You’ve sorted your work permit, found temporary housing, and packed for winter. But here’s what catches most people moving to Canada off-guard: getting reliable internet before you have a permanent address, a Social Insurance Number, or a Canadian bank account is harder than it should be.

The major Canadian carriers — Rogers, Bell, Telus, Fido — typically want proof of address, credit checks, and sometimes a hefty deposit if you’re new to the country. That leaves a gap of anywhere from two weeks to two months while you’re apartment-hunting, opening bank accounts, attending orientation sessions, and frankly, relying on your phone more than you ever have.

This guide walks through your real options as an expat moving to Canada, including what works the day you land and what makes sense once you’re settled.

Why Your Home Carrier’s Roaming Plan Isn’t the Answer

If you’re moving from the UK, EU, Australia, or anywhere else, your first instinct might be to extend your home roaming plan for a few weeks. Don’t.

Roaming rates to Canada from most carriers run £8–15 per day, and those “roaming passes” are built for holidays, not relocations. Use data normally for three weeks and you’re looking at £250+. Worse, many roaming plans throttle speeds or cap daily data at 500MB–1GB, which doesn’t cover video calls with family back home, uploading documents for your new employer, or navigating Google Maps across Toronto or Vancouver in real time.

Canada is big. You’ll need proper data.

“We managed to stay always connected while travelling around Europe, without having to buy SIM cards in every country and ending up with a handful of them with different balances we couldn’t use. Excellent support team.”
— Patrícia Reis de Magalhães, verified ConnectPls customer

Your Connectivity Options: What Actually Works

Here’s an honest breakdown of the four main routes, trade-offs included:

Option	Best For	Limitations	Realistic Cost
Home carrier roaming	Emergency fallback only	Expensive daily fees, throttled speeds, not sustainable beyond 3–5 days	£8–15/day
Canadian local SIM (Rogers, Fido, Koodo)	Long-term solution once settled	Requires proof of address, SIN, sometimes deposit; can take 2–6 weeks to arrange	CAD $40–75/month
eSIM (travel data plan)	Immediate activation, flexible data top-ups	Data-only (no local number for calls), can get expensive if you need lots of data	Varies widely
Portable WiFi subscription	Multiple devices, sharable, works day one, no local admin	Physical device to carry; overkill if you only need phone data	Monthly subscription

eSIM for Immediate Connectivity (But Know the Limits)

If your phone supports eSIM (most iPhones from XS onward, recent Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel models), this is the fastest way to get online the moment you clear customs.

You download a QR code before you fly, activate on arrival, and you have data. The catch: most travel eSIMs are data-only, so you won’t have a Canadian phone number for setting up bank accounts, calling landlords, or receiving verification codes. Apps like WhatsApp and FaceTime still work fine, though.

For expats, eSIMs work well as a bridge solution, covering your first two to four weeks while you sort out a proper local number. Look for plans that let you top up or extend without locking you into awkward 7-day or 30-day bundles that don’t align with your actual move-in date.

ConnectPls offers eSIM as part of a flexible monthly subscription with truly unlimited data across Canada (it’s in our “Group 0” unlimited countries alongside the UK, EU, Australia, and New Zealand). You activate before you fly, it works the second you land, and you’re billed monthly. If you only need two months of coverage while you get your Rogers SIM sorted, you cancel after two months. No waste.

The Multi-Device Problem

Here’s where eSIM hits a wall for most expats: you’re not just connecting your phone. You have a laptop for remote onboarding with your new employer, maybe a tablet, possibly a partner or family member who also needs data. An eSIM covers one device. Tethering works, but it drains your phone battery and adds friction when you’re already managing a hundred other things.

Portable WiFi: The Expat Move Workhorse

This is what we see work best for expats in their first month or two in Canada, especially if you’re moving with a partner, have kids in tow, or work remotely and can’t afford patchy hotel WiFi during your settling-in period.

A portable WiFi device (also called a mobile hotspot or pocket WiFi) connects up to 10 devices at once, runs on 4G across Canada, and doesn’t require a Canadian address, credit check, or SIN. You get a physical device shipped to your old address before you leave, pack it with your essentials, and switch it on when you land in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, or Montreal.

