Categories: Lifestyle

Calling Canada From The Us – Everything You Need To Know

Canada, being the next-door neighbor of the United States, sees a lot of people crossing the border for a whole host of reasons. Whether it be to take in the sights at Niagara Falls or to go skiing, the Great White North has a lot to offer to all those who leave south of the border. You yourself might know hundreds of people who have vacationed there before. Or you might know people who are planning to do so.

In the event that these are your loved ones or old friends who have settled there or even just online buddies, then don’t fret about being out of touch. The world is more connected now than it has ever been, and it is not very complicated to get in touch with anybody in Canada, so long as you have the number.

In this article, we will show you everything you need to do to make that call happen and keep your connections alive. Not every problem can be solved by calling a Canadian toll-free number, and this is one of those. Don’t worry, though. It’s nothing too complicated. So, without further ado, let’s tell you everything you need to know about making a call to Canada from the US.

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What You Should Know

International calling can be finicky, even if it is communication between countries sharing a border. However, if you keep the following information in mind or at hand, you won’t be facing any problems at all:

Whenever you make a call to any country outside the US, you have to use the exit code 011. However, making calls to Canada doesn’t require you to do this since both countries are part of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP). Neat, right?
The next thing you’ll need at hand is the area code of the person you want to call.
And finally, you have to be aware of just how much it costs.

With that out of the way, let’s discuss how you can make your call!

Step-by-Step Guide to Placing Your Call to Canada

It really is nothing too complicated. Follow these steps, and you’ll be chatting away in no time:

Start off by dialing the Canadian country code, which is 1.
Then dial the area code of the person you want to reach.
Finally, dial their number, whether landline or mobile.

The only thing you need to keep at hand here is the area code. You mix up that, and your call might get connected to a whole different person. You’ll have wasted money for nothing and confused the living daylights out of someone. You don’t want either of those to happen.

There are tons of resources available online where you can get the right area code, so find it and write it down. If you can get your hands on a phone book, there’s really nothing better. However you get your hands on the area code, it’s best if you write the whole phone number down so you can refer back to it easily.

For example, say the person you want to call resides in Manitoba. Suppose their cell number is 244-1139. So, to call them, you’d need to dial 1-204-244-1139, with 204 being their area code for Manitoba. What this does is save you time and anxiety when it comes to making calls. You’re more likely to mix things up if you go looking for the area code right before calling, so do it beforehand.

As you can see, this method works for both cellular phones and landlines, so there is no need to worry about learning different processes for each system. They’re completely identical and equally simple.

How Much Does It Cost?

There is really no way to get around it: calling Canada is expensive. Though both countries are part of the NANP, you are still charged international rates for making that call. On top of that, different service providers all have different packages and offers for you, so there is no way to know for sure how much you’ll be paying.

The best thing you can do is to study the charges and rates of the provider of your choice and go for a plan that suits you best. Also, be mindful that you don’t exceed your limits. This can be hard because it goes against the whole notion of being social, but that is how the system works.

If you want to consider relatively cheap or even free options, you might want to try calling over Wi-Fi or through cellular data. This is a pretty popular way of staying in touch and has its own set of pros and cons.

Conclusion

The good thing about calling Canada from the US is that timezones aren’t really a huge issue. It’s better than making a call to Europe, where the time difference can be 6+ hours. Compared to that, Canada is easy as pie.

International calling doesn’t have to be difficult, and placing a call to Canada is just a hop, skip, and a jump away. As long as you keep the country code, area code, number, and cost in mind, you can place your call with ease and never lose touch with those that matter.