Area codes 416, 647, and 437 are telephone area codes in the

North American Numbering Plan The North American Numbering Plan (NANP) is a telephone numbering plan for twenty-five regions in twenty countries, primarily in North America and the Caribbean. This group is historically known as World Zone 1 and has the international calling ...

(NANP) for the single rate centre of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada. Area code 416 is one of the

original North American area codes The original North American area codes were established by the American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T) in 1947, following the demonstration of regional Operator Toll Dialing during the World War II period. The program had the goal of speedin ...

created by the

American Telephone and Telegraph Company AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile te ...

(AT&T) in 1947. Area codes 647 and 437 are additional area codes for the same numbering plan area (NPA), forming an overlay numbering plan. The incumbent local exchange carrier in the 416/647/437 territory is Bell Canada. Almost all Toronto Bell Canada landlines are in area code 416, with 647 numbers allocated disproportionately to a growing mobile telephone market and to competitive local exchange providers (such as cable and voice-over-IP gateways). Local numbers are portable, with few limited exceptions for specific services such as pocket

pager A pager (also known as a beeper or bleeper) is a wireless telecommunications device that receives and displays alphanumeric or voice messages. One-way pagers can only receive messages, while response pagers and two-way pagers can also acknow ...

s. The competitive local exchange carriers for 416/647/437 are

Rogers Rogers may refer to: Places Canada *Rogers Pass (British Columbia) * Rogers Island (Nunavut) United States * Rogers, Arkansas, a city * Rogers, alternate name of Muroc, California, a former settlement * Rogers, Indiana, an unincorporated communit ...

Telus Telus Communications Inc. (TCI) is the wholly owned principal subsidiary of Telus Corporation, a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian national telecommunications company that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services ...

, and some independent companies. Like the

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and

312 __NOTOC__ Year 312 ( CCCXII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantinus and Licinianus (or, less frequently ...

area codes in New York and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

respectively, demand for 416 numbers for mobile,

foreign exchange The foreign exchange market (Forex, FX, or currency market) is a global decentralized or over-the-counter (OTC) market for the trading of currencies. This market determines foreign exchange rates for every currency. It includes all as ...

and

voice over IP Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also called IP telephony, is a method and group of technologies for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. The terms Internet t ...

service in the " 905 suburbs" (

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

, Peel,

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

and Halton regions) has elevated the local significance of these telephone numbers as their local calling area is a superset of that of a suburban number.

History

Toronto's original manual telephone exchanges were recognized by an exchange name and a block of four-digit line numbers. The "GRover exchange" at Kingston Road and Main Street in

East Toronto East Toronto was an incorporated community, currently part of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It covered much of the present day neighbourhood of the Upper Beaches, stretching up to Danforth Avenue in the north, part of it stretching to Lake Ontario in ...

became the first Canadian dial exchange in 1924. Montréal got its first dial telephones one year later. The numbers were dialled as two letters and four digits (2L+4N). ''Grover 1234'' was dialled GR-1234 (or 47-1234). Conversion to seven-digit (2L+5N) format began in 1951, and continued until the introduction of

direct distance dialling Direct distance dialing (DDD) is a telecommunication service feature in North America by which a caller may, without operator assistance, call any other user outside the local calling area. Direct dialing by subscribers typically requires extra ...

in 1958. The main area code, 416, was one of the 86

original area codes The original North American area codes were established by the American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T) in 1947, following the demonstration of regional Operator Toll Dialing during the World War II period. The program had the goal of speedin ...

, which were introduced in 1947. It covered most of the populous

Golden Horseshoe The Golden Horseshoe is a secondary region of Southern Ontario, Canada, which lies at the western end of Lake Ontario, with outer boundaries stretching south to Lake Erie and north to Lake Scugog, Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. The ...

region in southern Ontario, from Colborne to

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...

to Kitchener- Waterloo. It was almost completely surrounded by Ontario's other area code,

613 __NOTOC__ Year 613 ( DCXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 613 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

