on the CRTC website at the time is what counts.

2. Key dates to remember

3. Activation and plan change fees: mostly not allowed since June 12, 2026

What the new rule says. Since June 12, 2026, when you start a new cellphone or home Internet plan, or change your existing plan, the provider cannot charge a separate fee for doing that. The CRTC calls this an "activation or modification fee."

Which companies it covers. Cellphones: every wireless provider must follow it, and both individual and small business customers are protected. Home Internet: it covers only the companies on the code list described in section 1 (and their brands), and it protects individual customers. If your Internet company is a smaller one that is not on the list, first ask whether it follows the code.

On a bill, this fee can go by many names. Examples given by the CCTS include:

• Activation fee, new account fee, service connection fee, setup service fee, enrollment fee;
• an installation fee when no technician needs to come to your home;
• a modification fee when no technician needs to come, for example to change your plan, adjust your service or change your Internet speed.

The name does not matter. What matters is whether the fee is charged because you started a plan or changed a plan.

Two cases where a charge is still allowed.

1. A technician has to come to your home or workplace to actually install a line or equipment. This installation fee is allowed, but it must be reasonable.
2. Extra products or services that you clearly agreed to buy. For example, you chose to have a technician come and set up your home Wi-Fi, or you bought an extra device that was not required.

Check with the CCTS's three questions. If all three apply, the fee most likely should not have been charged:

1. You are starting a new cellphone or Internet plan, or changing your existing plan;
2. You did not choose to buy any extra equipment or services;
3. The fee was charged on or after June 12, 2026.

Fees that can still be charged. The CCTS lists some fees that have nothing to do with starting or changing a plan and that providers can generally still charge, for example a reconnection fee after your service was suspended for non-payment, a fee for reprinting a bill, and a 3G service maintenance fee. Some fees at cancellation that are set out in your contract can also still be charged: a fee for equipment you did not return, the unpaid balance on a phone you are paying off in instalments, and the early cancellation fee for a fixed-term home Internet contract. Sections 5 and 7 explain these.

An example. You bring your own phone, fully paid off, and in July 2026 you switch to a new provider. You buy only a talk-and-data plan, add nothing else, and nobody comes to your home. But the first bill has a $70 "Connection Fee." All three questions apply, so you can call and ask for it to be removed. For what to say, see the script in section 12.

4. New fees from Bell, TELUS and Rogers: still under CRTC review

Recently, three large companies introduced some new fees. On June 30, 2026, the CRTC opened a separate proceeding (number 2026-155) requiring these three companies to explain why these fees do not break the new rules. The CCTS lists these fees:

• Bell's device-handling charge;
• TELUS's fee for buying a SIM card or eSIM (an eSIM is an electronic SIM built into the phone, so you do not need to insert a physical card);
• Rogers's device set-up charge, shipping charge for devices ordered online, and SIM card fee.

What to do for now. Until the CRTC decides, the CCTS can accept complaints about these fees, but may put them on hold until the CRTC's result. Complaints about other fees are handled as usual. When this guide was checked (November 3, 2026), we had not found a final CRTC decision on these fees.

If you see one of these fees on your bill, you can do three things first:

1. Keep your bills, order confirmations and chat records;
2. Ask the provider: Is this fee required to start service? Can I choose not to buy it?
3. If you do not agree, dispute it following the steps in section 12, and see what happens once the CRTC decides.

Do not decide from the name alone that a fee is definitely against the rules, and do not assume it is definitely allowed either. Until the CRTC decides, ask about and dispute each case on its own facts.

5. Cancelling a cellphone: first check whether you got a subsidized phone

What a subsidized phone is. When you sign a contract, the provider sells you a phone for less than its retail price. That phone is called a subsidized device. The amount you did not pay is the subsidy. The code calculates it this way:

Subsidy = the phone's retail price − what you paid for the phone when you signed

Here, "retail price" means the lower of the manufacturer's suggested retail price and the price at which this provider sells the phone without a contract. The code also says that a phone bought at full price, or a phone not bought together with the contract, is not a subsidized device.

