Canadian carriers’ early Black Friday deals don’t beat last year… yet

Now that some of the early Black Friday 2025 deals are coming out at Canadian carriers, I thought it would be worth taking a trip down memory lane to last year’s Black Friday to see how things stack up. This will also serve as a benchmark for any new deals that come out, so anyone can quickly check if a deal is actually decent.

So, with all that said, let’s dive into some of the highlights from Black Friday 2024.

Last year’s top plans

During the Black Friday 2024 sale, wireless providers like Videotron’s Freedom Mobile and Telus’ Public Mobile offered some of the best options, with deals like $29/10GB, $35/50GB, $45/75GB, and $55/100GB — all of which included unlimited Canada/U.S./Mexico usage and 5G.

Other notable plan deals included $34/60GB and $39/100GB 4G plans, Videotron had a $40/100GB plan, and Bell had some $45/120GB and $50/200GB 5G deals for existing customers.

So far this year, plan deals aren’t as good. There’s still lots of time for carriers to drop better deals, but right now, Freedom and Public have some of the best plans. Freedom’s plans so far are very similar to what it has offered all year, with options like $34/10GB, $39/60GB, and $49/100GB (all with 5G and Canada/U.S./Mexico usage).

Public, meanwhile, has similar Canada/U.S./Mexico 5G plans at $40/60GB, $50/80GB, and $60/100GB.

Personally, I think the benchmark to beat is the $35/50GB deal. That feels like a sweet spot to me and hopefully we see more providers offer plans in that price range as we get closer to Black Friday.

Last year’s top phone deals

When it comes to smartphones, comparisons are a bit trickier because of how the carriers handle financing, with factors like plan price and device return programs impacting prices. Plus, with new phones launching all year long, some of the devices that were on sale last year might not even be available this year.

Despite all that, there are still some notable phone deals we can compare. For example, last year several providers had the Pixel 9 available for $0/mo financing, and we’re already seeing similar deals emerge this year on the Pixel 10. We’ve also seen the Pixel 10 Pro get a $0/mo deal at Rogers and Bell, but it requires a $115 plan and when you crunch the numbers, it’s actually cheaper to pay $15/mo and get a cheaper plan. And if you do want a Pixel 9, Koodo has a decent deal offering one free on a $70/mo plan.

For the iPhone, we saw some providers last year offer the iPhone 16 for $10/mo financing (or even as low as $2/mo). So far this year, we’ve seen the iPhone 16 go on sale for as low as $0/mo (with eligible trade-in at Rogers).

Other top phone deals from last year include a $5/mo Galaxy S24 or $14.15/mo Galaxy S24 and Galaxy Watch 7 bundle. This year, Rogers already has a $0/mo Galaxy S25 and Watch 8 bundle, so this deal has actually gotten better since last year.

Overall, some of the phone deals are shaping up well, but wireless plans aren’t seeing the same discounts yet. And when you combine phone and plan, it seems like most of the providers are banking on people taking more expensive plans to get a free phone.

I’d recommend most people get a phone outright and pick up a cheaper plan instead to save money. Just as a loose comparison, a $100/mo plan with a $0 phone works out to $2,400 over two years. But most flagship smartphones start around $1,100 in Canada, which means you can save money by buying outright and getting a plan for $50/mo or less. I wrote a whole breakdown of how to look at carrier phone pricing last year and while the devices might not be relevant anymore, the process I use to calculate a good deal absolutely is. Check it out to learn more about analyzing phone deals.

And if you’re curious to dive deeper into Black Friday 2024 deals, we have a roundup highlighting all the best options. If you’re looking for more tech deals, check out our roundup of all ongoing Black Friday coverage.