One numbering plan, many countries
The North American Numbering Plan covers Canada, the United States, and many Caribbean nations and US territories. All use +1. Because the plan was designed as one system, no part of the number itself says "Canada" other than the area code.
Telling them apart
The only reliable way to identify a Canadian number is by its area code. 416, 604 and 514 are Canadian; 212, 310 and 305 are American. A lookup table, a library such as libphonenumber, or a numbering-authority list will give you the answer. There is no way to tell by the length or format.
Calling between Canada and the US
Calls between the two countries are dialled as domestic long distance, using 1, the area code and the number. Whether the call is billed as local, long distance or roaming depends on your carrier and plan, not on the dialling pattern. Many plans in both countries now include cross-border calling and texting, but check your own plan.
Texting and short codes
Standard SMS works between Canada and the US without special dialling. Short codes (five or six digit numbers used by businesses) are usually country-specific, and a code that works in the US may not work in Canada.
Emergency and special numbers
Both countries use 911 for emergencies and the same N11 service patterns, but some services differ. For example, 211 and 311 are community and municipal information lines run locally, so they behave differently depending on where you dial from.
Differences developers should know
- Postal and address formats differ, so phone-based country detection is not enough for address validation
- Privacy and messaging law differs: CASL and PIPEDA in Canada, TCPA and state laws in the US
- French-language requirements apply to many services in Quebec
- Do not assume +1 means a US customer
Why this matters for testing
If your product serves both markets, test it with numbers from both countries. Use our Canadian generator for Canadian numbers and see the area codes page to confirm which codes belong to which province.