No subsidized phone: no early cancellation fee. Since June 12, 2026, the Wireless Code says that if your contract does not include a subsidized phone, the provider cannot charge an early cancellation fee. The most common case is bringing your own phone, called BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), and buying only a talk-and-data plan. Even if you signed a two-year contract and leave before the two years are up, you cannot be charged a cancellation fee for leaving. You still have to pay for the service you have already used.

Some older CRTC pages still show the old calculation. For example, when we checked, the page on switching providers and keeping your number was a 2022 version, and it says that for two- or three-year contracts the cancellation fee is at most $50 or 10% of the remaining monthly charges, whichever is lower. That was the rule before June 12, 2026. Decision 2026-43 and the code now govern.

Subsidized phone: the cancellation fee has a cap and goes down every month.

• The cancellation fee cannot be more than the subsidy;
• It goes down by the same amount every month, over the contract period or 24 months, whichever is shorter, and reaches 0 at the end;
• For a "tab" contract (the subsidy is recorded as a balance and part of it is taken off your bill each month), the fee can go down by a minimum monthly amount or by a percentage, and the contract must give examples showing how it is calculated;
• When working out how many months are left, a month that has partly passed when you cancel counts as a month that has fully passed.

An example calculation. The phone's retail price is $1,000, and you paid $280 for it when you signed a two-year contract, so the subsidy is $720. It goes down by 720 ÷ 24 = $30 a month. If you leave in the middle of month 8, month 8 counts as a full month, so it has already gone down by 8 × 30 = $240, and the cancellation fee is at most 720 − 240 = $480.

Phones paid off in instalments: you must pay what is left on the phone. If you are paying off a phone in instalments together with your plan (device financing), you may have to pay the unpaid amount on the phone all at once when you leave early. The CCTS lists "the unpaid balance on a financed phone" separately as a fee that can be charged when it is set out in the contract. So even with no cancellation fee, you may still have to pay this.

Rented phones: return it at the end, or make a final payment to keep it. Some contracts rent you the phone (device rental plan). At the end you return the phone, or make a final payment to keep it. The CRTC says it will look at cancellation fees for rental plans later, in the proceeding on the combined code. Before you sign, ask what condition the phone must be in when you return it, and how much it costs to keep it.

Before cancelling, ask customer service to list each charge separately. When you call, ask:

• If I cancel today, can you send me in writing every charge I would pay, the amount, and which part of my contract it comes from?

Make sure you tell three kinds of charges apart: the service cancellation fee, the unpaid balance on a financed phone, and the fee for equipment you did not return. Each one is based on something different.

When cancellation takes effect. You can tell your provider at any time that you want to cancel your cellphone service. It takes effect on the day the provider receives your notice.

New contracts have a 15-day trial period. If your contract would have a cancellation fee, the provider must give you a trial period of at least 15 days, starting on the day your service starts. If your usage during the trial stays within the limit (usually half of the contract's monthly usage), and you return the phone the provider gave you in near-new condition with its original packaging, you can cancel without penalty. If you tell the provider you have a disability, the trial period is at least 30 days and the usage limit is at least doubled.

The contract is not what you agreed to. If the provider does not give you the permanent contract on time, or the permanent contract does not match the terms you agreed to, you can cancel without a cancellation fee within 30 days of receiving the permanent contract.

Phone unlocking is free. The phone the provider gives you must be unlocked. If your phone is locked to a network, the provider must unlock it for free when you ask. Before you switch providers with your own phone, make sure it is unlocked.

Getting a broken phone fixed at an outside shop is a different matter. A provider unlocking your phone so that you can use it on another network falls under telecommunications rules, and is not the same thing as the "right to repair". If your phone breaks and you want an outside shop to fix it, and the repair means getting around a "digital lock" on the phone's software, what applies is the repair exception in the federal Copyright Act that has been in force since November 7, 2024 (Bill C-244): it applies only to repair, maintenance and diagnosis, including repairs done for someone else; it does not force manufacturers to sell parts, and it does not change warranty terms. See sections 3 and 4 of Guide No. 54.

