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consumer protection

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AccountabilityJune 17, 20265 min read
As of June 12, Your Carrier Can't Charge You to Switch Plans. It's a Real Win — and It Quietly Admits How Locked-In Canadians Were in the First Place.
On March 12, 2026, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) issued Telecom Regulatory Policy 2026-43, amending the Wireless Code and the Internet Code to prohibit fees that discourage Canadians from switching plans or providers. The rules took full effect on June 12, 2026. They ban activation fees, plan-change (modification) fees, and early-cancellation fees where no subsidized device is being financed — charges that ranged from roughly $30 to $80 at the major carriers. The CRTC estimates the change will save Canadians more than $600 million per year by removing barriers to switching. A companion ruling on April 24, 2026 expanded self-service requirements: customers must be able to change or cancel cell phone and internet plans through an app, online, or by email, and providers must send written confirmation of any self-service action. The rules apply to Rogers, Bell, Telus and their flanker brands (Fido, Virgin Plus, Koodo and others) as well as regional and smaller carriers. Two things are not eliminated: outstanding device-financing balances on a subsidized phone, and reasonable physical-installation fees (relevant mainly to home internet). The ban is a concrete consumer win. The accountability point is what it implies: switching fees are friction that only persists in a market where customers have few places to go. This article documents the change, who it covers, and why — as Parliament Audit's coverage of the Big Three oligopoly and the streaming levy has detailed — removing the lock-in fees does not address the underlying concentration that keeps Canadian telecom prices high.

As of June 12, Your Carrier Can't Charge You to Switch Plans. It's a Real Win — and It Quietly Admits How Locked-In Canadians Were in the First Place.

On March 12, 2026, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) issued Telecom Regulatory Policy 2026-43, amending the Wireless Code and the Internet Code to prohibit fees that discourage Canadians from switching plans or providers. The rules took full effect on June 12, 2026. They ban activation fees, plan-change (modification) fees, and early-cancellation fees where no subsidized device is being financed — charges that ranged from roughly $30 to $80 at the major carriers. The CRTC estimates the change will save Canadians more than $600 million per year by removing barriers to switching. A companion ruling on April 24, 2026 expanded self-service requirements: customers must be able to change or cancel cell phone and internet plans through an app, online, or by email, and providers must send written confirmation of any self-service action. The rules apply to Rogers, Bell, Telus and their flanker brands (Fido, Virgin Plus, Koodo and others) as well as regional and smaller carriers. Two things are not eliminated: outstanding device-financing balances on a subsidized phone, and reasonable physical-installation fees (relevant mainly to home internet). The ban is a concrete consumer win. The accountability point is what it implies: switching fees are friction that only persists in a market where customers have few places to go. This article documents the change, who it covers, and why — as Parliament Audit's coverage of the Big Three oligopoly and the streaming levy has detailed — removing the lock-in fees does not address the underlying concentration that keeps Canadian telecom prices high.