Calling other countries from Canada: the carrier, app-to-app, internet-to-a-real-number, Wi-Fi calling, and calling-card routes, the checks to run on your own figures, and what each route cannot do.
Applies in: across Canada
Calling another country from Canada is not one purchase. It is a choice between routes that reach different kinds of numbers, on different terms, with different limits on emergency calls. This guide covers calls made from Canada to other countries. It was checked November 4, 2026, against the Rogers, Bell, CRTC, WhatsApp, Microsoft, and Quebec consumer protection pages in Sources. It ranks nothing, recommends no carrier, service, or card, and states a check instead of a figure where a verified page is silent. Roaming while abroad is out of scope: this guide does not cover calls made while you are outside Canada, and it states no roaming rate.
Start by naming the kind of call you need to make, before you compare any price. The routes in this guide do not all reach the same numbers.
The first split is app-to-app versus dialling a real number. An app-to-app route calls a contact through an internet connection. WhatsApp Web lets you call your contacts for free even in another country, calling uses your internet connection, and an active internet connection is required, according to WhatsApp, About WhatsApp Web calling. The page describes calls to contacts. Do not assume that route reaches a landline, an emergency number, or someone who is not a contact. A route that dials a real number is a different route, covered in sections 2, 4, 5, and 6.
The second split is landline versus mobile at the other end. Ask which kind of number you are calling, because a route that works for one kind of number may not be the route for the other. Confirm, for the route you choose, that it dials the kind of number you need, in the country you need, before you rely on it. This guide states no finding that every route reaches every kind of number in every country.
The third split is where the call is made from. This guide covers calls made from Canada. A long-distance charge is the premium on calls travelling extended distances, and an outgoing long-distance charge applies when dialling outside the outgoing local calling area, determined by physical location, according to Rogers, Long Distance Charges - What You Need to Know. Physical location, not the wireless number, determines the outgoing area, on the same page. Calls made while abroad are a separate question, with separate terms, and they are out of scope here.
The carrier route is the route that uses your own mobile or home phone service, with or without a long-distance add-on. It dials a real number through your provider.
Long distance has an outgoing side and an incoming side. An outgoing long-distance charge applies when dialling outside the outgoing local calling area, determined by physical location, with the wireless number irrelevant, according to Rogers, Long Distance Charges - What You Need to Know. Incoming calls are long distance when received outside the incoming local calling area, which is the area associated with the wireless number, on the same page. Check your own account for the local calling areas that apply to your number and your physical location, because the areas, not the country code alone, decide the charge.
Add-ons take different shapes. Check which shape is in front of you, in your own account, before you buy: an allowance of minutes for specified destinations, a discounted per-minute charge, or an unlimited-minutes arrangement for specified destinations. Two verified examples show the shapes, not a ranking. The Bell International long distance saver offers the lowest long distance rates to over 200 countries, starting at $0.05/min, is valid only when calls are made from Canada, and airtime charges apply, according to Bell Canada, Enhance Your Mobile Experience. That $0.05/min figure is Bell's stated starting rate for that named add-on only. It is not a standard per-minute rate, and this guide states no standard per-minute rate. A separate Unlimited Canada to U.S. minutes add-on exists, with no price stated on the page checked, on the same page. Do not carry the saver starting rate, or the unlimited-to-U.S. shape, across to another carrier, another add-on, or another destination.
Run these checks in your own account, and in your carrier's rate finder where one is provided, before you commit:
Where any check is unconfirmed, the cost stays unconfirmed until it is answered in your own account or rate finder. This guide states no add-on monthly price for any carrier.
The app-to-app route calls a contact through an internet connection, without dialling a real phone number. It is the narrowest route in this guide, and its limits are part of its description.
WhatsApp Web lets you call your contacts for free even in another country, calling uses your internet connection, and an active internet connection is required, according to WhatsApp, About WhatsApp Web calling. Three limits follow from that wording. First, the route is for contacts. Do not assume it reaches a landline, an emergency number, or someone who is not a contact. Second, calling uses your internet connection, so the connection is the route: if the connection drops, the call drops, and if you are not on Wi-Fi, the connection runs on your own mobile data arrangement. Check your own data arrangement before relying on the route away from Wi-Fi. This guide states no data-per-minute figure. Third, the page checked describes WhatsApp Web calling. Do not assume another app-to-app service has the same terms, the same contact limits, or the same connection requirements, without checking that service's own page.