→ No. 54 · Right to repair

6. Switching providers: how to keep your number

The CRTC explains it like this:

1. First choose your new provider, then ask the new provider to transfer your number for you. You do not even need to talk to your old provider.
2. You can call, email or write to the new provider. Tell it you want to keep your number.
3. The new provider will tell your old provider to cancel your service. The old provider cancels as soon as it receives this; you can also set a later date for the cancellation.
4. Do not cancel your old number yourself first. The CRTC says that if you cancel your service before asking the new provider to transfer your number, you will definitely lose the number and have to get a new one.
5. You do not need to give 30 days' notice to cancel your service.
6. How long it takes: from cellphone to cellphone, a few hours; between a landline and a cellphone, usually up to 2 business days. Your service may be interrupted during the transfer, including calls to 911.

When you may have to change your number. If you move to another province or to a different "local calling area," or switch from Internet phone service (VoIP) to a landline or cellphone, or the other way around. If you are not sure, ask the new provider.

Pay what you owe the old provider. You must pay anything you still owe your old provider, and billing stops as soon as the service is cancelled. If you have a contract, work out the cancellation fee as explained in section 5.

Ask one more question about bundles. If one account has a cellphone, Internet and TV in a bundle, removing one of them may change the price and terms of the others. Before you transfer a number away, ask how much the remaining services will cost each month.

Related: if you have just arrived in Canada and need a phone in your first week, start with the guide Your first 90 days in Canada: a to-do checklist.

7. Cancelling home Internet: a fixed-term contract may still have a cancellation fee

The cellphone rule does not cover home Internet. "No subsidized phone means no cancellation fee" is a change to the Wireless Code, which only covers cellphones. If your home Internet is a fixed-term contract (for example, two years) and the contract sets out an early cancellation fee, it can still be charged even if you did not get any subsidized equipment.

The rules for home Internet cancellation fees (Internet Code):

• No subsidized equipment, fixed term: the cancellation fee must be in the contract, can only be charged over the contract period or 24 months, whichever is shorter, and goes down to 0 by the end;
• No fixed term, month to month: no cancellation fee is allowed;
• Subsidized equipment: the fee cannot be more than the subsidy, and it goes down by the same amount every month;
• Apart from the cancellation fee, the provider cannot charge any other penalty.

Watch out for very old contracts. The Internet Code took effect on January 31, 2020. For contracts signed before that date that have not been renewed or changed since, the rules on cancellation fees, trial periods and cancelling when the contract does not match what you agreed to do not apply.

The contract must spell it out. The code requires the contract to state the total cancellation fee, how much it goes down each month, and the date after which you no longer have to pay it. Look for the words "Early Cancellation Fee" in your contract.

You can cancel at any time. You can tell your provider at any time that you want to cancel, and the provider must cancel on the date you ask for. Monthly fees are charged in advance, so after you cancel you must get a refund for the remaining days. The provider cannot charge for services it can no longer provide after cancellation.

Return the equipment. Return rented equipment such as your modem and router by the deadline and in the way the contract says, and keep the shipping or return receipt. If you do not return the equipment, the provider can charge you as set out in the contract.

New contracts have a 15-day trial period. If the contract would have a cancellation fee, there is a trial period of at least 15 days, starting on the day your service starts. If your usage during the trial is no more than half of the contract's monthly usage, and you return the equipment in near-new condition (with its original packaging, if it had one), you can cancel without penalty. If you tell the provider you have a disability, the trial period is at least 30 days.

The contract is not what you agreed to. If the provider does not give you the contract on time, or the permanent contract does not match the terms you agreed to, you can cancel without a cancellation fee within 45 days from the day the contract starts.

An example: moving. You signed a two-year Internet contract, and in month 8 you need to move from downtown Victoria to Langford. You can:

1. First check your contract for the total cancellation fee and how much it goes down each month, and work out how much you would owe now;
2. Ask the provider: Can I keep using the service at the new address? Will there be a charge to move it, and what kind of charge? The official sources do not specifically cover charges for moving. Under the new rules, the only extra charges allowed when you start or change a plan are a reasonable fee for a technician to come and install, and extra products or services you clearly chose to buy. If the provider wants to charge you, ask which of these it is and which part of the contract it is based on;
3. If you do decide to cancel, ask how much the cancellation fee is, and how and within how many days to return the equipment.