. Ontario and

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

were the only provinces to be assigned multiple area codes at the inception of the continent-wide numbering plan. Area code 416 has been split twice. The western portion of 416 (including Kitchener) was combined with the southern portion of area code 613 to form

area code 519 Area codes 519, 226 and 548 are the telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for most of southwestern Ontario. Area code 519 was created in 1953 by a split of two numbering plan areas (NPAs), from the western portion of ...

in 1953, which left 416 largely co-extensive with the area that is generally reckoned as the core of the

. Despite rapid growth in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), that configuration remained for 40 years. By the late 1980s, however, 416 was close to exhaustion because of the GTA's continued growth and Canada's inefficient number allocation system. Canada does not use

number pooling Number pooling is a method of reallocating telephony numbering space in the North American Numbering Plan, primarily in growth areas in the United States. Instead of allocating blocks of ten thousand numbers to each carrier in each community, a bl ...

as a relief measure. All competing carriers are assigned 10,000-number blocks, which correspond roughly to a single prefix, in each rate centre in which it plans to offer service, regardless of its actual subscriber count. Most rate centres do not need nearly that many numbers to serve their customers, but a number cannot be allocated elsewhere once it has been assigned to a carrier and rate centre. That resulted in thousands of wasted numbers. The problem was less severe in the Golden Horseshoe than in other areas of Canada since then, as now, numbers tended to be used up fairly quickly because of the area's dramatic growth. Nonetheless, the GTA's rapid growth and the proliferation of cell phones, fax machines, and pagers made it obvious that the Golden Horseshoe needed another area code. In 1993, area code 416 had its territory reduced to its current size to just

Metropolitan Toronto The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was an upper-tier level of municipal government in Ontario, Canada, from 1953 to 1998. It was made up of the old city of Toronto and numerous townships, towns and villages that surrounded Toronto, whic ...

(

East York East York is a former administrative district and municipality within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From 1967 to 1998, it was officially the Borough of East York, a semi-autonomous borough within the upper-tier municipality of Metropolitan Toron ...

, North York,

Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

and Old Toronto). Area code 905 was then assigned to most of Toronto's suburbs and almost completely surrounds 416. The split began on October 13, 1993, but

permissive dialing In North America, permissive dialing is the ability to make phone calls in an area subject to a newly introduced area code by using both the new and preexisting dialing methods. When an area is given a new area code under a split plan, the area's ...

of 416 continued throughout the Golden Horseshoe until January 1, 1994. The GTA would have likely needed another area code at some point given its explosive growth, but the 905 split might have been delayed if it had been possible to reallocate numbers from the Golden Horseshoe's smaller rate centres to Toronto. With the amalgamation of Metro Toronto into the "megacity" of Toronto in 1998, 416 became the only Canadian area code to serve just one rate centre and just one city. Many of Canada's larger cities, especially "megacities" that have been created from mergers of previously separate cities, are split between multiple rate centres that have never been amalgamated. Toronto is an exception and has been a single rate centre, which is by far Canada's largest, since 1977, with the merger of the historical Agincourt, Don Mills, Islington, New Toronto, Scarborough, West Hill, Weston, and Willowdale exchanges into the Toronto exchange. The 1993 split had been intended as a long-term solution for Canada's largest toll-free calling zone. Within five years, however, 416 was once again close to exhaustion. Toronto's size and status as a single rate centre have caused numbers to tend to be used up fairly quickly. Therefore, the number allocation problem was not nearly as serious as in other Canadian cities that are split between multiple rate centres. However, it was obvious that Toronto needed another area code. Splitting Toronto between two area codes, a solution adopted in the United States for cities like

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, was ruled out because of the area's high population density and the lack of a suitable boundary along which to split. Another option was an

overlay area code In telecommunications, an area code overlay complex is a telephone numbering plan that assigns multiple area codes to a geographic numbering plan area (NPA). Area code overlays are implemented in territories of the North American Numbering Pla ...

, which would cover the same area as 416. Overlays were then a new concept that was somewhat controversial because of the requirement for

ten-digit dialling Ten-digit dialing is a telephone dialing procedure in the countries and territories that are members of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP). It is the practice of including the area code of a telephone number when dialing to initiate a telep ...