Test the route with the actual contact, on the actual connection you will use, before you rely on it for an important call. Test call quality, and test what happens when the connection changes. Section 7 covers the emergency-call and verification-code limits that apply to internet routes.
This route connects an internet call to a real phone number. This guide describes the category only. It names no third-party service in this category, and it states no service rate for any service in this category.
The category matters because Skype has retired. As of May 5, 2025, Skype is retired, and new purchases of Skype subscriptions, Numbers and Credit are no longer available, according to Microsoft Support, Skype is retiring in May 2025: What you need to know. What survives is narrow, and only for remaining paid users: the Skype Dial Pad is available to remaining paid users from the Skype web portal and within Teams Free, and Microsoft Teams does not support paid calling plans on the free version, on the same page. All Skype Number subscriptions ended in May 2026 and port-out requests are no longer available, on the same page.
Do not assume a retired service can be bought new, and do not assume any other service in this category has the same Dial Pad, number, or porting position. If you were a remaining paid user, check the current position in your own account. If you were not, check the current service's own page for whether it dials real numbers, which destinations and kinds of numbers it covers, what it charges, and how its emergency-call handling works, before you rely on it. This guide states no rate, no monthly price, and no destination list for any service in this category.
Wi-Fi calling lets you make and receive calls with your own number over a Wi-Fi connection, through your provider. Its limits are about staying on Wi-Fi, call quality, and emergency calls, and they must be checked before you rely on it for calls to other countries.
A Wi-Fi call disconnects when leaving Wi-Fi coverage and must be re-dialled, according to Bell Canada, I have questions about using Wi-Fi Calling. Do not assume a call started on Wi-Fi follows you onto the mobile network. Plan for the re-dial, and test what happens on the route you actually walk or drive.
Call quality cannot be assured, and it depends on the Wi-Fi and internet connection, according to Bell Canada, I have questions about using Wi-Fi Calling. Test quality on the Wi-Fi connections you will actually use, at the times you will actually call, before you rely on the route for an important call.
Emergency-call behaviour is the limit that matters most. Wi-Fi 9-1-1 calls must default to a cellular network where available and be treated as wireless E9-1-1, and otherwise be treated as nomadic VoIP, according to Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, Telecom Decision CRTC 2018-4. On the carrier page checked, emergency calls default to the mobile network when accessible, and otherwise go to a call centre that asks for your location and forwards the call to 9-1-1, falling back to the address in device settings, according to Bell Canada, I have questions about using Wi-Fi Calling. Keep the address in device settings updated, on the same page. For nomadic VoIP, providers must route 9-1-1 to a third-party operator who verbally determines the caller's location, falling back to the registered address, and providers must notify customers of the limitations and obtain acknowledgement, according to Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, Telecom Decision CRTC 2018-4.
Some services are not accessible over Wi-Fi at all on the page checked. T911 and 2-1-1, 3-1-1, 5-1-1, 7-1-1, and 8-1-1 calls, and 0+ and hash or star calls, are not accessible over Wi-Fi, according to Bell Canada, I have questions about using Wi-Fi Calling. Text with 9-1-1 and Wi-Fi calling are not compatible and must not be provisioned together, according to Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, Telecom Decision CRTC 2018-4. If you rely on Text with 9-1-1, check the provisioning position with your provider before you enable Wi-Fi calling, and do not assume both work together.
Check, in your own account, whether Wi-Fi calling is available on your plan and device, what it charges for calls to the destinations you need, and whether the long-distance and add-on terms in section 2 apply to Wi-Fi calls in the same way. This guide states no Wi-Fi calling charge and no destination list.
A calling card is a prepaid card used to place long-distance calls, usually by dialling an access number first and then the destination number. Its cost depends on the card's own terms, and those terms must be confirmed in writing before you buy, because the card, not this guide, sets them.
In Quebec, long distance calling cards cannot have expiry dates, according to Office de la protection du consommateur, Cellular Phone Services. State the jurisdiction when you rely on that rule: it is the Quebec rule on the Quebec page checked. Outside Quebec, confirm the expiry terms in writing before you buy.
