B.C. is about to have a new area code, and if you get a number that starts with three digits in an unfamiliar way, yes, it's really a local call.
The number is running out again
B.C. will roll out a new 257 area code across the province on May 24, 2025, due to the growing demand for phone numbers, DailyHive reported.
Kelly T. Walsh, project manager at the Canada Number Authority, said that the introduction of new district codes will add millions of new numbers and will not affect existing numbers.
As of now, B.C. uses telephone area codes 236, 250, 604, 672, and 778, all of which have their own histories and hidden information, the most unique of which must be 604.
First appeared in 1947, 604 is the original area code for British Columbia, the eldest of the big brothers, and the most familiar number at the beginning.
Moreover, it was one of the first nine original North American area codes assigned to Canada.
For 50 years, B.C. had used this unique area code, but an awkward situation led to the realization that 604 was no longer sufficient for the province.
Since these numbers were initially used on landlines, after all, there were no mobile phones at the time, and each region of British Columbia was assigned a number with its own unique prefix (the second set of three digits), even in small villages.
These numbers cannot be transferred to other places, which also leads to the scarcity of numbers in places like the Lower Mainland, while there are numbers elsewhere that are not used.
In 1997, to address this issue, B.C. announced that 604 would only be used in the City of Vancouver, the Lower Mainland, the Sunshine Coast, Howe Bay and the lower Fraser Valley, while the rest of the partitioned areas would begin using the 250 area code.
This is why when you used to dial a local mobile phone number starting with 604 from Vancouver, you could directly enter the seven-digit number after removing 604, but to call Whistler from Vancouver, you need to enter ten digits.
图源：City of Vancouver
However, even with the 250 area code, 604 is still becoming less and less sufficient as we enter the 21st century.
On November 3, 2001, B.C. introduced a new area code, 778, which initially covered only Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley region.
In 2007, the 250 area code was also used up, and the Canada Radio, Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) wanted to split it again to allow Vancouver Island to use the new area code.
However, operators such as Telus hope that users don't need to change their phone numbers again in just a decade.
On July 4, 2007, the use of 778 was expanded to the entire province, and on June 23, 2008, B.C. mandated that everyone could only use ten-digit dialing:
If you enter only seven digits, you will receive an intercept SMS alerting the caller of the new dialing rules.
Source: CBC
As more and more people use mobile phones, the 50-year-old use of an area code is no longer the case, and in just four years, 604, 250 and 778 are again under threat of exhaustion.
- On June 1, 2013, BC introduced a new area code, 236.
- On May 4, 2019, BC introduced a new area code, 672.
And now, we are about to welcome a new area code 257 in 2025, and it is really touching to think back to the days when Metro Vancouver only had 604 and 778, and these area code changes are also a testament to the rapid passage of time.
Unique 604
In the hearts of many people in Metro Vancouver, 604 is a unique number.
Some netizens said:
I have kept the 604 number I used for almost two decades, even after living in Alberta for a few years. If someone wants to take their number, they can only step over the corpse, sorry!
Others lamented that these discussions about the area code always made people realize that they were no longer youthful, and they used to not need to enter 604 when dialing.
In the face of the continuous introduction of new district codes, some netizens miss that there were only 604 or 778 when they were children, and in response, the comments responded:
"That was around 2001, friend, twenty years ago, haha."
The number 604 also has a special meaning for many people, and some netizens will set 6oh4 as their logo when playing all games.
These three numbers represent Vancouver in the eyes of many people, as well as their childhood and youth, perhaps which is why 604 is particularly important.
It is reported that most of the 604 numbers are in the hands of large operators, such as Telus and Rogers, and some small-scale operators rarely provide the original area code for users to choose, and the 604 numbers that can be selected now are basically because the former number owner has canceled.
Once, there was a debate about 604 VS 778 in Greater Vancouver, many people felt that older people preferred 604, and young people liked 778, and interestingly, when 236 was launched 7 years ago, some netizens commented:
"Vancouver must stop the competition between 604 and 778 and if we unite we can fight the real enemy together: 236."
Others lamented: I used to hate 778, but now I like it more and more, because 236 has become a new enemy.
If so, those who now use the youngest area code 672 should be relieved, after all, the latest public enemy has finally appeared!
Although many people's impression of area codes is still stuck at 604 and 778, CRTC expects 672 to be used up in 2027.
Even so, many people still have a question mark on their faces when they hear the area codes that come out later:
Where is this number?
图源：Daily Hive
Netizens have a lot of complaints about these numbers:
"When I see 672, I automatically think of spam calls from outside the province."
"I finally realized that 236 was a local number (at a time when 236 was also running out and 672 was introduced)."
"After moving here last year, my number started with 672 and it was so bad that a lot of online forms didn't even recognize this number as valid."
"I always thought 672 was from India or elsewhere and always wondered why international students had this area code."
If you are interested in the area represented by the first six digits of your number, you can check it from the official website of the Canada Number Administration.
Take the number 778-233 casually entered by the editor as an example, you can see that this is a Vancouver number in use, which belongs to the Bell operator.
Canada Number Administration: https://cnac.ca/co_codes/co_code_lookup.htm
The same area code for United States and Canada
Speaking of numbers, has anyone ever wondered why the country codes for Canada and United States are (+1)?
You know, when filling in many numbers, the editor will directly choose United States, if it is on the comparison.
That's because the earliest phone systems in the United States and Canada were controlled by Ma Bell, and other companies simply copied the standards used by that company.
The first large telephone company in Canada was the Bell Telephone Company of Canada, which, although the company had Canada shareholders, was actually controlled by the United States parent company, and the Canada business only explained that the neighbor was a copy, and there was no difference between installation and operation.
Source: Centives
In 1950, the two countries began to develop area codes in parallel, and due to the large amount of cross-border retail trade and family ties between the two countries, the same +1 was chosen to ensure the flexibility of cross-border dialing.
For engineers and managers of Bell systems, the phone systems in Canada and the United States are largely a whole.
I don't know if you still have any trivia or memories related to phone numbers, welcome to share!
信源：Reddit, Daily Hive, CNAC