. However, Bell and other telephone companies pressed for an overlay since they wanted to spare their customers the expense and burden of having to change their numbers, which would have required a massive reprogramming of cellular telephones. Also, it would have been extremely difficult to split Toronto since it is a single rate centre. Ultimately, the decision was made to implement an overlay. On March 5, 2001, 416 was overlaid with area code 647, which is Canada's first overlay code. The implementation of 647 made ten-digit dialling mandatory in Toronto. However, within a decade, both 416 and 647 were close to exhaustion. A new overlay area code, 437, started operation on March 25, 2013. That effectively allocates 24 million numbers to one city of 2.5 million people. Area code 942 has been reserved for Toronto's future use but is expected not to be needed until 2025. Area code 387 has been reserved for Toronto's future use as well. Since the implementation of area code 647, overlays have become the preferred solution for area code relief in Canada, as they allow carriers an easy workaround for the number allocation problem. As of 2019, only four Canadian area codes ( 506, 709,

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and 867) are still single-code areas, with no overlay, and so still allow seven-digit local dialing. (However, overlays are already planned for 506 and 709 as they will both exhaust by 2027.)

Future

A 2020 exhaust analysis by the NANPA projects a 2025 exhaustion date for the 416/647/437 numbering plan area.

Local calling area

Toronto is the centre of the largest local calling area in Canada, and one of the largest in North America. As of 2013, the following points in area code 905 were a local call to +1-416 Toronto:

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...

- Pickering,

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

, Beeton, Bethesda,

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...

Brampton Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a lower-tier municipality within Peel Region. The city has a population of 656,480 as of the 2021 Census, making it ...

, Caledon East,

Campbellville Campbellville is a compact rural community in the geographic township of Nassagaweya in the Town of Milton, Regional Municipality of Halton, Ontario, Canada. It is on the Niagara Escarpment and is a tourist destination for residents of the ...

, Castlemore, Claremont, Georgetown, Gormley, King City,

Markham Markham may refer to: It may also refer to brand of of clothing which originates from South Africa which saw it's establishment in 1873. Biology * Markham's storm-petrel (''Oceanodroma markhami''), a seabird species found in Chile and Colombia * ...

, Milton, Mississauga (rate centres Clarkson,

Cooksville Cooksville may refer to: Places ;Canada * Cooksville (Mississauga), a neighbourhood in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada **Cooksville GO Station, a station in the GO Transit network located in the neighbourhood **Mississauga East—Cooksville, an electo ...

, Malton, Nobleton,

Port Credit Port Credit is a neighbourhood in the south-central part of the City of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, located at the mouth of the Credit River on the north shore of Lake Ontario. Its main intersection is Hurontario Street and Lakeshore Road ...

and Streetsville) Oak Ridges, Oakville, Palgrave, Richmond Hill, Schomberg, Snelgrove, South Pickering, Stouffville, Thornhill,

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Wal ...

, Unionville,

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxb ...

Vaughan Vaughan () (2021 population 323,103) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increas ...

(rate centres

Kleinburg Kleinburg is an unincorporated village in the city of Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, an art gallery with a focus on the Group of Seven, and the Kortright Centre for Conservation. In 2001, the villag ...

Maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...

and Woodbridge) and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. Caledon in

is also a local call to Toronto. Many of these suburban areas are long-distance to each other, particularly, but not exclusively, those which are across Toronto from each other (i.e. north versus east versus west of Toronto).

In popular culture

In the Greater Toronto Area, the terms ''the 416'' is also used to describe the area within Toronto proper, and Toronto residents are called ''416ers''. In recent years, Toronto has been increasingly referred to as "The 6". The suburbs are referred to as ''the 905'' or ''the 905 belt'', and suburbanites are called ''905ers'' (in this use the term does not include the more distant parts of area code 905, such as Niagara Falls). The 647 area code does not carry the same strong geographic associations as it disproportionately contains nomadic services (such as mobile telephones and

); an

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

Bell land line is hard-wired to a specific location in area 416, postal code M. Some have paid a premium for a true 416 number as the code gives the appearance of a local, long-established business instead of a new entrant. On March 17, 1966, ''

The Munsters ''The Munsters'' is an American sitcom depicting the home life of a family of benign monsters. The series starred Fred Gwynne as Frankenstein's monsterEpisodes referring to the fact that Herman is Frankenstein's monster include #55, "Just Anoth ...