Do not confuse a long-distance calling card with a prepaid cellular card. They are different products on the same Quebec page, with different terms. Prepaid cellular cards have no activation fees, minutes normally expire in 30 to 90 days, and unused minutes are lost with no refund required, according to Office de la protection du consommateur, Cellular Phone Services. The 30 to 90 day figure is the page's normal range for prepaid cellular cards. It is not a rule for long-distance calling cards, and it must not be carried across to them.
Before you buy or use a calling card, confirm each of the following as a check, in writing, with no figure assumed where the card terms are silent:
Where any check is unconfirmed, the cost of the call stays unconfirmed. This guide states no card price, no per-minute card rate, and no rounding figure, because rounding and expiry are checks, not figures stated here.
Every route in this guide breaks somewhere. Check the break that applies to your route before you rely on it.
Emergency calls break differently on internet routes than on a carrier call. Nomadic VoIP providers must route 9-1-1 to a third-party operator who verbally determines the caller's location, falling back to the registered address, and must notify customers of the limitations and obtain acknowledgement, according to Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, Telecom Decision CRTC 2018-4. Wi-Fi 9-1-1 calls must default to a cellular network where available, and otherwise be treated as nomadic VoIP, on the same page. On the carrier page checked, emergency calls over Wi-Fi default to the mobile network when accessible, and otherwise go to a call centre that asks for location and forwards the call to 9-1-1, falling back to the address in device settings, which must be kept updated, according to Bell Canada, I have questions about using Wi-Fi Calling. App-to-app calling, as described in section 3, is for contacts, according to WhatsApp, About WhatsApp Web calling. Do not assume any internet route reaches 9-1-1 in the same way as a carrier call. Test the emergency behaviour, and keep the registered or device-settings address updated, before you rely on the route.
Verification texts are a test-before-relying check, not a finding. This guide states no finding that verification texts fail on any route. Before you rely on a route for an account that needs verification codes, send a test code through that route, to that number, and confirm it arrives and works. If the test code does not arrive, do not rely on that route for that account. Keep a route that you have tested for codes, separate from the route you use for ordinary calls, until the test passes.
Call quality breaks on connection. For Wi-Fi calling, call quality cannot be assured and depends on the Wi-Fi and internet connection, according to Bell Canada, I have questions about using Wi-Fi Calling. For app-to-app calling, calling uses your internet connection and an active internet connection is required, according to WhatsApp, About WhatsApp Web calling. Test quality on the connection you will actually use, and test what happens when the connection drops or changes, including the Wi-Fi disconnect and re-dial in section 5. For the carrier route, check the long-distance and add-on terms in section 2, because quality and cost are separate checks.
Do not compare routes on figures from this guide, because this guide states no route price. Compare them on figures from your own account, your own add-on terms, your own card terms, and your own data arrangement. Fill in one row per route you are actually considering, using only figures you have read in writing. Leave a cell blank where the figure is unconfirmed, and do not fill it with a figure from another route, another carrier, or another country.
| Route | Your monthly or add-on cost | Included minutes | Your per-minute charge | Destinations and kinds of numbers covered | Airtime or data treatment | Balance or expiry terms | 9-1-1 behaviour checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carrier route, with or without an add-on | Your figure | Your figure | Your figure | Your list | Your terms | Your terms | Yes or no |
| App-to-app route | Your figure | Not applicable: check the contact limit | Not applicable: check the connection terms | Contacts only: check the page | Your data arrangement | Not applicable: check the service terms | Yes or no |
| Internet-to-a-real-number route | Your figure | Your figure | Your figure | Your list | Your terms | Your terms | Yes or no |
| Wi-Fi calling with your own number | Your figure | Your figure | Your figure | Your list | Your terms | Your terms | Yes or no |
| Calling card | Your figure | Your figure | Your figure | Your list | Your terms | Your balance and expiry terms | Yes or no |
After you fill in the worksheet, check the three breaks in section 7 against the route you would choose: the 9-1-1 behaviour, the verification-code test, and call quality on the connection you will use. A route that is usable on price and unusable on any of those three breaks is not the route to rely on. Recheck the worksheet whenever an add-on, card, or service term changes, because the figures in your own account govern, not the figures in this guide.
Try to resolve the issue with your provider first, in writing, citing the contract term, add-on term, or card term involved. If that fails, complain to the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services, the independent body that administers the Codes and helps resolve complaints between providers and customers. Keep the contract summary, the add-on or card terms, the bills, and the provider's written answers together: a complaint with documents moves faster than a complaint from memory. Providers must inform customers that the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services can help resolve issues.