ConnectPls ships the mobile router included in the monthly subscription. You don’t buy hardware upfront. Delivery takes 4–5 working days to the UK, 2–3 days across Europe, so order a week or two before your flight. The device uses Cloud SIM technology, which means it connects automatically across multiple Canadian operators without you fiddling with SIM cards or APNs.

Canada sits in ConnectPls’s Group 0 unlimited tier, so you get truly unlimited 4G data with no fair-usage throttling. That matters when you’re uploading documents, video-calling your immigration lawyer, streaming orientation videos from your new employer, and keeping the kids entertained during long apartment viewings.

Billing is monthly and flexible. If you only need three months of coverage (say, September through November while you get your Canadian life set up), you run the subscription for three months, then cancel. There’s a £25 early-cancellation fee if you cancel a mobile-router subscription within the first three months (to cover shipping and return logistics), but no long-term contract.

When You’re Ready for a Local Canadian SIM

Once you have your SIN, a permanent address, and ideally a Canadian bank account, switching to a local carrier makes sense for the long haul. You’ll get a Canadian phone number, better integration with local services, and often lower monthly costs if you’re staying for years.

The big three (Rogers, Bell, Telus) have extensive LTE coverage but charge CAD $60–90/month for unlimited plans. Their sub-brands (Fido, Virgin Plus, Koodo) offer better value at CAD $40–55/month for 20–40GB, which is plenty for most people once you have home broadband sorted.

But don’t rush this. Expats who try to get a Rogers SIM in week one often hit bureaucratic walls or end up paying deposits of CAD $100–300 because they have no Canadian credit history. Wait until you’re properly settled, and use a flexible subscription (eSIM or portable WiFi) to cover that gap without stress.

What About Public WiFi and Coffee Shop Hopping?

Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal have decent café WiFi, but this isn’t Europe. Tim Hortons and Starbucks will get you online for email, but relying on public WiFi when you’re uploading signed lease documents, logging into your new employer’s VPN, or doing video calls with immigration services is risky and frankly exhausting.

You also can’t assume your temporary housing has good internet. Airbnbs often have flaky WiFi, short-term rentals sometimes share bandwidth across multiple units, and serviced apartments may throttle speeds. Having your own reliable connection (either via eSIM or portable WiFi) means you’re not stuck hunting for a café at 9pm when you need to submit a time-sensitive form.

If You’re Moving Cross-Country or Road-Tripping First

Some expats fly into Toronto but drive out to Alberta, or land in Vancouver and road-trip through BC before settling. Canada’s rural coverage is patchy. Bell and Telus share infrastructure and have the best reach outside cities, but there are still dead zones across the Prairies and the Interior.

Portable WiFi with multi-operator Cloud SIM gives you a better shot at staying connected because the device switches between carriers automatically. ConnectPls’s mobile router has a backup physical SIM slot on top of the Cloud SIM, so if one network drops in rural Saskatchewan, the device fails over to another.

That same flexibility applies if you’re moving to Canada but plan to visit home (UK, EU, Australia) during your first year. Group 0 coverage includes Canada, the UK, most of the EU, Australia, and New Zealand, so one subscription works across all of them. Activate for the months you’re moving or travelling, pause when you’re settled and relying on your local Rogers SIM.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get a Canadian SIM card at the airport when I land?

Yes, Toronto Pearson, Vancouver, and Montreal airports have kiosks selling prepaid SIMs from carriers like Rogers and Fido. But these are tourist-focused prepaid plans, often expensive per GB (CAD $10–15 for 1–3GB) and sold in awkward 7- or 15-day bundles. If you’re moving permanently, you’ll outgrow them fast and still need to sort a proper contract later. They’re fine for a short trip, less useful for a relocation.

How long does it take to get internet set up in a Canadian apartment?

Once you have a lease, booking home broadband installation with Bell, Rogers, or a reseller like TekSavvy typically takes 1–3 weeks. In newer condo buildings you might get lucky with same-week installation. In older buildings or rural areas, expect longer. Plan for at least two weeks without home internet after you move in, which is another reason to have mobile connectivity sorted from day one.

Do I need a VPN when using public WiFi in Canada?

Yes, if you’re handling sensitive info: banking, work VPN access, signing legal documents. Public café and library WiFi in Canada isn’t inherently dangerous, but it’s unencrypted, and you’re sharing the network with strangers. If you’re using your own portable WiFi or eSIM connection, you control the security, which matters during a move when you’re constantly logging into new accounts and uploading ID documents.