Quebec's area codes, and which one to pick for a business line

Quebec has four area-code families. An area code does not limit where you can do business: it says where you are. For a company, it is the only piece of information a customer sees before deciding whether to pick up.

The pages explaining this are from 2012 and written for households. Here is the version that answers the business question.

The four families

418 · 581 · 367, the Capitale-Nationale and eastern Quebec: Québec City, Lévis, Saguenay, Chicoutimi, Alma, Rimouski, Rivière-du-Loup, Montmagny, La Malbaie, Sainte-Marie. The territory takes in Bas-Saint-Laurent, Chaudière-Appalaches, Côte-Nord and Gaspésie.

819 · 873 · 468, the widest family geographically: Trois-Rivières, Shawinigan, Sherbrooke, Drummondville, Victoriaville, Magog, Gatineau, the Outaouais, Abitibi-Témiscamingue and the Hautes-Laurentides.

450 · 579 · 354, the ring around Montreal: Longueuil, Laval, Saint-Jérôme, Granby, and parts of the Montérégie, the Laurentides and Lanaudière.

514 · 438 · 263, the island of Montreal.

What an overlay changes, and what it does not

When a family runs out of numbers, a new code is overlaid on the same territory instead of splitting it. 873 joined 819 in 2012; 468 came after.

What it changes: new numbers get the newest code, and ten-digit dialling is mandatory, including a local call between two offices on the same street.

What it does not change: your existing number. An overlay renumbers nobody and does not alter the local calling area.

The practical consequence for a newer company: you probably will not get a 418 or an 819. Those pools ran dry years ago. A new number in Trois-Rivières will be an 873 or a 468, and that is normal.

What your choice tells a customer

This is where the decision actually sits, and it is not a technical one.

A customer in Lévis who sees 418 or 581 on their display recognises their own region. A 514 says "Montreal", which is excellent if you are in Montreal and less good if you sell to businesses in the Mauricie. A toll-free number says nothing at all: neither near nor far.

None of these is better in the abstract. They say different things, and it is worth choosing which thing you want to say.

Nothing limits you to one. Several numbers can land in the same call flow: a 418 for the Québec City market, an 819 for the Mauricie, both reaching the same greeting and the same team.

What we do, and what we do not

We supply local numbers in these codes and set them up with you. Buying one is not self-serve in the product today. We have no office in any of these regions: service is remote, and a local number is a local number, not a branch.

If you already have a number, do not replace it: move it. A number your customers have dialled for years is worth more than any area code.

One note on language: if you serve the public in Quebec, your telephone greeting falls under the Charter whatever your area code. See Law 96 and your phone system.