'' episode "A Visit from Johann" depicted a person-to-person call to a Happy Valley Lodge in the 416 area code. A hamlet of Happy Valley exists in King Township, in 416 at the time but now (as part of York Region) in 905. In 1994, food delivery chain

Pizza Pizza Pizza Pizza Ltd. is a franchised Canadian pizza quick-service restaurant with its headquarters in Toronto, Ontario. Its restaurants are mainly in the province of Ontario while others are located in Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and west ...

obtained a Canadian

registered trademark The registered trademark symbol, , is a typographic symbol that provides notice that the preceding word or symbol is a trademark or service mark that has been registered with a national trademark office. A trademark is a symbol, word, or wor ...

on its 416 telephone number, 967–1111, which had featured in distinctive radio advertising jingles since the 1970s. Toronto rapper

Maestro Fresh Wes Wesley "Wes" Williams (born March 31, 1968) is a Canadians, Canadian rapper, record producer, actor, and author. He is known professionally by his stage names Maestro Fresh Wes (formerly Maestro Fresh-Wes) or Maestro as a musician, and is cred ...

rendered homage to the area code in his 1998 song "416/905 (TO Party Anthem)". Rapper

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

has a tattoo of the number on his rib to symbolize Toronto as his birthplace. Drake has also released his fourth studio album, titled ''

Views A view is a sight or prospect or the ability to see or be seen from a particular place. View, views or Views may also refer to: Common meanings * View (Buddhism), a charged interpretation of experience which intensely shapes and affects thou ...

'', referring to the 416 and 647 area codes. His album picture is of him sitting on top of the CN Tower in Toronto.

Central office codes

416: 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 412 413 414 415 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552 553 554 556 557 558 559 560 561 562 563 564 565 566 567 568 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 576 577 578 579 580 581 582 583 585 586 587 588 589 590 591 592 593 594 595 596 597 598 599 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 612 613 614 615 616 617 618 619 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 640 641 642 643 644 645 646 648 649 650 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 658 659 660 661 662 663 664 665 666 667 668 669 670 671 672 673 674 675 676 677 678 679 680 681 682 683 684 685 686 687 688 689 690 691 692 693 694 695 696 697 698 699 700 701 702 703 704 705 706 707 708 709 710 712 713 714 715 716 717 718 719 720 721 722 723 724 725 726 727 728 729 730 731 732 733 734 735 736 737 738 739 740 741 742 743 744 745 746 747 748 749 750 751 752 753 754 755 756 757 758 759 760 761 762 763 764 765 766 767 768 769 770 771 772 773 774 775 776 777 778 779 780 781 782 783 784 785 786 787 788 789 790 791 792 793 794 795 796 797 798 799 800 801 802 803 804 805 806 807 808 809 812 813 814 815 816 817 818 819 820 821 822 823 824 825 826 827 828 829 830 831 832 833 834 835 836 837 838 839 840 841 842 843 844 845 846 847 848 849 850 852 853 854 855 856 857 858 859 860 861 862 863 864 865 866 867 868 869 870 871 872 873 874 875 876 877 878 879 880 881 882 883 884 885 886 887 888 889 890 891 892 893 894 895 896 897 898 899 900 901 902 903 904 905 906 907 908 909 910 912 913 914 915 916 917 918 919 920 921 922 923 924 925 926 927 928 929 930 931 932 933 934 935 936 937 938 939 940 941 943 944 945 946 947 948 949 951 952 953 954 955 956 957 960 961 962 963 964 965 966 967 968 969 970 971 972 973 974 975 977 978 979 980 981 982 983 984 985 986 987 988 989 990 991 992 993 994 995 996 997 998 999 437: 222 243 266 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 317 333 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 370 371 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 540 580 588 777 800 826 828 836 886 887 888 889 991 992 993 994 995 996 997 998 999 647: 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 247 248 251 252 253 254 255 256 258 259 260 261 262 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 277 278 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 302 303 308 309 313 317 318 321 323 324 325 326 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 360 361 362 367 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 388 389 390 391 392 393 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 426 427 428 429 430 435 436 438 439 444 447 448 449 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 475 476 477 478 479 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552 553 554 556 557 558 559 560 562 563 564 567 568 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 580 588 590 591 599 600 601 602 606 607 608 609 618 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 640 641 642 643 644 645 646 648 649 650 651 652 654 655 656 657 660 666 667 668 669 670 671 673 674 675 676 677 678 679 680 681 682 683 684 685 686 687 688 689 691 692 693 694 695 696 697 698 699 700 701 702 703 704 705 706 707 708 709 710 712 713 714 715 716 717 718 719 720 721 722 723 724 725 726 727 728 729 732 733 734 735 736 737 738 739 740 741 742 743 744 745 746 747 748 749 750 751 752 753 754 755 756 757 758 759 760 761 762 763 764 765 766 767 768 769 770 771 772 773 774 775 776 777 778 779 780 781 782 783 784 785 786 787 788 789 790 791 792 793 794 795 796 797 798 799 800 801 802 805 808 812 813 814 815 816 817 818 820 821 822 823 824 825 826 827 828 829 830 831 832 833 834 835 836 837 838 839 840 841 842 843 844 845 846 847 848 849 850 852 853 854 855 856 857 858 859 860 861 862 863 864 865 866 867 868 869 870 871 872 873 874 875 876 877 878 879 880 881 882 883 884 885 886 887 888 889 890 891 892 893 894 895 896 897 898 899 900 902 907 909 910 912 913 914 915 916 917 918 919 920 921 922 923 924 925 926 927 928 929 930 931 932 933 934 935 936 937 938 939 940 941 943 944 945 946 947 948 949 951 952 953 954 955 956 957 960 961 962 963 964 965 966 967 968 969 970 971 972 973 974 975 977 978 979 980 981 982 983 984 985 986 987 988 989 990 991 992 993 994 995 996 997 998 999 Note: All

