New 753 area code for eastern Ontario introduced to meet demand for telephone numbers

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has approved a new area code for eastern Ontario to meet the demand for phone numbers in the region.

The new 753 code will begin rollout alongside current area codes 613 and 343 on March 26 to cover eastern Ontario and the Ottawa area, including Belleville, Brockville, Kingston and Trenton.

The addition marks the first new code since 2010 when the 343 code was introduced, which joined the original 613 code for eastern Ontario that has been in place since 1947.

In a telecom decision report to the CRTC, the Canadian Numbering Administrator (CNA) advised the commission that the area code complex of 343 and 613 was projected to exhaust by February 2024 if not for the addition of a new code.

According to a release by the CNA, “the introduction of a new area code creates millions of additional telephone numbers without affecting the existing numbers.”

The new 753 area code will only be assigned when there is no longer a sufficient supply of numbers with the existing area codes.

The introduction of a new area code in a region does not affect the geographic boundaries for local calling areas or the way long distance calls are dialled.