Calling Canada From The United States: The Basics
Calling Canada is very different from calling just about anywhere else, largely because our systems are so interlinked. In fact, it’s a lot like making a phone call here in the United States. Follow these steps:
- Make sure your carrier lets you call internationally.
- Dial 1 to signal that you’re calling long distance.
- Put in the appropriate area code from the chart provided below.
- Type the seven digit phone number for the Canadian you’re trying to reach.
It really is that simple. Those of us old enough to remember when everyone had landlines can tell you that we had to dial 1 to call anywhere at all outside of our area code. Lived in New Orleans and needing to call Kansas City? We used to have to dial 1, the area code, and the phone number. Today, cell phone technology means we don’t have to do that in the States anymore. However, we still must do so in order to call Canada.
If you’ve done international calls before, you may be accustomed to dialing an exit code to get out of the US system and then having to dial an entry code to get into the system for whatever country you’re calling. You do not do that to dial Canada. It’s a lot like calling in the US.
| Location | Area Code | Location | Area Code |
| British Columbia | 250, 604, 778 | Alberta (Southern) | 403 |
| Edmonton | 780 | Quebec City | 418 |
| New Brunswick | 506 | Thunder Bay | 807 |
| Sherbrooke | 819 | Toronto (Metro) | 416, 647 |
| Toronto (Greater) | 289, 905 | Prince Edward Island | 902 |
| Vancouver | 778 | Manitoba | 204 |
| Nova Scotia | 902 | Ottawa | 613 |
| Newfoundland | 709 | Yukon & NW Territories | 867 |
| Montreal | 514 | Quebec | 450, 819 |
| Alberta (Northern) | 780 | North Bay | 705 |
| London | 519 | Saskatchewan | 306 |
Can You Call A Canadian Cell Phone?
Yes. However, it’s got one more step in it than calling a United States cellphone.
- Dial 1 to say you’re calling out of the US.
- Put in the area code for the cell phone, which the person will have to give you. Cell phones can travel out of their “home” area, so you can’t necessarily use the chart given above.
- Type the seven digit number like always.
Can You Make A Business Call From The US to Canada?
Ok, you know how to call Canada from the US using your personal line. How do you do it for
If you’re working on a business scale, the cheapest way to do it is using business VoIP services. You can turn on international calling for only the country you need to call on a regular basis, and we can even make it only available during business hours you set. International rates using VoIP are generally cheaper than traditional phone systems as well.
Businesses have found out the hard and painful way that they don’t want or need to have international calling set up to the entire world. Most businesses only call one or two countries internationally on a regular basis. Companies also like limiting where and for how long their employees can call. VoIP lets you give access to only those employees who need to call Canada from the US without giving access to everyone. VoIP systems also allow business owners and managers to monitor phone usage.
In addition, calling Canada from the US through our business VoIP systems doesn’t use international rates. So, for our clients, calling Canada is as cheap as calling next door.
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