central office code The North American Numbering Plan (NANP) is a telephone numbering plan for twenty-five regions in twenty countries, primarily in North America and the Caribbean. This group is historically known as World Zone 1 and has the international calling ...

s reside within the rate centre of

. In some cases, 416 prefixes are available to wire centres outside Toronto city limits which serve Toronto subscribers (such as MALTON22 in Mississauga, which serves an airport hotel strip in Toronto).

Exchange names

Toronto's original telephone exchanges were manual; each had an exchange name and a block of four-digit numbers. The "GRover exchange" at Kingston Road and Main Street in

was the first Canadian dial exchange in 1924. (Montréal got its first dial telephones one year later.) The numbers would be dialled as six digits (2L+4N), e.g., "GRover 1234" was dialled GR-1234 (or 47–1234). Conversion to seven-digit (2L+5N) format began in 1951, and continued up to the introduction of

direct distance dial Direct distance dialing (DDD) is a telecommunication service feature in North America by which a caller may, without operator assistance, call any other user outside the local calling area. Direct dialing by subscribers typically requires extra ...

ling (DDD) in 1958. Toronto numbers that were converted from six-digit (2L+4N) dial format, or from manual service, include: * 416–363, 364, 366, 368 (EMpire 3,4,6,8) were ADelaide, ELgin, PLaza and WAverly in the Adelaide St ( Queen West) area west of downtown. These were the first to be lengthened to 2L+5N in 1951–1953. * 416-861 (UNiversity 1) was TRinity exchange in the Adelaide St (Queen West) area west of downtown (lengthened to 2L+5N in 1955). * 416–921, 922, 923, 924 (WAlnut 1,2,3,4) were RAndolph, KIngsdale, MIdway and PRincess (lengthened to 2L+5N in 1954) in

the Annex The Annex is a neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The traditional boundaries of the neighbourhood are north to Dupont Street, south to Bloor Street, west to Bathurst Street and east to Avenue Road. The City of Toronto recognizes ...

