CRTC Bans Activation & Cancellation Fees: What Changed for Switching Carriers

Since June 12, 2026, Canadian wireless and internet providers can no longer charge you to activate a plan, change a plan, or cancel a contract that doesn’t have a subsidized device attached — a CRTC rule change aimed squarely at fees that made switching providers annoying enough that people didn’t bother. It’s a real win for switching, but it has real limits: device-subsidy cancellation fees still exist, and the Big Three responded almost immediately with new fees that arguably do the same job under a different name.

The short answer

Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2026-43 bans two things: activation/modification fees (what carriers used to charge just to turn on or change a plan), and early cancellation fees on contracts with no device subsidy. It does not touch device-subsidy cancellation fees, installation charges, or fees for optional add-ons you explicitly agree to buy. The ban took effect June 12, 2026, and the CRTC is now investigating whether Bell, Rogers, and Telus’s new “device handling,” “setup,” and “SIM” fees are an attempt to route around it.

What the CRTC actually decided

The decision was issued March 12, 2026 as Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2026-43, following a 2024 public consultation and a 2024 amendment to the Telecommunications Act requiring the CRTC to address fees that discourage switching. It amends both the Wireless Code and the Internet Code. Two changes matter for consumers:

1. Activation and modification fees are banned outright. The Codes now define an “activation or modification fee” as any fee tied to activating a new plan or changing an existing one — with two carve-outs: reasonable fees for physical installation at your home, and fees for optional products/services you explicitly agree to buy (e.g., professional Wi-Fi setup).
2. Early cancellation fees are banned when there’s no device subsidy — on wireless. The Wireless Code previously let providers charge up to the lesser of $50 or 10% of your remaining monthly charges to cancel early on a no-subsidy contract. That’s now gone entirely — the Code was amended so a provider “must not charge an early cancellation fee” in that situation. Read the scope carefully: this is the Wireless Code provision. We have not found an equivalent early-cancellation prohibition added to the Internet Code, and term-based home internet contracts in market still carry declining exit fees — Telus’s Alberta two-year PureFibre agreements charge $480, declining $20 a month. Treat an internet term as still breakable only at a cost until that is settled.

What’s still allowed: if you got a subsidized or financed device as part of your plan, the provider can still charge an early-cancellation/device payoff fee tied to the remaining subsidy value — that part of the Wireless Code wasn’t touched. Installation fees and fees for optional extras you opt into are also exempt by design.

Who it applies to: individual and small-business wireless customers of every wireless provider, and — for the activation and modification ban — individual customers of home internet providers that are subject to the Internet Code. The CRTC enforces it through the CCTS, which now tracks complaints about these fees in its regular reporting, and can issue notices of violation or administrative monetary penalties for non-compliance.

The rule change was published in March; the CRTC gave providers until June 12, 2026 to update their systems before it started enforcing it.

Then the new fees showed up

Within days of the June 12 deadline, Bell and Rogers each introduced a new $40 charge for device purchases completed in-store, by phone, or with agent assistance, and Telus began charging $15 for a new SIM or eSIM on activation. None of them are labelled “activation fees” — Bell calls its version a device handling charge, Rogers a Setup Service Fee, Telus a SIM fee — which is exactly the carriers’ argument for why the ban doesn’t apply to them. We covered the mechanics of each fee, and how to avoid them, in a separate breakdown.

That argument is now a live regulatory dispute, not a settled one. As of this writing:

• The CRTC sent Bell and Telus letters questioning whether these fees are simply activation fees by another name.
• In late June/early July 2026, the CRTC opened a formal inquiry into Bell, Rogers, and Telus over the new fees, with reporting (CBC, MobileSyrup) indicating the companies could face fines if the fees are found to violate the ban — outlets have cited penalties as high as $10 million per violation for corporations under the Commission’s enforcement powers, though the CRTC has not issued a final ruling.
• As of late July 2026, the CRTC paused the original response deadlines in that inquiry (reported by iPhone in Canada, July 29), so a resolution isn’t imminent.

Treat the $40/$15 fees as live and budget for them until the CRTC rules otherwise — don’t assume the ban makes them disappear.

How this changes the renegotiation playbook

The practical upside of the fee ban is leverage. Two things changed in your favour when you’re pushing for a better rate:

• Switching now has one less real cost. If you’re on a BYOP/no-subsidy plan, there’s no early-cancellation fee standing between you and a cheaper carrier — the threat of switching costs the provider more credibility now than it used to, because you can actually follow through without eating a fee.
• Retention lines know this. Agents are aware customers face less friction to leave, which is exactly the kind of pressure that makes retention offers more generous. Our step-by-step guide to lowering your phone bill walks through the retention-call script that works best now that this leverage exists.

Two caveats: if your plan includes a financed or subsidized device, you can still owe a payout on that device if you cancel early — the fee ban doesn’t erase that balance. And the new $40/$15 device and SIM fees mean “switching is now completely free” isn’t quite true either; run the actual numbers, including any one-time fees, with our overpaying analyzer before you commit to a move.

FAQ

Does this mean I can cancel my phone plan for free? Only if there’s no subsidized/financed device attached to your line. If you got a device discount or are financing a phone through the carrier, an early-cancellation charge tied to that device’s remaining value can still apply.

Does the ban cover home internet too? For activation and modification fees, yes — the same policy amended the Internet Code alongside the Wireless Code, so those are banned for internet plans from providers subject to the Internet Code, on the same terms. For early cancellation fees, no, as far as we can tell: the prohibition we can point to is a Wireless Code amendment, and providers are still charging declining exit fees on two-year internet terms. If you are signing an internet contract, price the exit fee in.

Are the new Bell/Rogers/Telus fees illegal? Unresolved. The CRTC is actively investigating whether the $40 device handling/setup fees and $15 SIM fee are effectively activation fees in disguise. Until there’s a ruling, the carriers are still charging them.

What can I still be charged when I switch? Reasonable installation fees at your home, fees for optional products or services you specifically agree to buy, any outstanding device-subsidy payout, and — currently — the carrier-specific device/SIM fees discussed above, which the ban doesn’t clearly cover yet.

Sources checked: August 7, 2026. Ban scope, effective date, and exact wording are set out in Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2026-43, verified August 7, 2026. Details on the post-ban Bell/Rogers/Telus fees and the ongoing CRTC inquiry are drawn from CBC News, MobileSyrup, and iPhone in Canada reporting, since the inquiry itself hasn’t concluded — treat that part as a developing story, not a final regulatory outcome.