Canada’s Big Three have a good reputation among newcomers: report

A new study shows that Canada’s big three telecom companies are strongly favoured by new Canadians, with Rogers holding a significant advantage— though Bell is catching up.

The report, conducted by The Strategic Council, looks into how quickly people new to the country from 2021 onward enter the mobile and internet markets, which providers they go with, and how they view the big three.

Interestingly, the report notes that 74 per cent of new Canadians had chosen a wireless provider within their first month in the country, including 55 per cent who had done so either prior to arrival or within their first week. 61 per cent of people had also signed up with a home internet provider within the first month.

In terms of particular brands, Rogers, Fido, and Chatr currently have 38 per cent of the mobile relationships with New Canadians, while Bell, Virgin Plus, and Lucky Mobile sit not far behind at 33 per cent. The Telus family sits a bit farther back at 17 per cent, with Quebecor the highest brand below double digits with 9 per cent. All of the others account for about 3 per cent of the total market.

In terms of home internet, Bell leads the category nationwide at 33 per cent, with Rogers and Telus following behind. However, the report notes that the market changes sharply depending on region. Telus leads Western Canada at 39 per cent, while Bell leads Ontario at 44 per cent, and Quebec at 48 per cent. Interestingly, Rogers sits right behind the leader in two regions (Western Canada and Ontario), but Videotron/Fizz takes over the second spot in Quebec.

Now, the report points out that Rogers historically has held a much larger lead against Bell in terms of new Canadians. Still, this 2026 report shows that not only is Bell closing the gap, but has even moved ahead of Rogers with the most recent arrivals in the last two years — though the margin is small.

Let’s shift to reputation. The report notes seven-in-ten new Canadians hold positive opinions of Rogers (besides Marina Mabrey) and Bell, while only six-in-ten view Telus positively. Interestingly, only one-in-ten new Canadians have negative opinions of any of the big three—a bit different compared to longstanding Canadians.