. * 416–691, 694, 699 (OXford 1,4,9) were HOward, GRover, OXford (lengthened to 2L+5N in 1955) in

. These numbers usually relate to the

Beaches A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

and

Upper Beaches The Upper Beaches is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is directly north of the Beaches area. It stretches from Coxwell Avenue in the west to Victoria Park in the east. The southern border is Kingston Road, while the northern bo ...

neighbourhoods or to

Crescent Town Crescent Town is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in the former borough of East York. It is located near Victoria Park Avenue and Danforth Avenue. It mainly consists of high-rise apartment complexes, built originally to take advantage ...

. * 416–461, 463, 465, 466 (HOward 1,3,5,6) were RIverdale, GErrard, GLadstone, HArgrave east of downtown (lengthened to 2L+5N in 1957). * 416–483, 485, 488, 489 (HUdson 3,5,8,9) were MOhawk, MAyfair (lengthened to 2L+5N in 1958) and HUdson, HYland (lengthened to 2L+5N in 1953); these served the Eglinton area, then the northernmost point on the TTC subway (1954). * 416–782, 783 (RUssell 2,3) were ORchard, REdfern (lengthened to 2L+5N in 1958) in the Willowdale/

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * ...

areas in the north of the city. * 416–762, 766, 767, 769 (ROger 2,6,7,9) were MUrray, ROdney, LYndhurst, JUnction (lengthened to 2L+5N in 1955) in the

Runnymede Runnymede is a water-meadow alongside the River Thames in the English county of Surrey, and just over west of central London. It is notable for its association with the sealing of Magna Carta, and as a consequence is, with its adjoining ...

/ Toronto Junction area in the west end. * 416–531, 532, 533, 534, 535, 536 (LEnnox 1,2,3,4,5,6) were MElrose, LAkeside, KEnwood, OLiver, LLoydbrook, LOmbard in the

Dufferin Street Dufferin Street is a major north–south street in Toronto, Vaughan and King, Ontario, Canada. It is a concession road, two concessions (4 km) west of Yonge Street. The street starts at Exhibition Place, continues north to Toronto's northe ...

area west of downtown (lengthened to 2L+5N in 1956). Additional named exchanges were created (as 2L+5N) in the late 1950s to accommodate expansion into then-growing suburbs such as

Don Mills Don Mills is a mixed-use neighbourhood in the North York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was developed to be a self-supporting "new town" and was at the time located outside Toronto proper. In 1998, North York, including the Don Mills com ...

(GArden), Agincourt (AXminster/CYpress), Islington (BElmont/CEdar),

New Toronto New Toronto is a neighbourhood and former municipality in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the south-west area of Toronto, along Lake Ontario. The Town of New Toronto was established in 1890, and was designed and planned as an indust ...

(CLifford),

(AMherst, PLymouth), West Hill (ATlantic), Weston (CHerry, MElrose) and Willowdale (BAldwin/ACademy). Exchange names were phased out in 1961–1966 in favour of plain seven-digit numbers. * 416-202 usually relate to Metrolinx. * 416-203 usually relate to the Canadian Forces Detachment at

Fort York Fort York (french: Fort-York) is an early 19th-century military fortification in the Fort York neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The fort was used to house members of the British and Canadian militaries, and to defend the entrance of t ...

. * 416-205 numbers usually relate to the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

* 416–212, 416–314, 416–325, 416–326, 416-327 and 416-585 numbers usually relate to the

Government of Ontario The government of Ontario (french: Gouvernement de l'Ontario) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Ontario. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor� ...

. * 416–307, 416–308, 416–982, 416-983 and 416-944 numbers usually relate to the

Toronto-Dominion Bank Toronto-Dominion Bank (french: links=no, Banque Toronto-Dominion), doing business as TD Bank Group (french: links=no, Groupe Banque TD), is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. T ...