Related: moving to a new home? For renting, housing assistance and the costs to work out when buying a home, see the Housing guide.

8. Before you buy home Internet: how to compare plans

New rules from March 10, 2027. On September 10, 2026, the CRTC published Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2026-238, which changes the Internet Code and takes effect on March 10, 2027. It covers the same nine large companies described in section 1 and their brands; the CRTC says this reaches nearly nine in ten home Internet customers. Smaller companies that are not on the list, and companies that resell service over other companies' lines, can choose to follow it, but do not have to.

From that date, these companies must:

• State a "typical speed," not just an "up to" speed. All ads and quotes for home Internet must state typical download and upload speeds. Each company sets this number itself, but once it has promised it before selling to you, it is the speed it must deliver at all times (the next point gives the floor at peak times).
• Keep a floor even when many people are online in the evening. "Peak hours" are defined as 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. local time on weekdays. Outside peak hours, the provider must deliver 100% of the typical speed; during peak hours, at least 95%. An easy example: if the promised typical download speed is 500 Mbps, it cannot drop below 475 Mbps at 8 p.m. on a weekday.
• State which latency range applies. Latency is how long data takes to make a round trip; you notice it most in real-time calls such as video calls. Ads, quotes and contracts must state which range applies: up to 50 milliseconds, 51 to 150 milliseconds, or 151 milliseconds and above. These three ranges are provisional, and the CRTC has asked the CRTC Interconnection Steering Committee (CISC), a technical committee whose members come from the industry, to report by September 10, 2027 on whether to adjust them.
• Show the regular price after a promotion as prominently as the promotional price. In a quote, the full price after the promotion ends must be at least as prominent as the promotional price. The CRTC says font size, placement and legibility all count.
• Show rental fees for required equipment prominently.
• Put the typical speed and latency in the contract. Both become key terms of the contract and must appear in the contract and in the Critical Information Summary (the summary of key points you get when you sign). The contract must also say where you can find out what the peak hours are.
• Keep the contract available online. Companies with online accounts must keep the contract and the Critical Information Summary in your account at all times, so both existing customers and customers who sign up later can see them whenever they want.
• Publish how they measure speed. Each company must post on its website how it measures typical speed and latency.

What is not required this time. The CRTC did not require providers to state the network technology (such as fibre or cable), two more technical network measures (jitter and packet loss), or standard-format labels and icons. For publishing all plans as a spreadsheet that comparison websites could use, the CRTC asked the CISC to propose an approach by September 10, 2027, and will decide later when it starts.

If your speed falls short of what was promised. Once the new rules take effect, if you think your speed is slower than promised and you cannot settle it with your provider, it is up to the provider to show evidence that it delivered the promised speed. If you still cannot agree, go to the CCTS (section 12). The CCTS can order the provider to pay compensation, and the CRTC wants it to look at two things: how much the slowdown affected you, for example videos that keep buffering or downloads that take much longer; and how many times the service was slow in one billing cycle.

Before March 10, 2027, or with a smaller company that is not on the list, ask these questions yourself. Before the new rules take effect, or if you use a smaller company that is not on the list, ask about the following before you sign.

Ask these questions before you sign:

1. How many months does the promotional price last? What is the regular monthly price after the promotion ends?
2. Is there a monthly rental fee for equipment I need?
3. Is there a one-time installation fee? Does a technician need to come?
4. How many years is the contract? How is the early cancellation fee calculated?
5. What speed can I typically expect on weekday evenings from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., when many people are online?

The current Internet Code already requires the contract to state the total installation fee and the rental or purchase price of any equipment that is not subsidized. Before you sign, ask the provider to put these in the quote or the contract.

Add up two years, not just the first year's monthly price. Suppose two plans have the same speed and service (the example below uses easy numbers, in Canadian dollars, before tax, with prices that stay the same over the two years):

Plan A's ad says "$50 a month," which looks cheaper. But when you add up 24 months of fees plus equipment rental, Plan B costs $180 less. When you actually compare, also add any one-time installation fee, and if you may move partway through, include the cancellation fee too.

