Phone prefixes in Pointe-Claire, QC

In numbers

In-service prefixes

40

Telephone numbers covered

400,000

Carriers

14

Area codes

3

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

May 28, 2001

Most recent assignment

October 12, 2023

Pointe-Claire’s share of its area codes

Within area code 514, Pointe-Claire accounts for only 23 of 778 prefixes (3.0%): the code is dominated by Montreal and spread over 6 rate centres. Within area code 438, Pointe-Claire accounts for only 15 of 604 prefixes (2.5%): the code is dominated by Montreal and spread over 6 rate centres. Within area code 263, Pointe-Claire accounts for only 2 of 62 prefixes (3.2%): the code is dominated by Montreal and spread over 6 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Bell Canada holds the largest share at 8 prefixes, 20.0% of the total, ahead of 13 other carriers. Code by code: in 514, Bell Canada leads with 8 of 23 prefixes ahead of 9 others; in 438, Iristel Inc. leads with 4 of 15 prefixes ahead of 8 others; IXICA Communications Inc. is the only holder in 263. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Pointe-Claire’s 3 area codes, while 8 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

2 of Pointe-Claire’s 40 prefixes (5.0%) are held by carriers whose registered name marks a wireless business: Fido Solutions Inc. Wireline prefixes still outnumber them, carried by Bell Canada, Iristel Inc, Fibernetics Corporation and IXICA Communications Inc. This is a sort by name, not a licence lookup, and a mobile prefix may have been ported to another network since.

How the allocation was built up

Pointe-Claire’s dated assignments run from 2001 to 2023. The busiest period was 2005–2009, when 9 prefixes went to 7 carriers. 8 prefixes (20%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. Since 2020 another 7 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

Pointe-Claire’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to Bell Canada: this carrier made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to Fido Solutions Inc. in 2001. The most recent arrivals are FGLTEL Inc. (2022), IXICA Communications Inc. (2017) and TekSavvy Solutions Inc (2015), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Pointe-Claire.

Pointe-Claire’s 40 prefixes provide 400,000 numbers, which corresponds to a mid-sized city or a well-established suburb that every major carrier wants a slice of.

No single carrier dominates Pointe-Claire: the leader, Bell Canada, holds only 20.0% of the prefixes against 13 competitors, a sign of a highly fragmented market where cable companies, mobility brands and VoIP providers weigh as much as the incumbent.

Demand remains steady: 21.9% of the dated prefixes go back to the last ten years, the most active period being 2005–2009. The rate centre is growing at a regular rather than explosive pace.

8 undated in the register.

Dialling a Pointe-Claire number

Pointe-Claire is served by 3 overlaid area codes (514, 438 and 263). A 263 number is no more “out of town” than a 514 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Pointe-Claire shares area codes 514, 438 and 263 with 5 other rate centres, including Montreal, Lachine, Ste-Genevieve, Roxboro and Ile-Perrot. The largest of them, Montreal, holds 1,273 prefixes in 263, 438 and 514; the smallest on the list, Ile-Perrot, has just 28.

What a Pointe-Claire number tells you

A number attached to Pointe-Claire tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in Quebec, most often Bell Canada. It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 14 carriers present here or to a VoIP service usable anywhere. Nor does it tell you who is calling: caller ID can be spoofed, and a Quebec area code is easy to borrow to look local.

Reading a register entry for Pointe-Claire: code 514-426 is recorded for Bell Canada, so every 514-426-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Pointe-Claire, Quebec” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Pointe-Claire prefix

Each row is an in-service central-office code recorded for Pointe-Claire, with its original holder and year of assignment.

Had a call from a Pointe-Claire number?

No clear pattern in reports on these numbers yet. If a call worried you:

1. Call back on a number you trust

   If a caller says they are your bank, the Canada Revenue Agency, a courier or your phone company, hang up and call the organization on the number from its website or your statement, never the number that called you. Caller ID can be faked.

2. Report the fraud

   Report the call or text to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre online or at 1-888-495-8501. If you lost money or gave out personal details, tell your bank first, then your local police.

   Report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre ↗

3. Register on the National Do Not Call List

   Registering a landline or mobile on the National DNCL is free. Registered charities, political parties, newspapers and companies you already do business with may still call.

   National Do Not Call List ↗Who can still call you ↗

4. Forward suspicious texts to 7726

   Forward a scam or spam text to 7726 (SPAM on the keypad). It's free, and your carrier uses it to block the sender. Don't tap links or reply.

   Get Cyber Safe: forwarding to 7726 ↗

Allocated prefixes

All 40 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Quebec