To call Mexico from Canada, dial 011, then 52, then the 10-digit Mexican number. On a cell phone you can use + instead of 011, so a Mexico City number becomes +52 55 1234 5678 and a Cancún number becomes +52 998 123 4567, whether it is a landline or a cell phone.

There is no extra "1" for Mexican cell phones any more, and the old 044, 045 and 01 prefixes are gone. If you learned to call Mexico before 2019, that change is the reason your saved numbers may have stopped working. It is explained below, followed by what Canadian carriers charge, how snowbirds handle calls in both directions, and which Mexican time zone you are calling into.

The dialing pattern at a glance

You are calling from	Dial	Example
A Canadian cell phone	+ 52 + 10-digit number	+52 33 1234 5678 (Guadalajara)
A Canadian landline	011 52 + 10-digit number	011 52 81 1234 5678 (Monterrey)
A browser or app	+52 + 10-digit number	+52 664 123 4567 (Tijuana)

Every Mexican number is 10 digits. Big cities have a 2-digit area code followed by 8 digits: 55 for Mexico City, 33 for Guadalajara and 81 for Monterrey. Most other places have a 3-digit area code followed by 7 digits, such as 998 for Cancún, 664 for Tijuana and 222 for Puebla. You dial the full 10 digits either way.

The US FCC's international calling tip sheet, which covers calls from the US and Canada, says the same: when you call a Mexican mobile from the US or Canada, you no longer add a 1 after the 52 country code.

What changed in Mexico's phone numbers in 2019

On 3 August 2019 Mexico switched to 10-digit dialing for every phone number in the country. According to the announcement from Mexico's telecom regulator, the IFT (in Spanish), the change removed three prefixes:

044 and 045, which people used to dial before Mexican cell phone numbers
01, the domestic long-distance prefix dialed before a city code
the 01 in front of 01 800 toll-free numbers, which are now dialed as 800 plus 7 digits inside Mexico

The IFT gave older equipment such as payphones and office switchboards a transition period of about a year, so the old formats have long since stopped working.

What this means when you call from Canada:

If your contact list shows	Change it to
044 55 1234 5678	+52 55 1234 5678
045 998 123 4567	+52 998 123 4567
01 33 1234 5678	+52 33 1234 5678
+52 1 55 1234 5678	+52 55 1234 5678

The last row matters most. The "1" after 52 used to mark a Mexican cell phone for international callers. It is no longer part of the number, and calls dialed with it can fail. If a relative's number has been in your phone for years, check it.

What Canadian carriers charge to call Mexico

Several Canadian carriers now sell plans that treat Mexico almost like home. Others bill calls to Mexico as international long distance by the minute. Here is what we could confirm on carriers' own pages as of October 2026:

Rogers: the Canada+US+Mexico plan FAQ says these plans include unlimited calling and texting to and from numbers in Canada, the US and Mexico, while you are in any of the three countries. It is chosen line by line, and lines without it pay long distance and roaming charges for Mexican numbers.
Freedom Mobile: its Roam Beyond plans list "unlimited calls to the U.S./Mexico from Canada" among their inclusions.
Bell, Telus, Fido, Koodo, Public Mobile, chatr and others: check whether your plan includes Mexico or whether you need an international add-on. Per-minute long-distance rates differ by plan and are usually listed in your online account. On some plans, international calling has to be switched on in your account or added as an option first, which is a common reason a call to Mexico simply does not connect.

A 10-minute call to Mexico, side by side

Option	Cost for 10 minutes
Rogers Canada+US+Mexico plan, or Freedom with Roam Beyond	Included in the monthly plan price
Plan with no Mexico calling and no add-on	Your carrier's pay-per-use long-distance rate; check your account before calling
BoraPhone browser call to a Mexican landline (US$0.04 a minute)	US$0.40
BoraPhone browser call to a Mexican cell phone (US$0.11 a minute)	US$1.10

BoraPhone prices are at the time of writing (October 2026) and are charged in US dollars; the Mexico rate page shows the live rate.

If your plan already covers Mexico, use it. If it does not, adding a carrier plan just for a few calls a month rarely pays off.

Snowbirds: calling a Mexican rental, and calling Canada from Mexico

Many Canada to Mexico calls come from people who winter in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán, Los Cabos, the Yucatán or the Lake Chapala area. Their calls run in both directions, and each direction has a different best option.

Before you leave: calling the condo, the landlord or the property manager

Rental offices, condo front desks and many property managers still list a Mexican landline. Dial it from Canada as +52 plus the 10 digits on the listing. Mexican landlines are among the cheapest numbers to reach from Canada, because the per-minute rate to a landline is usually well below the rate to a Mexican cell phone. If the listing still shows an old 01 prefix, drop the 01 and keep the 10 digits that follow.