If your Internet seems slow, do not test just once. The official CRTC method measures from the modem in your home to a network exchange point in a major city (such as Vancouver), not from a phone in your bedroom. So when you test yourself, connect a computer by network cable to your modem or router, and do not test with your phone over Wi-Fi in the bedroom. Test several times on different days, including a few times on weekday evenings between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m., and write down the date, the time, how you connected and the result. Once the new rules take effect, when the CCTS decides on compensation it looks at how many times the service was slow, so bringing these records to your provider and to the CCTS works better than just saying "my Internet is slow."

Related: for which account to put your savings in (such as a TFSA or RRSP), see Saving tax and investing: getting started.

9. Notices before a contract or promotion ends: new requirements from April 13, 2027

Who it covers. Cellphones: individual and small business customers of every wireless provider. Home Internet: individual customers of the companies on the code list.

Contract expiry notices you already get. If you have a fixed-term contract, the provider must notify you at least 90 days before your initial contract period ends. The notice must say:

• the date your contract ends;
• that from that date, you can change your plan, switch providers or cancel your service without paying a penalty;
• whether your service will automatically continue month to month at the same price and terms, and if it will not, the lowest amount you will have to pay each month from then on.

New from April 13, 2027:

• The notice must be sent the way you choose, such as email, text message, phone call or letter, and the provider must keep a copy;
• It must include a link to a web page listing all the plans the provider currently sells, including plans for bringing your own phone and plans with phone financing;
• It must explain what self-serve options there are, where to find them and what you can do with them;
• If you rent your phone, it must say whether you return the phone at the end or make a final payment to keep it.

An example. If your two-year contract ends on January 31, 2028, your provider should notify you by November 2, 2027 at the latest.

Notice before a promotion ends. This is new from April 13, 2027: if your contract has a time-limited promotion that lasts more than three months and ends before your initial contract period ends, the provider must notify the account holder (the person responsible for paying) 90 days before the promotion ends, stating the date it ends.

• Example: a two-year contract comes with "$20 off per month for the first year." The promotion ends at the end of month 12, so you should get a notice around month 9.
• A promotion of only three months is not "more than three months," so there is no notice for it. For short promotions like this, set a reminder in your phone's calendar yourself.

10. Using your phone abroad: roaming notices and the $100 cap

Protections you already have:

• As soon as your phone starts roaming abroad, the provider must notify the account holder and the person using the phone, free of charge, of the cost of calls, text messages and data. You can opt out of these notices at any time.
• Once data roaming charges add up to $100 in one monthly billing cycle, the provider must stop charging more, unless the account holder or an authorized user expressly agrees to keep paying. Data roaming both within Canada and abroad counts; roaming packages bought in advance and overage charges afterwards both count. No matter how many phones are on an account, the $100 is for all of them together.
• If you go over your plan's data within Canada, overage charges must also stop at $50 a month, unless you agree to keep paying.

Three more from April 13, 2027:

• Roaming notices must also tell you what roaming options are available and how to sign up for them;
• When you are roaming abroad and data roaming charges for one phone reach $50, the provider must notify the account holder and the person using that phone;
• The code will state expressly that daily roaming packages and "roam like home" plans count toward the $100 cap. In decision 2026-67, the CRTC said these plans should already count.

$50 is a notice, $100 is a cap, and both apply only to data. Charges for calls and text messages while roaming do not count toward the $100. If the provider asks whether you want to keep using data and you say yes, you will have to pay the roaming data charges above $100.

An example. After April 13, 2027, you and your family share one account, and you buy a daily roaming package when you go back to visit family in your home country. When data roaming charges on your phone reach $50 in a billing cycle, both the account holder and you get a notice. When data roaming charges for the whole account add up to $100, the provider must stop charging more, unless the account holder or an authorized user agrees to keep paying.

