The CRTC is officially outlawing the “junk fees” that Canadian carriers use to discourage customers from hunting for better deals. In a decision released Thursday, the regulator announced a ban on activation and modification fees for both cellphone and internet plans. Most notably, this marks the end of the pricey $80 connection fees that Rogers, Telus, and Bell have made industry standard over the past year.
The move follows a series of public consultations where consumer groups argued that high upfront costs were acting as a financial barrier to competition. The CRTC’s ruling targets any fee whose main purpose is to discourage a subscriber from changing their plan or cancelling their contract. Under the new rules, if you aren’t paying off a subsidized device, carriers are also strictly banned from charging early cancellation fees (which we haven’t really seen for a while). Some carriers like Rogers charge $20 if you want to change your cellphone plan and you need a human to help you.
“We are taking action to give Canadians more control over their services,” said Vicky Eatrides, Chairperson and CEO of the CRTC, in a statement. “Today’s decision removes extra fees to activate, change, or cancel a plan. This means that consumers can switch to a better deal without having to pay extra just to get the service that works best for them.”
While the amendments to the Wireless and Internet Codes officially take effect on June 12, 2026, the CRTC noted that service providers already have the ability to waive these fees manually. The regulator expects companies to begin complying immediately while they update their automated billing systems.
The only exceptions to the ban are for “reasonable” costs associated with physical labour, such as a technician visiting your home to install fibre internet, or optional products that you choose to purchase.
If telcos can’t charge activation fees, then consumers might see prices increase elsewhere in plans or other add-ons.
This decision is the first in a series of planned updates to the Telecommunications Act intended to simplify consumer protections. Over the coming months, the CRTC plans to merge its various industry codes into a single, unified framework to further reduce red tape”and make the switching process even more seamless for Canadians.
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I just got an offer from Rogers…. (2026-03-21)
Lock in for 2 years, and my internet won’t increase from $122/month to $129/month, instead it’ll go down to $105 (savings of $17 from current).
I asked what happens if I cancel in 60 days.. and they said i would be billed $15/month times the number of remaining months (22).. i asked if that was a penalty and they said yes, i asked why it makes sense to do this, when they’d charge me $330 to make a change.. they said it was so i wouldn’t leave them.
Considering it’s Rogers fibre and I can’t sign up with anyone else (no one else in my area), why would they be doing this?
Isn’t this offer / practice that Rogers is offering going against the CRTC decision?