More Affordable Cell Phone Bills

It’s a tale as old as the telecommunications sector itself: Unimaginable growth in demand (by 2022, Canadians’ mobile data usage alone will be equivalent to 2x Canada’s total internet usage in 2005); prices that seem to only go up; regular shock at the cost of overages; and a close relationship among our big providers that seems to limit competitive pressures. The sector has long been a source of frustration for Canadians.

The previous government tried to act, but could not deliver. They tried to woo a big American company into Canada, and only stopped after an outcry from Canadians. In the aftermath, the market remained noncompetitive. Prices continued to rise, and average Canadians continued to pay the price.

We came to office with a commitment to make things better – to support the middle class and those working hard to join it. And since 2015, we have made meaningful progress.

Our Connect to Innovate program is investing $500 million to extend ‘backbone’ telecoms infrastructure to connect over 900 rural, remote and Northern communities to high-speed Internet. Our Connecting Families program is working with providers to offer $10 Internet plans to more than 20,000 families—and rising—who qualify for the maximum CCB. We directed the CRTC to place competition, affordability, consumers and innovation at the heart of all future decisions, and to reconsider its decision around Mobile Virtual Network Operators, known as ‘MVNOs’, in order to ensure greater competition in the wholesale wireless market. We set an aggressive timeline for future auctions of wireless airwaves to respond to constantly growing demand. And we committed to delivering high-speed (50 Mbps) Internet to all Canadians by 2030.

Today, thousands of Canadians now have Internet access for the first time. Baseline prices for basic wireless services are cheaper than ever. Canadian wireless speeds are among the fastest in the world. There is stronger competition in every regional market in the country. And we are working to connect the whole country by investing in a global network of Canadian-designed low-earth orbit satellites. 

But we know that it’s not enough. 

Most Canadians tell us they aren’t seeing savings because Canada’s cell phone rates are still among the highest in the industrialized world.

And while part of this is geographic - Canada is about the same size, geographically, as all of Europe, with about 5 percent of the population - it also has to do with the need for greater competition.

That’s why we remain committed to enhance competition by expanding the entry of Canadian Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO) in the market. But we'll also work with our big telecom companies to more immediately reduce the prices to consumers by 25%. This would save the average Canadian family close to $1000 a year. And if Canadians see that they still aren’t seeing savings, we are committed to taking stronger action, using the policy levers available to us.