Getting a SIM Card and Mobile Phone Plan in Canada: What to Expect

One of the first things you’ll want to sort on arrival in Canada is your mobile phone. Getting connected quickly matters - you need it for navigation, communication, banking, and pretty much everything else involved in settling in.

Your first 24-48 hours

1. 1

   Keep your Australian SIM for the first few hours

   When you land, your Australian SIM will work on international roaming — fine for a quick message, but roaming charges add up fast, so treat it as a stopgap only.

2. 2

   Grab a prepaid SIM at the airport or a nearby store

   Every major airport has carrier stores or kiosks — Telus, Rogers, Bell and Freedom Mobile are the main ones. Airport pricing can be a little higher, so any convenience store, London Drugs, Walmart or carrier shop is a good alternative.

3. 3

   Use prepaid as a bridge while you settle

   For the first week or two — while you sort out your address and decide on a postpaid plan — a prepaid SIM is the easiest way to stay connected.

Prepaid options

Prepaid plans in Canada are less feature-rich than postpaid but perfectly workable as a bridge.

Koodo Prepaid. Koodo (owned by Telus) has decent prepaid options starting around CAD $45/month for a basic plan with a few GB of data.