Getting a Canadian SIM Card (Mobile Phone Number)
You have set foot in Canada as a new student/worker, and now you are thinking about getting a SIM Card. What if I tell you, you can pre-order your SIM card/eSIM before getting to Canada?
[NOTE: This is not a sponsored post, this is just based on my personal experience and the current plans available (as of May 2024). Read until the end for some special thing from me]
If you are a newcomer to Canada, getting a SIM card is very very important. Here’s why.
You need a Canadian mobile number to:
- Get a Social Insurance Number (SIN) in Canada
- Get a bank account in Canada
- Text friends/colleagues in Canada
- Sign up for services in Canada
- Sign up for store/restaurant memberships in Canada
- Bonus: Do you know you can also build your credit score with a Canadian postpaid plan?
To start off, there are three major mobile telecommunications network in Canada, known as the Big 3:
1. Rogers
2. Bell
3. Telus
There are other brands as well, but they are owned by the Big 3:
Plus Freedom Mobile, where it is not owned by the Big 3. Basically, it is “freedom” from the Big 3. We need more competition to get competitive prices for phone plans.
Basically, it is like Maxis, CelcomDigi, UMobile, etc. in Malaysia, and it is like Singtel, Starhub, M1, etc. in Singapore.
Here are the available postpaid plans, if you are a student in Canada:
All monthly prices listed below are excluding tax, and activation fee (if there is one)
- Rogers (Student Plan)
Price: CA$50/month. Unlimited Canadian-wide calls and text messages, with 100GB of internet, and speeds up to 250MB/s (megabyte per second), data is non-sharable.
Non-sharable means you cannot share your mobile internet with other user, basically there is no sharing group. You can still use hotspot on other devices (for sharable as well).
If you have 50 GB of internet, you have it all to yourself. If others turn on their mobile data, they have to use their own mobile data. Meanwhile, sharable means the opposite.
If you have a pool of data (200GB), you and your groupmate(s) can use that data under your plan. Basically, if you use 20GB, and your friend use 80GB, you will have 100GB left (under mobile data).
Link: https://www.rogers.com/mobility/students?icid=R_WIR_DIA_838223
2. Bell (No student plan)
Unfortunately, there is no student plan. Here are their postpaid plans: https://www.bell.ca/Mobility/Cell_phone_plans/Unlimited-plans
Starting price: CA$60/month. Unlimited Canadian-wide calls and text messages, with 75GB of internet, and speeds up to 250MB/s (megabyte per second), data is non-sharable.
However, if you look at their Essential plan (starting price: CA$80/month), you will get unlimited Canadian-wide calls and international texting, and at least 200GB of sharable internet.
3. Telus (No student plan)
Unfortunately, there is no student plan (Same like Bell). Here are their postpaid plans: https://www.telus.com/en/mobility/plans
Starting price: CA$60/month. Unlimited Canadian-wide calls and text messages, with 75GB of internet, and speeds up to 250MB/s (megabyte per second), data is non-sharable.
However, if you look at their Premium plan (starting price: CA$80/month), you will get unlimited Canadian-wide calls and international texting, and at least 200GB of sharable internet.
All these plans sound expensive, right? There are cheaper options as well below.
4. Freedom Mobile (BONUS), no student plan but pricing is a steal for 50GB of internet
One of the best deals with wide coverage in Canada. Freedom Mobile is still expanding. Their physical store is only at a certain provinces in Canada, which is British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario (as of May 2024). I hope they can expand to all provinces and territories in Canada.
Plan starts at CA$34/month (after digital discount is applied with Bring Your Own Device). https://shop.freedommobile.ca/en-CA/plans
Unlimited Canadian-U.S wide calls and Canadian wide text messages, with 50GB of internet, and fastest available data speed.
5. Other carriers
There are others such as Fido, Koodo, Virginplus for under CA$50/month. Here are some examples:
Fido: 20GB for CA$39 per month, 50GB for CA$49 per month, 4G speed (LINK)
Koodo: 20GB for CA$39 per month, 50GB for CA$44 per month, 4G speed (LINK)
Virginplus: 20GB for CA$39 per month, 50GB for CA$44 per month, 4G speed (LINK)
Personally, I will recommend getting at least 20GB of internet for a better deal. You can get it at a cheaper rate.
MORE BONUS (applicable to newcomers to Canada only):
I sign up for Rogers under the CanadianSIM website link and I got the best pricing ever after comparison. Newcomers-friendly. Plus, there is no activation fee and no contract. What a steal, right?
(Not a sponsored post, but a real experience of mine)
At first, I thought that this is literally impossible and not true but I decided to give a second thought about it by going through the website, see the photos of CanadianSIM booth, check whether the company is legitimate, check the opinions. Finally, I trusted my intuition and order an eSIM with them. The plan starts from CA$35 + tax per month.
You may choose your type: PR, Work permit, Study permit, travel or others. when filling in your application and the customer service will get back to you. Then, there is a link for you to submit the documents such as your passport, PR card, etc.
Lo and behold, I got my QR code for my eSIM a day I am scheduled to arrive in Canada and I activated it when I reached Vancouver International Airport. My phone display the word “ROGERS” as the telecommunication network. From there, I started to connect to mobile data and it works like how other ROGERS user will do.
And the good part?
The activation fee is waived. Typically it will cost about CA$60.
Lastly, how much is the tax? You may be wondering? Depending on which province you are in, you can expect to pay up to 15% tax. Shocking right?
If your plan is CA$40/month, like mine. It will be:
Mobile plan: CA$40
911 fee: CA$x.xx (you might get it or not depending on your province)
Total Tax Rate : x.xx% of (CA$40 + 911 fee)
Final total: (CA$40 + 911 fee + Total tax (x.xx% * (Mobile plan + 911 fee, if applicable)
Example, you live in Saskatchewan (like me):
Mobile plan: CA$40
911 fee: CA$1.88 (Link)
Total Tax Rate : 11% of (CA$40 + CA$1.88) = CA$4.61
Final total: CA$40 + CA$1.88 + CA$4.61 = CA$46.49
You will be paying CA$46.49 overall per month for your phone plan if you stay in Saskatchewan.
Let me show you the Rogers App interface:
Verdict
I really recommend CanadianSIM if you are looking for phone plans below CA$50 a month. To summarize the reasons:
1. Applicable for newcomers
2. Good pricing for postpaid starting at CA$35/month, excluding tax
3. No contract
4. Good deal of mobile internet starting from 75GB/month
5. Unlimited Canadian wide calling
6. Unlimited Canada and International text messaging
7. 1000 minutes of international calls to selected countries: India, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, UK & Mexico (I hope that it can expanded to other countries as well)
8. Honestly speaking, I can’t find other deals better than signing up for Fido/Rogers through CanadianSIM
Lastly, if you use your mobile plan for long, you may even get more data for the same pricing in the future. Do let me know in the comments your current mobile plans, so that there is an insight on how is it like.
Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for the next article next week. I will posting an article every week. Don’t miss out!
