Before you start

Photo identification
A Quebec address
A credit check or a deposit, for postpaid plans
An unlocked handset — every phone sold in Canada has been unlocked since 2017

Step-by-step

1
Compare Vidéotron and Fizz before you walk into a national carrier's shop
Vidéotron runs its own network across Quebec and Fizz is its low-cost digital brand. Between them they are the reason Quebec mobile prices are the lowest in the country. Start here and use the national carriers as the comparison, not the default.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1
2
Start prepaid or on a flanker brand if you have no credit file
Fizz, Public Mobile, Fido, Koodo and Virgin sidestep the deposit that a flagship postpaid plan will ask of someone with no Canadian history, and cost less in any case.
OnlineWho: You
3
Expect a credit check or a deposit for postpaid
A postpaid plan is a credit product in Canada. Without a file you will be asked for a deposit, often several hundred dollars, refunded after a period of clean payment. This is routine rather than a sign that something is wrong.
In personWho: You
4
Bring your own unlocked handset
Bringing a phone avoids a device-financing agreement bundled into the plan and the two-year lock-in that comes with it. Confirm band compatibility for handsets bought in Europe or Asia before you rely on it.
OnlineWho: You
5
Ask the landlord what the building is actually wired for
Most of the city has both Bell fibre and Vidéotron cable on the street, with independent resellers riding the same infrastructure. In the older brick triplexes of Limoilou and Saint-Sauveur only one may physically reach the unit. Ask before you sign a service contract.
OnlineWho: You
6
Diarise the date every promotional rate expires
Canadian telecom pricing is heavily promotional and reverts silently at the end of a term. Calling to renegotiate is completely normal here and retention departments exist for exactly that purpose.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Photo identification
Quebec address
Consent to a credit check, or a deposit
Banking details for pre-authorised payment

Things most newcomers don’t know

Quebec has the cheapest mobile prices in Canada, and there is a specific structural reason.

Vidéotron built and operates its own wireless network here rather than reselling someone else's, which gave the province a genuine fourth competitor when the rest of Canada had three. The national carriers price against it in Quebec and not elsewhere. A plan in Québec City can cost meaningfully less than the identical plan in Toronto, and newcomers comparing against Canada-wide averages underestimate the saving.

Source: community-reported

A postpaid phone plan is a credit product, and with no score you pay a deposit.

This surprises almost everyone arriving from Europe, where a phone contract is just a contract. In Canada the carrier is extending credit and checks for it. Newcomers with no file are asked for several hundred dollars, refunded after a year of clean payment. The prepaid-style brands avoid it entirely and cost less anyway.

Source: community-reported

Which internet provider you can get is a property of the building, not the address.

The older walk-ups in Limoilou, Saint-Sauveur and Saint-Jean-Baptiste are not uniformly wired. The street may carry both fibre and cable while your particular unit is reachable by only one. Landlords know and will say if asked. Finding out after moving in leaves you with no leverage and sometimes no realistic second option.

Source: community-reported

Customer service will be in French, including the technical support call at 9pm.

National carriers can usually find an English-speaking agent, but the local retail staff, the installer who comes to the flat and the retention line you call to renegotiate all work in French by default. It is a small thing that becomes a real one when something breaks. Learning the vocabulary for 'router', 'outlet' and 'appointment' pays for itself in the first month.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Signing with a national carrier without comparing Vidéotron and Fizz first.
Paying a large postpaid deposit you did not need to.
Accepting device financing that ties you to one carrier for two years.
Choosing an internet provider before checking what physically reaches your unit.
Letting a promotional rate revert without renegotiating.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.

Make it your personal checklist

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