11. From April 26, 2027: change or cancel your plan yourself, without a customer service agent

• Every provider must do this, not just the companies on the code lists. It protects individual and small business customers.
• "Self-serve" means it is easy to use and lets you upgrade, downgrade or cancel your plan yourself, without dealing with a customer service agent. It can be an app, a website or email; the CRTC does not require any particular one. The provider may step in only when it needs to understand what you actually want to do.
• Changes you make yourself should take effect as close to immediately as possible.
• For each thing you do yourself, the provider must confirm it in writing, for example with an automatic email. It must also tell you on the page where you do it how soon you will get the confirmation, for example with a line on the last screen saying "confirmation email within 24 hours." If it does not arrive by then, follow up.
• Contacting any customer service channel cannot cost you anything. But whether the change you make through self-serve can carry a charge still follows the rules in section 3.
• The CRTC decision says you can change or cancel your plan yourself "within the terms of your contract." So if you cancel online yourself, a phone financing balance or equipment to be returned under your contract is still handled as the contract says.

Who to contact about problems with self-serve. This rule is not part of the codes, so the CCTS does not handle it; the CRTC takes these complaints directly. For example, if after April 26, 2027 your provider has no way at all to cancel on your own, contact the CRTC. If you have already cancelled and are still being charged monthly fees, that is a billing dispute: contact the provider first, and if you cannot agree, go to the CCTS.

12. If your bill is wrong: contact your provider first, then the CCTS

Step 1: get your documents ready. The quote you got when you opened your account or changed your plan, the order confirmation email, and the bill with the problem. Write down the date of the charge, the exact name it has on the bill and the amount.

Step 2: contact your provider and explain clearly. By phone or online chat, explain what you did, whether anyone came to your home and whether you agreed to buy anything extra. Ask them to explain the basis for the charge and point to the part of the contract it comes from. If it should not have been charged, ask them to remove it or refund it. At the end, ask for a ticket number (also called a reference number).

You can say something like this, replacing the parts in square brackets with your own details:

• My bill includes a [fee name] of $[amount]. I only activated or changed my plan. I did not order any extras, and no technician came to my home. Please explain this charge in writing, and remove it from my bill if it was charged in error.

Each time you contact them, write down the date, the time, what they said and the result. The CCTS requires you to give your provider a reasonable chance to deal with the problem first.

Step 3: if you cannot agree, go to the CCTS. If your provider will not remove the charge, or you do not agree with its explanation, you can complain to the CCTS for free.

• How to complain: the CCTS recommends its online complaint form above all, as the fastest way. If you cannot use the online form, you can download a form and send it by fax or mail. To accommodate people who need it (especially people with disabilities), the CCTS may also accept complaints by phone at 1-888-221-1687, or TTY 1-844-713-3010 for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. You can also call this number if you have questions first.
• Hours: Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time. Since 2026, B.C. no longer changes its clocks and stays 7 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time all year, so in B.C. time it depends on the season: during the winter months when Eastern Time is back on standard time (from the first Sunday in November to the second Sunday in March), it is 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.; the rest of the year it is 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• If it is hard for you to complain yourself, you can authorize someone you trust to complain for you.
• While your complaint is being reviewed, keep paying the parts that are not in dispute. For example, if you only dispute a $30 activation fee, you can hold off on paying that $30, but you must pay the rest of your bill. If the CCTS finds that it should not have been charged, the provider must remove it; if the CCTS finds that it is allowed, you still have to pay it.

What the CCTS can and cannot handle.

• It can handle: charges that do not match what you were told; promised discounts, credits or services you did not get; service that does not work as described; changes to your plan or contract that you think should not have been made; difficulty cancelling your service; disputes about how much you owe; credit reporting errors related to your telecom service.
• It cannot handle: whether a service or plan is too expensive; nuisance calls and telemarketing calls; your own broken phone or modem; advertising that is not about your contract; home alarm and monitoring services; complaints about customer service attitude; asking a provider to change its policies. The CCTS also cannot change the prices set in your contract.