This guide states no add-on monthly prices, no standard per-minute rates, no VoIP service rates, no data-per-minute figure, and no home-phone plan prices. The one per-minute figure in section 2 is Bell's stated starting rate for the named International long distance saver add-on only, according to Bell Canada, Enhance Your Mobile Experience. It is not a standard per-minute rate, and no standard per-minute rate is stated for any carrier. It states no figures for other carriers, no card prices, no card per-minute rates, and no rounding figures, because rounding and expiry for calling cards are checks in section 6, not figures stated here. It states no roaming rates, because roaming is out of scope. Recheck the pages in Sources, and your own account, before you buy an add-on, a service, or a card.
A long-distance charge is the premium on calls travelling extended distances, and an outgoing long-distance charge applies when dialling outside the outgoing local calling area, determined by physical location, with the wireless number irrelevant, according to [Rogers, Long Distance Charges - What You Need to Know](https://www.rogers.com/support/mobility/long-distance-charges). An incoming call is long distance when it is received outside the incoming local calling area, which is the area associated with the wireless number, on the same page. Check your own account for the local calling areas that apply to you, because this guide states no rate for any long-distance call.
Do not assume so. The Bell International long distance saver is valid only when calls are made from Canada, and airtime charges apply, according to [Bell Canada, Enhance Your Mobile Experience](https://www.bell.ca/Mobility/Features/Talk_time_long_distance.tab). Calls made while abroad are roaming, and roaming is out of scope for this guide, so check the terms that apply outside Canada separately, in your own account, before you travel. This guide states no roaming rate and no add-on monthly price.
The page checked describes calling contacts only, so do not assume it reaches a landline, an emergency number, or someone who is not a contact. WhatsApp Web lets you call your contacts for free even in another country, calling uses your internet connection, and an active internet connection is required, according to [WhatsApp, About WhatsApp Web calling](https://faq.whatsapp.com/2092488194268012/?cms=1). If the person you need to reach is not a contact, or the number is a landline or an emergency number, use a route that dials a real number, and test the 9-1-1 behaviour in section 7 before relying on any internet route for an emergency.
Wi-Fi 9-1-1 calls must default to a cellular network where available and be treated as wireless E9-1-1, and otherwise be treated as nomadic VoIP, according to [Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, Telecom Decision CRTC 2018-4](http://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2018/2018-4.htm). On the carrier page checked, emergency calls default to the mobile network when accessible, and otherwise go to a call centre that asks for your location and forwards the call to 9-1-1, falling back to the address in device settings, which must be kept updated, according to [Bell Canada, I have questions about using Wi-Fi Calling](https://support.bell.ca/mobility/rate_plans_features/i-have-questions-about-using-wi-fi-calling?step=5). Nomadic VoIP providers must route 9-1-1 to a third-party operator who verbally determines the caller's location, falling back to the registered address, on the CRTC page. Keep the address in device settings updated, and test the route before relying on it.
As of May 5, 2025, Skype is retired, and new purchases of Skype subscriptions, Numbers and Credit are no longer available, according to [Microsoft Support, Skype is retiring in May 2025: What you need to know](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/skype/skype-is-retiring-in-may-2025-what-you-need-to-know). The Skype Dial Pad is available to remaining paid users from the Skype web portal and within Teams Free, and Microsoft Teams does not support paid calling plans on the free version, on the same page. All Skype Number subscriptions ended in May 2026 and port-out requests are no longer available, on the same page. Do not assume a retired service can be bought new, and check the current position in your own account if you were a remaining paid user.
In Quebec, long distance calling cards cannot have expiry dates, according to [Office de la protection du consommateur, Cellular Phone Services](https://www.opc.gouv.qc.ca/en/consumer/good-service/telephone-television-internet/cellular/prepaid-card). That rule is for long distance calling cards in Quebec, and it is not the rule for prepaid cellular cards on the same page: prepaid cellular cards have no activation fees, minutes normally expire in 30 to 90 days, and unused minutes are lost with no refund required, on the same page. Do not carry the 30 to 90 day cellular range across to a long distance calling card, and outside Quebec, confirm the expiry terms in writing before you buy.