Toronto to get a new 942 area code.

The new code for phone users will be implemented in two years after it received approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), according to a report published Wednesday.

The CRTC approved the new overlay area code after a report projected the city’s existing three area codes — 416, 437 and 647 — will be exhausted by April 2026.

Set to take effect on April 26, 2025, the new area code is described as a “relief method” recommended by the CRTC.

“This timing also provides telephone service providers and customers the necessary time to implement the new area code into their systems, databases and telecommunications equipment,” the CRTC report said.

According to the report, British Columbia will also receive a new area code of 257 added to its current list of five, effective May 24, 2025.

The announcement comes 10 years after Toronto residents began using the 437 area code, after the city and the GTA began running out of new phone numbers.

In 2001, the city started using the 647 area code.

The original 416 was implemented in 1947 as one of the first area codes distributed in Canada. At the time, area codes were introduced as part of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for people to make long-distance calls instead of using an operator.

This article was reported by The Star