To call the USA from Canada, dial 1, then the three-digit area code, then the seven-digit number: 1 212 555 0123. There is no exit code, because Canada and the US share the same country code (+1). On a mobile you can also dial +1 212 555 0123, which works the same way and keeps working if you take the phone across the border.

So dialing is easy. The part people get wrong is the bill. A call to the US is a long-distance call, not a local one, and on plenty of Canadian plans it is still charged by the minute. This guide covers which plans include the US, what the add-ons cost, the area codes that look American but are not, and the time zones that line up almost, but not quite.

Long distance, not international: what that means

Canada, the US and a group of Caribbean countries share one numbering system, the North American Numbering Plan. Every number in it has the same shape: a three-digit area code and a seven-digit number. Because of that, a call from Toronto to Chicago is dialed exactly like a call from Toronto to Vancouver: 1, then the 10 digits.

011 is only for calls outside North America. Dialing 011 1 and a US number is a common mistake that comes from old advice and from people who assume every cross-border call is "international". From a Canadian phone, just dial 1.

The catch is that your carrier does not price a call by how you dial it. A call to Vancouver is domestic long distance. A call to Seattle is Canada-to-US long distance, and on many plans that is a separate line on the bill. "Unlimited Canada-wide calling" does not include the US unless the plan says so.

Calling from Canada to	How you dial	How it is usually billed
Another Canadian number	1 + 10 digits (10 digits for local calls)	Included on Canada-wide plans
A US number	1 + 10 digits	US long distance: included only on Canada-US plans or with an add-on
A Caribbean number in the same system (Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and others)	1 + 10 digits	International rates, often high
Anywhere else	011 + country code + number	International rates

Canadian plans and add-ons that cover US calls

Here is what the big carriers publish for calls placed from Canada to US numbers, as of October 2026. Prices are in Canadian dollars, before tax.

Carrier	Without a US option	US option	What it costs
Bell	C$0.75 a minute pay-per-use, Canada to US	Unlimited Canada to U.S. minutes add-on	C$27 a month
Rogers	Per-minute rate shown in Rogers' rate search	Long Distance U.S. add-on, unlimited calling	C$28 a month
Rogers	Same as above	1,000 minutes to a list of countries that includes the US	C$5 a month
Freedom Mobile	Big Gig Data plans have no unlimited talk and add C$0.05 a minute on top of the long-distance rate	Canada-US plans with unlimited talk to Canada and the US	Plans from C$34 a month

Sources: Bell pay-per-use rates, Rogers long-distance add-ons and Freedom Mobile Canada-US plans.

A few details from the fine print are worth knowing:

Bell rounds airtime up to the nearest minute unless your plan says otherwise, so a 61-second call costs two minutes.
Rogers' U.S. add-on excludes Puerto Rico, Mexico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, does not apply while you are roaming, and airtime is charged in addition.
Freedom's Canada-US plans include unlimited talk to Canada and the US from both countries, which makes them a good fit if you split your time.

Other carriers and their budget brands sell their own Canada-US plans and add-ons, and the names change often. The simple check: look for "U.S." in the talk section of your plan, not just in the roaming section. For a full breakdown, see our guides to phone plans with international calls in Canada and Rogers long-distance and international calling.

Area codes that look American but are not

This is the most expensive mistake on this route. Because the Caribbean shares the +1 system, some numbers dial exactly like a US call but are billed as international.

The US Federal Trade Commission's warning about "one-ring" scam calls lists these area codes: 268 (Antigua and Barbuda), 284 (British Virgin Islands), 473 (Grenada), 649 (Turks and Caicos), 664 (Montserrat), 767 (Dominica), 809, 829 and 849 (Dominican Republic) and 876 (Jamaica). A missed call from one of them, followed by you calling back, can cost real money on a Canadian plan.

Two rules keep you safe:

If you do not recognize an area code, look it up before calling back. The US has hundreds of area codes, but a quick search will tell you which country one belongs to.
US territories are a grey zone. Puerto Rico (787 and 939) and the U.S. Virgin Islands (340) are part of the US, yet some Canadian add-ons, like Rogers' U.S. plan, leave them out.

Calling US toll-free numbers from Canada

Dial a US toll-free number like any other: 1 800 555 0199. Many 1-800, 1-888 and 1-877 numbers accept calls from Canada and stay free. Others are set up to take calls from US numbers only, and you hear a message that the number cannot be reached from your area.

