Using the Telephone

Nearly all homes in Canada have telephones, from which local, long distance and international calls can be made. To make an international call from a residential land line, dial “1”, then the code for the country, then the city’s area code, then the telephone number. When making an international call with a phone card, simply dial the “800” number that gives you the operator, and follow the instructions from that point on.

Pay phones are easy to find and are operated with either coins or phone cards. Canadian currency includes a $1 coin which is useful when using the phone. When buying phone cards, there are separate cards for local and long distance calling. It is less expensive to use a coin to make a local call, since in some cases, for one coin a customer can talk indefinitely, whereas a card will be charged according to the time.

Cell phones are somewhat less popular in Canada than in many other countries.