. * 416-310 numbers are routed according to the caller's geographic origin for customer service or delivery dispatch uses, such as pizza delivery. These numbers are valuable for marketing purposes because a 310 number is in effect registered in all GTA area codes, (416-310-1234 and 905-310-1234, direct to the same phone line) and having to specify area code is unnecessary. Indeed, 310 numbers are the only regular numbers can be successfully dialed without area code in most of Ontario. * 416-338 and 416-392 numbers usually relate to the City of Toronto Municipal Government;

Toronto Fire Services Toronto Fire Services (TFS) provides fire protection, technical rescue services, hazardous materials response, and first responder emergency medical assistance in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Toronto Fire Services is currently the largest municipal f ...

uses 338 numbers * 416-340 usually relate to the

University Health Network University Health Network (UHN) is a public research and teaching hospital network in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest health research organization in Canada and ranks first in Canada for total research funding. It was named Canada's ...

including

Toronto General Hospital The Toronto General Hospital (TGH) is a major teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the flagship campus of University Health Network (UHN). It is located in the Discovery District of Downtown Toronto along University Avenue's Hospital ...

Toronto Western Hospital The Toronto Western Hospital (TWH) is a major research and teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the University Health Network (UHN). It has 256 beds, with 46,000 visits to its emergency department annually. It is known for ...

, and

Princess Margaret Cancer Centre The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (previously, ''Princess Margaret Hospital'') is a scientific research centre and a teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, affiliated with the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine as part of the Univ ...

* 416-341 numbers usually relate to the Rogers Centre. * 416-344 numbers usually relate to the

Workplace Safety & Insurance Board The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB; french: Commission de la sécurité professionnelle et de l'assurance contre les accidents du travail, CSPAAT) is the workplace compensation board for provincially regulated workplaces in Ontario ...

of Ontario. * 416-384 numbers usually relate to

Bell Media Bell Media Inc. (French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...

offices. * 416–392, 416–393, 416–394, 416–395, 416-396 and 416-397 numbers usually relate to the

Toronto District School Board The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), formerly known as English-language Public District School Board No. 12 prior to 1999, is the English-language public-secular school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The minority public-secular franc ...

Toronto Catholic District School Board The Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB, known as English-language Separate District School Board No. 40 prior to 1999) is an English-language public-separate school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada, headquartered in North York. I ...

, and city agencies such as the

Toronto Public Library Toronto Public Library (TPL) (french: Bibliothèque publique de Toronto) is a public library system in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest public library system in Canada, and in 2008 had averaged a higher circulation per capita than any other pub ...

Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the public transport agency that operates bus, subway, streetcar, and paratransit services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, some of which run into the Peel Region and York Region. It is the oldest and larges ...

and Toronto Employment & Community Services. Transit schedule info is available on +1-416-393-INFO. * 416-469 numbers usually related to Toronto East General Hospital. * 416-480 numbers usually relate to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. * 416-491 numbers usually relate to Seneca College. * 416-633 usually relate to the Canadian Forces Detachment at Denison Armoury. * 416-635 usually relate to the Canadian Forces Detachment at Moss Park Armoury. * 416-736 numbers usually relate to York University. * 416–739, 416-954 and 416-973 numbers usually relate to the Government of Canada. * 416-756 numbers usually relate to North York General Hospital. * 416–764, 416-446 and 416-935 usually relate to Rogers Communications offices. * 416-776 usually relate to the Greater Toronto Airports Authority * 416-808 numbers usually relate to the Toronto Police. * 416-861 usually relates to the Hudson's Bay Company head offices in the Simpson Tower. * 416-866 numbers usually relate to the Bank of Nova Scotia; 416-933 is also used by Scotiabank. * 416-867 usually relate to St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, St. Michael's Hospital and Bank Of Montreal * 416-870 and 416-872 are so-called choke exchanges reserved for high-volume mass calling services like radio station contest lines, ticket agencies and recorded/automated messages. * 416-941 usually related to both Eaton's, then Sears Canada's head office at Toronto Eaton Centre before the company went defunct in 2018. * 416–974, 416–955, 416–313, 416–842, and 416-348 numbers usually relate to Royal Bank of Canada. * 416-978 and more recently 416-946 numbers usually relate to the University of Toronto. * 416-979 numbers usually relate to Toronto Metropolitan University. * 416-980 numbers usually relate to the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce; 416-784 and 416-780 also used by CIBC.

References

External links

CNA exchange list for area +1-416

{{DEFAULTSORT:Area Codes 416, 647 and 437 Area codes in Canada, 416 Communications in Ontario Toronto