When that happens, look on the company's website for a direct (non-toll-free) or international number and call that instead. Our guide to calling US toll-free numbers from abroad lists the usual workarounds, and if a US bank card has been blocked, see how to call your bank from abroad.

Time zones line up, almost

Most Canadian time zones match a US zone exactly, and both countries change their clocks on the same dates (second Sunday in March, first Sunday in November). Three places are the exception.

Canadian city	Matches	Difference from the US
Vancouver, Victoria	Seattle, Los Angeles	Same time all year
Calgary, Edmonton	Denver	Same time all year
Winnipeg	Chicago	Same time all year
Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal	New York	Same time all year
Regina, Saskatoon	Denver in summer, Chicago in winter	Most of Saskatchewan does not change its clocks
Whitehorse	Los Angeles in summer, Denver in winter, Phoenix all year	Yukon stays on UTC-7 all year since 2020
Halifax	1 hour ahead of New York	Atlantic time
St. John's	1 hour 30 minutes ahead of New York	Newfoundland time

Arizona (apart from the Navajo Nation) also skips daylight saving, so Calgary and Phoenix match in winter but are an hour apart in summer.

Visiting Canada with a US phone

If you are an American calling home from Canada, check your plan before you buy anything. Verizon includes unlimited talk, text and data in Canada and Mexico on "all Unlimited and other select plans", and charges US$6 a day for TravelPass in Canada on plans without it (as of October 2026). Verizon also says it may limit the feature if more than half your use over 60 days is in Canada or Mexico, so it suits trips, not a move. T-Mobile and AT&T include Canada on many of their current postpaid plans, but prepaid and budget plans often do not.

On a Canadian SIM, calls to the US follow the Canadian rules above. Prepaid SIMs sold at airports and malls vary widely, so check whether US calling is in the talk section before you pay.

Hotel phones and WiFi

Room phones in Canadian hotels can reach US numbers by dialing the outside-line digit (often 9) and then 1 and the 10 digits. Hotels set their own rates for long distance and some add a fee per call, so ask before you dial. WiFi is standard in Canadian hotels, cafés and libraries, and for most people a call over WiFi is the cheaper route.

What 10 minutes to the US costs

How you call a US number from Canada	Cost of a 10-minute call (as of October 2026)
Bell, no add-on, pay-per-use	C$7.50 plus tax
Bell with the Unlimited Canada to U.S. add-on	Included (C$27 a month)
Rogers with the Long Distance U.S. add-on	Long distance included (C$28 a month), airtime billed as your plan sets
Freedom Mobile Canada-US plan	Included
US phone on a Verizon Unlimited plan	Included
BoraPhone in a browser over WiFi or data	From about US$0.40 (from US$0.04 a minute)

The break-even point is easy to work out. At Bell's C$0.75 a minute, the C$27 add-on pays for itself at 36 minutes a month. If you call the US for longer than that, take the add-on or a Canada-US plan. If you make a couple of short calls a month, paying by the minute is cheaper.

For those occasional calls, BoraPhone runs in Chrome, Safari, Edge or Firefox with no app, no SIM and no subscription. The dialer shows the exact rate for the number before you call, billing is per minute from a US-dollar balance, and your first call is free. The full rates list covers the Caribbean and everywhere else.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to dial 011 to call the US from Canada?

No. Canada and the US share country code 1, so you dial 1, the area code and the number. 011 is only for calling countries outside the North American Numbering Plan, such as the UK or Mexico.

Is calling the US from Canada free?

Only if your plan includes US calling or you have a US add-on. On Bell without an add-on, pay-per-use is C$0.75 a minute as of October 2026. App-to-app calls on WhatsApp or FaceTime over WiFi are free when both people have the app.

Is 011 a country code for Canada?

No. Canada's country code is 1, the same as the US. 011 is the exit code people in Canada and the US dial before calling other countries.

What is the format of Canadian and US phone numbers?

Both use 10 digits: a three-digit area code and a seven-digit number, written like (416) 555-0123. Add 1 in front for long-distance calls, or +1 from a mobile or from abroad. Neither country uses a leading 0.

Why is my call to the US charged as long distance?

Because it leaves Canada. Canadian carriers price calls by destination, and many "Canada-wide" plans cover only Canadian numbers. Look for a Canada-US plan or a US long-distance add-on if you call the US often.

How to Call the USA from Canada: Dial 1, Not 011