Area code 226

226 is a southwestern Ontario area code. Since Oct. 21, 2006, it has covered the same ground as 519, from Windsor and Sarnia to London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph and Owen Sound. 548 and 382 joined later, and the CRTC has already set aside the next code, 487.

• Oct. 21, 2006226 numbers first issued
• 210Exchange areas in the 226 group
• 4Codes sharing the area: 519, 226, 548, 382
• 2034Forecast exhaust year, in July

Where 226 numbers are issued

The Canadian Numbering Administrator lists 210 exchange areas for 226 and the three codes that share its territory, all of them in Ontario.¹ They run from Windsor, Leamington and Pelee Island through Sarnia, London, Brantford and Kitchener-Waterloo, then north past Guelph, Orangeville and Owen Sound to Tobermory.¹

Hamilton, Burlington and Niagara are close by but belong to the 905 group, with 289, 365 and 742.¹ A 226 number was issued somewhere in the southwest. The person using it can be anywhere: people keep their cellphone numbers when they move, and scammers can fake any number.³

How 519 nearly ran out

519 split from parts of 416 and 613 in 1953 and served the southwest on its own for more than 50 years.⁴ NANPA assigned 226 to the region on April 26, 2002.² The CRTC first set Feb. 19, 2005 as the start date, then in September 2003 pushed it back to Oct. 21, 2006, on the planning committee's advice.⁵

The forecasts then turned. The administrator declared a jeopardy condition for 519, its formal warning of a shortage, on Dec. 21, 2004, after a carrier forecast put exhaust in April 2006, six months before 226 was due.⁵ The CRTC kept its timeline. Carriers began receiving 226 prefixes by September 2006, and ten-digit local dialling became mandatory on Oct. 21, 2006.⁵

Exact dates are NANPA in-service dates. The administrator's history gives the year or month.^2,4

The next two codes arrived on calmer schedules. In October 2013 the CRTC chose 548 and set aside 382 for later.⁷ It first set June 4, 2015 for 548, then moved it to June 4, 2016, after a new forecast pushed exhaust from September 2015 to May 2018.⁸ 382 followed on June 17, 2023.⁶

When the southwest needs a fifth code

The administrator's July 2026 forecast has 519, 226, 548 and 382 lasting until July 2034, and the area isn't in relief planning.⁹ The next code is already chosen: in May 2025 the CRTC set aside 487 for southwestern Ontario, when the forecast still pointed to June 2030.¹⁰

Projected exhaust dates from the administrator's status report posted Sept. 29, 2026.⁹

Like every overlay since 2001, 487 won't change anyone's number. New lines would start getting it once the CRTC sets a date.¹¹

Calls from 226 numbers

The CRTC says callers can change what shows on your call display, including copying the first six digits of your own number so a call looks like it comes from a neighbour.³ The code on your screen tells you where a number was issued. It doesn't tell you who is calling.

• Don't trust call display. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre says never to assume the number on your screen is accurate, for calls or texts.¹²
• Call back on a number you find yourself. If a caller says they're from your bank, a service provider, the police or a government agency, hang up and call the number on your card, your statement or the organization's website.^3,12
• Don't tap links in texts. Forward suspicious texts to 7726 (SPAM), then delete them.^12,13
• Report it. Report fraud to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or to your local police, even if you didn't lose money.^3,13
• Cut down on telemarketing. Register your number on the National Do Not Call List and file a complaint about unwanted telemarketing calls.³

What people are saying

We read southwestern Ontario threads on Reddit about 226 and 519 calls. Most describe spoofed local numbers or one-ring calls.

• "The number you see on your phone is not the actual number calling you. These are scammers who spoof local numbers"

  Commenter on r/windsorontario, Sept. 5, 2024¹⁴

  The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre gives the same advice: never assume the number on your call display is accurate.¹²

• "A lot of times I get numbers calling me that are very similar to my number with just a few digits off and they say I called them first."

  Commenter on r/windsorontario, Sept. 6, 2024¹⁴

  The CRTC lists both tricks: copying the first six digits of your number, and displaying another person's number.³

• "The last few days I have received a large number of international calls that ring once or twice then hang up. This is part of a scam to get you to call back at what is a premium number."

  Poster on r/waterloo, March 31, 2020¹⁵

  The calls in that thread came to 226 numbers from foreign country codes. One commenter counted 20 to 30 in a day.¹⁵

• "Im in Vancouver and i get calls from area code 226..4× a day."

  Commenter on r/waterloo, April 16, 2024¹⁵

  A 226 number on the screen doesn't mean the caller is in southwestern Ontario. Scammers can show any number they like.³

Questions people ask

How we did this

We counted exchange areas in the Canadian Numbering Administrator's listing dated Oct. 7, 2026, and took the history from the administrator's relief history, its archived 519 and 226/519 relief reports, the NANPA database and CRTC decisions 2013-575 and 2022-50. The forecast comes from the administrator's Sept. 29, 2026 status report, and the set-aside code from CRTC Telecom Decision 2025-113. Advice on calls comes only from the CRTC, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and the Government of Canada. Reddit quotes are verbatim, with usernames left out. The clock uses fixed offsets and Ontario's 2026 time rules, not your device's settings.

Area codes change slowly, but new codes, forecasts and time rules do move. Each change goes in the update log below.

Update log

• Oct. 7, 2026, 10:19 p.m. ETFirst published. Data checked against the numbering administrator's and NANPA's files dated Oct. 7, 2026.