Area code 587

587 is an Alberta area code. It arrived on Sept. 19, 2008, as one code laid over both 403 in the south and 780 in the north, so a 587 number can come from Calgary, Edmonton or any town in between. From Nov. 1, 2026, Alberta stays on UTC−6 all year.¹

• Sept. 19, 2008587 numbers first issued
• 337Exchange areas, all in Alberta
• 5Codes sharing the province
• June 10, 2028New code 568 starts

Where 587 numbers are issued

The Canadian Numbering Administrator lists 337 exchange areas for Alberta's five codes, and every one of them is in Alberta.² 587, 825 and 368 cover the whole province. 403 and 780 come from the 1999 split, when 403 kept southern Alberta, including Calgary, and 780 took the north, including Edmonton.⁴

A 587 number tells you the province and nothing narrower. It could have been issued in Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Grande Prairie or Fort Chipewyan.² Lloydminster appears twice in the administrator's list: once in the Alberta group and once in Saskatchewan's 306, 639 and 474 group.²

One code for both halves of Alberta

By 2006 both Alberta codes were running short. The administrator declared a jeopardy condition for 403 on Oct. 26, 2006, and that month the 403 and 780 planning committees agreed to merge and draw up one plan.⁵

On June 14, 2007, the CRTC approved a single new code over both 403 and 780, effective Sept. 12, 2008, and reserved 587 and 825 for this round and the next.⁶ Ten-digit local dialling became mandatory across Alberta that September, on the same schedule as B.C.'s 250 area.^5,6 NANPA lists Sept. 19, 2008 as 587's in-service date.³

The CRTC made one exception. Callers in the Saskatchewan exchanges of Lloydminster and Marshall could keep dialling seven digits into Alberta, while customers on the Alberta side of the area switched to ten.^5,6

Exact dates are NANPA in-service dates, plus the CRTC's approved date for 568. The administrator's history gives years for the older codes.^3,4,8

Alberta's sixth code, 568, starts in 2028

Alberta is in relief planning again. On Sept. 29, 2026, the CRTC approved 568 as a sixth code for the whole province, starting June 10, 2028, eight months before the date its committee expected numbers to run out, February 2029.⁸ The administrator's July 2026 forecast now puts exhaust in May 2029.⁹

Existing numbers won't change. Alberta already dials ten digits, so new lines can start getting 568 numbers from June 10, 2028.^7,8

Alberta is second in line in Canada. Only eastern Quebec is forecast to run out sooner, in November 2028, and its new code, 273, starts on Feb. 27, 2027.⁹ Our area code lookup lists the forecast for all 18 areas.

Calls from 587 numbers

Calgary Reddit users describe spam from 587 numbers that share the first digits of their own. One noticed the calls started with 587-210 though their own number started with 403.¹⁰ That matches what the CRTC calls "neighbouring": copying the first six digits of your number so the call looks local.¹¹

• 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.^11,12
• 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.^11,13
• Cut down on telemarketing. Register your number on the National Do Not Call List and file a complaint about unwanted telemarketing calls.¹¹

What people are saying

We read Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer threads on Reddit about 587 numbers. Spam calls and how new the codes feel come up most.

• "I’ve found a good way to filter spam calls is that they all show up with my area code and the first 3 digits of my phone number."

  Commenter on r/Calgary, April 4, 2024¹⁰

  The CRTC calls this "neighbouring": altering caller ID to match the first six digits of your own number.¹¹

• "Good chance you also have a 587 number. Every scam call I get starts with 403. They just spoof a number with your area code so you think its a legit call."

  Commenter on r/RedDeer, March 21, 2025¹⁴

  The poster confirmed their own number started with 587.¹⁴

• "Remember when the whole province had 403? Good times."

  Commenter on r/Edmonton, Jan. 14, 2026¹⁵

  Correct. 403 covered all of Alberta until 780 split off for the north in 1999.⁴

• "Canadian phone companies are very inefficient alloting them. They only issue them in blocks of 10 000, and tiny villages like Exshaw or Coutts get a whole block."

  Commenter on r/Calgary, Sept. 29, 2026¹⁸

  Partly right. Each prefix holds 10,000 numbers, and Exshaw and Coutts are exchange areas of their own.^2,16 The administrator's guidelines also let carriers share a prefix in blocks of 1,000.¹⁷

Claims we checked

• False
  Alberta was the first province to have an overlay area code, 587.

  Dialaxy's 587 page says this.¹⁹ Toronto's 647, in March 2001, was Canada's first overlay, and 289 and 778 followed later that year. 587 came in 2008.⁴

• False
  587 is used in Alberta and British Columbia.

  KrispCall's 587 page says the code is "used in the Canadian province of Alberta and British Columbia."²⁰ Every exchange area in the 587 group is in Alberta. B.C. has its own codes: 604, 250, 778, 236, 672 and 257.²

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 403 relief report, the NANPA database and CRTC decisions 2007-42 and 2026-252. The forecast comes from the administrator's Sept. 29, 2026 status report, and Alberta's time rules from the Government of Alberta. 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 Alberta'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.