Is 450 a Montreal area code?

Not for the island itself. Area code 450 split from 514 in June 1998 and covers the off-island suburbs such as Laval and Longueuil, now shared with the overlay codes 579 (2010) and 354 (2022). A 450 number was issued near Montreal but outside the Island of Montreal and Île Perrot, which use 514, 438 and 263.

Why do Montreal businesses have 514 numbers and newer phones have 438?

Because 514 is the original code and most of its blocks were handed out long ago, many of them to Bell Canada's landline business. When 514 ran short, new numbers began coming from 438 in 2006 and from 263 in 2022. A newer code only shows when a number was assigned, not whether the caller is trustworthy.

Are Quebec scam calls reported to a different agency?

No. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre serves all of Canada, in French and English, at 1-888-495-8501, and you should also tell your local police if you lost money. Organizations that were impersonated often want to know too: Hydro-Québec, for example, asks people to report fraudulent emails to Surveillance.Fraudes@hydro.qc.ca.

Who Is Calling From 514 or 438? Montreal Area Codes

A 514, 438 or 263 number is a Montreal number. The three codes share the Island of Montreal and Île Perrot: 514 is the original, 438 was added in November 2006 and 263 in October 2022. The code says where the number was issued, not who is calling, and scam calls arrive in French and English alike.

Oct 9, 2026

Montreal’s three area codes

Montreal works like Toronto: several codes share one territory, and ten-digit local dialling is mandatory. These dates come from the Canadian Numbering Administrator’s relief history, and the prefix counts from the CNAC data TrustOrNah loaded in October 2026:

Area code	In service	Prefixes in service
514	1947	778
438	November 2006	608
263	October 2022	63

514 was one of the original area codes of 1947. In June 1998 the suburbs off the island moved to the new code 450, leaving 514 for the Island of Montreal and Île Perrot. 438 was overlaid on that area in November 2006, and 263 followed in October 2022 when 514 and 438 were close to running out.

In the numbering data, the three codes cover the same six exchanges: Montreal, Lachine, Pointe-Claire, Roxboro, Ste-Genevieve and Ile-Perrot. The Montreal exchange holds most of the blocks, 684 of the 778 prefixes in 514.

Is 263 a real Montreal area code?

Yes. Area code 263 went into service in October 2022 as an overlay on 514 and 438, covering the same Island of Montreal area. It is still small: in October 2026 it had 63 prefixes across five carriers, led by Rogers Wireless with 31. A 263 number is simply a recently issued Montreal number.

Who holds Montreal numbers

The largest holders show how each code is used:

514: Bell Canada 305, Bell Mobility 121, Rogers Wireless 87, Fido 79, TELUS Mobility 49, Videotron 45.
438: Bell Mobility 178, Videotron 82, Iristel 75, TELUS Mobility 75, Rogers Wireless 63, Fibernetics 27.
263: Rogers Wireless 31, IXICA Communications 13, Videotron 11, TELUS Mobility 5, Fido 3.

514 is the code of Montreal’s landlines, with Bell Canada’s wireline business holding about two in five prefixes. 438 is mostly mobile, but it also has a larger share of competitive carriers. Iristel and Fibernetics together hold 102 of its 608 prefixes, and TrustOrNah labels those prefixes “Likely VoIP / virtual number”, because their numbers often end up on internet phone services. You can see every block on the area code 514 page.

Bilingual scam calls

Scam scripts are easy to translate, so Montreal residents get the same fake bank, government and utility calls in French and in English. The language of the call is not a clue either way.

Quebec organizations publish their own warnings. Hydro-Québec says it will never ask for your credit card number, and that it never asks for personal or banking information by email or text message. It also warns about callers posing as its employees who demand immediate payment and threaten to cut off service. Revenu Québec says it does not notify you of a payment, refund or money transfer by email or text, and does not ask for personal information that way.

Federal scams arrive in both languages as well. A call from the “Agence du revenu du Canada” that threatens arrest is the same CRA scam described in our CRA phone scam guide.

Does a call in French make it more likely to be real?

No. Scammers translate their scripts, so a call in French, a caller name that sounds local or a familiar 514 number proves nothing about who is on the line. A real organization will always let you hang up and call back on a number you found yourself, in either official language.

What does a Hydro-Québec scam call sound like?

The caller says your power will be cut because of an unpaid bill and asks for a credit card number or an immediate payment to stop it. Hydro-Québec says it never asks for your credit card number and does not accept credit card payments for electricity bills. Hang up and check your account directly.

How to check a Montreal number

Look up the full number to see the carrier, the exchange and the likely line type, along with any reports from other people. Then compare that with the story. A “bank” calling from a mobile prefix, or “Hydro-Québec” on a line labelled likely VoIP, does not match how those organizations reach customers. A normal result does not prove the call is real, because scammers can spoof genuine Montreal numbers.

What to do now

Look up the number before calling back, whatever language the call was in.
Never give a card number, one-time code or password to someone who called you.
Call Hydro-Québec, Revenu Québec, the CRA or your bank on a number from their official website or your bill.
Report fraud to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 and to your local police if you lost money.