Rogers, Bell and Telus Ask the CRTC to Scrap Roaming Bill-Shock Caps in 2026: What Canadian Travelers Should Know
Canada's Big Three want the $100 roaming cap gone or narrowed, usage alerts rolled back and 60-day phone locks allowed. Here is what it means before your next trip.
Canada's three largest carriers are using a regulatory review to push back on some of the country's best-known protections against roaming bill shock. In filings reviewed and reported by MobileSyrup on October 20, 2026, Rogers, Bell and Telus asked the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to remove or narrow caps on roaming overage charges, roll back mandatory usage notifications and allow carriers to lock new phones for 60 days.
Nothing has changed yet. These are proposals inside an ongoing CRTC process to harmonize the Wireless Code and the Internet Code. But if even part of the wish list is approved, Canadians who travel with their home plan could lose the safety net that has kept a forgotten data toggle from turning into a four-figure bill.
What the carriers asked for
According to the interventions, filed in mid-August:
- Telus asked the CRTC to eliminate the $100 roaming cap entirely.
- Rogers proposed limiting the cap to pay-per-use roaming only, and asked to remove the $50 roaming usage notification.
- All three carriers asked to roll back mandatory usage notification requirements.
- All three carriers proposed a 60-day phone-locking rule. The CRTC banned locked phones and unlocking fees in 2017.
- All three also asked to extend device financing beyond the current 24-month limit.
The roaming caps exist for a simple reason: roaming is expensive, and the rules were written to stop customers from accidentally racking up hundreds of dollars abroad. As MobileSyrup noted, roaming remains something of a cash cow for carriers, so the push is not a surprise.
Why it matters to travelers
The cap is your last line of defence. Day passes and roaming add-ons are opt-in products. The cap protects the traveler who forgets to buy one, lands, and lets apps sync in the background. Without it, or with a cap that only applies to some plan types, the bill reflects every megabyte.
Usage alerts are how you notice the problem. The $50 notification is often the first sign that something is off. Removing it means the first warning could be the invoice.
Locked phones block cheaper options. A phone locked to a Canadian carrier cannot run a SIM or eSIM from another network. For travelers, that rules out a local SIM or a travel eSIM during the lock period, which is exactly when many people buy a new phone before a trip.
Complaints are already surging. On October 21, 2026, the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) said it had received 53,195 complaints so far in its 2025-26 period, up 79% year over year, with 41,235 accepted. Incorrect charges and price increases are among the top issues. Loosening billing protections now would likely add to that pile.
If you have been following our coverage of Canada's roaming rules, this is the next chapter: carriers asking to rewrite the safeguards that were meant to make roaming predictable.
What happens next
The CRTC has not ruled, and no decision date has been published. The commission can accept, modify or reject each request. Consumer groups and smaller providers typically file their own positions, and the final codes may look very different from the carriers' wish lists. Until a decision is published, the current $100 cap and notification rules stay in force.
How to protect yourself before your next trip
You do not need to wait for the CRTC to take control of your roaming costs:
- Check that your phone is unlocked. Go to your phone's settings or ask your carrier. If you are buying a new phone before a trip, confirm the lock status at checkout.
- Decide before you board. Either buy your carrier's travel pass in advance or switch data roaming off on your home line.
- Use a prepaid travel eSIM for data. A travel eSIM is paid upfront, so there is no overage to cap. When the data runs out, you top up or stop. Providers such as HOLASIM, Airalo and Holafly sell plans for the United States, Mexico, Europe and most popular destinations from Canada.
- Keep your Canadian number active for texts. Most phones let you keep your home line on for SMS and calls while the travel eSIM handles data. Turn off data roaming on the home line so only the eSIM uses mobile data.
- Compare the real cost. Canadian roaming passes are priced per day. For a trip longer than a few days, a fixed-price eSIM usually costs less. Our carrier day pass comparison shows how quickly daily fees add up.
The bottom line: the caps still protect you today, but the carriers have made clear they want them weaker. A prepaid travel eSIM is the simplest way to make your data costs predictable regardless of what the CRTC decides.