While you are in Mexico: calling home to Canada

Once you are in Mexico, your Canadian phone is roaming. Your options:

A carrier travel option. As of October 2026, Rogers lists a US, Mexico and Caribbean travel pass at C$50 for 3 days, C$100 for 7 days, C$140 for 10 days and C$190 for 14 days. For a stay of several months, compare that with the Canada+US+Mexico plan above, which covers calls while you are in Mexico.
A Mexican SIM. Many long-stay snowbirds buy a local prepaid SIM in Mexico for local calls and data. Calls from a Mexican SIM back to Canada are international calls from Mexico, so check the plan's terms for Canada.
Wifi calling on your Canadian number. Many Canadian carriers support wifi calling. Ask yours how calls to Canadian numbers are billed when you are abroad, since policies differ.
A browser call over wifi. BoraPhone works in Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox on any connection, so from a condo in Mazatlán you can ring your bank, pharmacy or a Canadian landline from a laptop or phone, with no app and no SIM. Calls to Canada start from US$0.04 a minute, the dialer shows the exact rate before you call, billing is per minute rounded up, and your first call is free.

What time is it in Mexico right now?

Mexico dropped daylight saving time in October 2022. Most of the country now stays on the same clock all year, while Canada still changes its clocks in March and November. That means the time gap to Mexico shifts twice a year from the Canadian side.

The exception is Baja California (Tijuana, Mexicali, Ensenada) and a few towns on the US border, which still change their clocks with the US.

Mexican zone (main places)	Clock all year	From Toronto, Nov to Mar	From Toronto, Mar to Nov	From Calgary, Nov to Mar	From Calgary, Mar to Nov	From Vancouver, Nov to Mar	From Vancouver, Mar to Nov
Central: Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puerto Vallarta, Mérida	UTC-6	1 hour behind	2 hours behind	1 hour ahead	Same time	2 hours ahead	1 hour ahead
Pacific: Los Cabos, La Paz, Mazatlán, Hermosillo	UTC-7	2 hours behind	3 hours behind	Same time	1 hour behind	1 hour ahead	Same time
Northwest: Tijuana, Mexicali, Ensenada	UTC-8, changes with the US	3 hours behind	3 hours behind	1 hour behind	1 hour behind	Same time	Same time
Southeast: Cancún, Playa del Carmen, Tulum	UTC-5	Same time	1 hour behind	2 hours ahead	1 hour ahead	3 hours ahead	2 hours ahead

Two details catch Canadians every winter. Nuevo Vallarta, just north of Puerto Vallarta, sits in the state of Nayarit but follows Central time like Puerto Vallarta, while the rest of Nayarit is on Pacific time. And Cancún matches Toronto in winter, so a call that lands right at dinner in Ontario also lands at dinner on the Riviera Maya.

Mistakes that make calls to Mexico fail

Adding a 1 after 52. Remove it. +52 1 is the old cell phone format.
Dialing 1 before 011. Canadians are used to dialing 1 for long distance within North America. For Mexico it is 011 52, not 1 011 52.
Using 044, 045 or 01. These prefixes were retired in 2019. Mexico's numbers are 10 digits, full stop.
Calling a Mexican 800 number from Canada. Mexican toll-free numbers are set up for callers inside Mexico and often cannot be reached from abroad. Look for a regular 10-digit number on the company's website.
Assuming your plan includes Mexico. A "Canada-wide" plan usually does not cover calls to Mexico. Check for a Mexico or international add-on before a long call.
Using the hotel room phone. Hotels in Canada and Mexico often add their own charges on international calls. Ask for the rate first.

For a broader guide to every way of calling abroad from Canada, see how to make international calls from Canada. If you also call Mexico from the US, our US to Mexico calling guide covers US carriers, and our Mexico calling card guide covers prepaid cards.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to dial 011 to call Mexico from Canada?

From a Canadian landline, yes: 011 is the exit code for international calls from Canada, so you dial 011 52 and then the 10-digit number. From a cell phone you can type + instead of 011. The + tells your phone to use the correct exit code automatically.

Is +1 the same as 011?

No. +1 is the country code for Canada, the US and the rest of the North American Numbering Plan. 011 is the code you dial to leave that region. To call Mexico you dial 011 (or +) and then 52, never 1.

Do I still need to dial 1 after 52 for a Mexican cell phone?

No. Since Mexico's August 2019 numbering change, cell phones and landlines use the same format: +52 and then 10 digits. Adding a 1 after 52 is now a common reason calls fail.

Can I use WhatsApp to call Mexico from Canada?

Yes, if the person you are calling has WhatsApp. App-to-app calls over wifi or data do not use your carrier's long-distance minutes. WhatsApp cannot ring a Mexican landline, so for a home phone, office or rental desk you need a regular phone call or a service that calls real phone numbers.

How do I call a Mexican landline from Canada?

Exactly like a cell phone: 011 52 (or +52) and the 10-digit number, which includes the area code. A Mexico City landline is +52 55 followed by 8 digits. A landline in Cancún is +52 998 followed by 7 digits.

How to Call Mexico from Canada: Dialing, Costs and Time Zones