The landline switch-off in Canada
Switching off. There is no national switch-off date or CRTC programme. Telephone companies are retiring copper neighbourhood by neighbourhood and moving home phone customers to fibre. Source
What changes
- TELUS said (8 February 2024) it had migrated 98% of eligible customers off copper by end of 2023, with 14 areas in BC and Alberta fully copper-free; no completion date given. Source
- Bell mailed customers in Toronto's Swansea neighbourhood that home phone service shuts down on 4 November 2026 unless they move to fibre (news, September 2026). News report
Who and what is at risk
- Fibre home phones need a powered modem, so they go dark in a blackout without a battery pack; Bell's costs $299.99 for up to nine hours (news). News report
- Connect America (Lifeline Canada's parent) says nearly 40% of its Canadian medical-alert customers use devices that plug into a copper landline jack, and it has had no coordinated copper-shutdown notices from telcos (news). News report
Help and protections
- None confirmed. A CRTC commissioner has written that copper decommissioning "has gone ahead without active regulatory oversight" (as quoted in news). News report
A home phone that doesn't need the line
Or carry a plain mobile: other simple phones, each checked against your network.