New area code announced for Toronto!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

As another in my long-running series of Ontarian area-code threads, I can reveal that a new telephone area code will be activated in the City of Toronto on March 25, 2013. The new code is 437, and it will join 647 and 416. On the same date, the new code 365 will be activated in the surrounding suburban area, which now has 289 and 905.

This means that as of 2013, some suburban areas could potentially have local dialling to eight different area codes! These would be their own 905, 289, and 365; downtown’s 416, 647, and 437; and the two codes in their closest area adjoining and outside of the area code 905 region. The 905 region is bounded by area codes 705 (with overlay code 249) on the north and east, and 519 (with overlay code 226) on the west.

A fourth code, 387, has been set aside for Toronto to use when needed.

Earlier thread about area code 249.
Even earlier thread about area code 343.

2

Another thing to make me feel like more of an old fart.

In my day, all we needed was 416. There was a 705 and 519 but no one lived there.

We have one code (902) for our entire Province and we share it with PEI.

3

My head hurts.

4

I’ll wait to watch the fireworks. It should be noted that 437 is the exchange for Pefferlaw, Ontario. True, that’s in area 705, but it’s also only an hour north of Toronto, and very close to the 4xx numbers that already exist in 416. So I’m wondering–how many Pefferlonians will be putting up with calls from people who mistake the area for the exchange code, or otherwise misdial?

5

Well, given that I am currently sitting in Sutton West, in area code 905/289, and the next settlement, Virginia*, along Highway 48 just over the hill to the east, is in the 705/249 area code, and Pefferlaw** is the next settlement past Virginia, it isn’t very far away. I believe it does not have local dialing to Toronto though. Thus you will never be able to dial a 705-437-XXXX Pefferlaw number and a 437-XXX-XXXX Toronto number in the same way. From Pefferlaw, the Pefferlaw number must be dialled as 705-437-XXXX, and the Toronto number must be dialled as 0-437-XXX-XXXX or 1-437-XXX-XXXX.

Mind you, with ten-digit dialling, you always have to include the area code as part of the phone number, so people who think of Pefferlaw numbers as just 437-XXXX will never be able to dial them that way, even today. They need to start dialling with “705”.

[sub]*Yes, it has a Virginia Beach. That’s where the ferry to Georgina Island lands.
**Coming soon: my drawing named “The Great Bridge of Pefferlaw”.[/sub]

6

Heck, I am only 42 and when we went to my Dad’s home “town” in New Brunswick, you only had to dial the last four digits to reach your party. I remember this as a teenager a least, possibly into my twenties…

MaisOui, who was really, really put out when my area code changed from 416 to 905…

7

I’ve heard people giving phone numbers in Bancroft in this way, even now: “I’m at 3223.” Even though you have to dial 613-332 in front, and there are now other exchanges in town.

I must be too much of a neophile. I looked forward to the 416/905 split, and I proudly took up my 647 number with glee…

8

No sir! I worked for an office equipment sales/service company. Envelopes, letterhead, business cards, spec sheets, etc, etc, etc, all had to be changed.

We also had about a billion machines with stickers on them that had the phone number to call for srvice and these had to be replaced one by one. We couldn’t leave the old sticker on because that wasn’t good customer service (because, you see, our customers might not be able to figure that out), and we couldn’t just send stickers out and have the owners stick them on because that wasn’t good customer service… :rolleyes:

9

Well, once ten-digit dialling was in, and you had the area code on the stickers, at least you could breathe a sign of relief that, no matter what new codes were overlaid, at least you didn’t have to change the existing information…

10

What are you doing in Sutton?

And so this post isn’t a total hijack, when I call Pefferlaw nowadays (yep, I really do from time to time), I have to dial 1-705-437-xxxx anyway, so I guess in my case the point is moot.

11

Living with friends while I look for work.

And, given the existence of ten-digit dialling, there is no way we can now dial a Pefferlaw number as seven digits starting with “437”, so there is no chance of confusion with numbers starting with area code 437. Really, the CNAC ought to loosen up its guidelines and allow exchanges that are the same as nearby area codes, so we can have numbers like 416-416-XXXX and 705-905-XXXX.