How to contact the CRTC. If you suspect a provider is not following CRTC rules, or after April 26, 2027 you cannot find a self-serve option, you can contact the CRTC:

• Phone 1-877-249-2782 (toll-free in Canada), Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time, closed on statutory holidays. In B.C. time: in the winter months, 6:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; the rest of the year, 5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• You can also fill in the complaint form on the CRTC website.

Related: for how to find government and agency phone numbers and what to say when you call, see Government of Canada phone lines: how to find and call them.

Note: being able to hold off paying the disputed amount once the CCTS has accepted your complaint is a CCTS rule; do not apply it to electricity, gas, loans or other businesses' bills. For other bills, such as electricity, gas and water, automatic withdrawals from your bank account, credit card statements, medical bills, parking tickets and debt collection, including how to check them, how to dispute them and which organization to go to if you cannot agree (the BCUC for electricity and gas, OBSI for banks, Consumer Protection BC for collection agencies), see Guide No. 49.

→ No. 49 · Checking and disputing your bills

13. Checklist before you act

• After you open an account or change your plan, check the first bill line by line for fees such as Activation, Connection or Setup.
• If you signed a contract with your own phone, there should be no cancellation fee when you leave early; if you got a subsidized phone, ask how much of the cancellation fee is left.
• If you are paying off your phone in instalments, ask how much is still unpaid; if you rent your phone, ask about the return conditions and the final payment.
• Switching providers: ask the new provider to transfer your number, and do not cancel your old number first; make sure your phone is unlocked first.
• Home Internet: look for "Early Cancellation Fee" in your contract; return the equipment on time and keep the receipt.
• Before you buy Internet, add up the two-year total, and ask about the price after the promotion ends and the equipment rental.
• From March 10, 2027, if you sign up for home Internet with a company on the list in section 1 (or one of its brands): look for the typical speed and latency range in the quote and the contract, and check that the regular price after the promotion is shown clearly.
• Before you travel, look at your roaming options, and remember that the $100 cap only covers data.
• If there is a dispute, contact your provider first and get a ticket number; if you cannot agree, go to the CCTS, which is free.

Related guides

• → No. 2 · First 90 days
  Just arrived in Canada? Set up your phone number, bank account and documents in your first week in the order this guide gives.
• → No. 3 · Housing
  Moving to a new home? This guide covers renting, housing assistance and the costs to work out when buying.
• → No. 15 · Saving tax & investing
  Which account to put your savings in, such as a TFSA or RRSP.
• → No. 7 · Phone directory
  How to prepare before you call government and agency lines, and what to do if you cannot get through. The CCTS and CRTC numbers are in that guide too.
• → No. 45 · Online shopping problems and returns
  When something you bought online does not arrive, is wrong or broken, or you want to return it: B.C.'s 30-day right to cancel, refund deadlines and credit card chargebacks.
• → No. 48 · Changing your address after a move
  Changing your address everywhere when you move: asking whether your internet and phone service can move to the new address and how to return old equipment, plus electricity, gas, water, mail forwarding and a checklist.
• → No. 49 · Checking and disputing your bills
  Electricity, gas and water bills, automatic bank withdrawals, credit cards, medical bills, parking tickets and debt collection: how to check a bill that seems wrong and who to go to with a dispute.
• → No. 54 · Right to repair
  If your phone breaks and you want an outside shop to fix it: the federal "right to repair" (Bill C-244) allows getting around a software "digital lock" for repairs, which is not the same as carrier unlocking; and what to do when a manufacturer will not supply parts or your warranty may be affected.
• → No. 62 · Starlink: signing up and whether it is worth it
  Signing up for Starlink satellite Internet, what it costs and whether it is worth getting: plans and equipment costs, when billing starts, and how to pause, cancel or return the equipment within 30 days; Starlink is not one of the nine companies under the Internet Code, but you can take a dispute to the CCTS.

Main official links in this guide

These are the official pages used most in this guide. The CCTS pages, the Government of Canada news releases and the Province of B.C. page were all opened and checked on November 3, 2026. The CRTC website blocks automated access: for most of the CRTC documents we read copies saved by the Internet Archive; we read the full text of decision 2026-238 by opening it in a browser, and we could not read the original text of proceeding 2026-155. Other links are at the end of each section.