Telecom Regulatory Policy 2026-78 closes a three-part Consumer Protections Action Plan that has reshaped what Canadian telecom subscribers can expect from their providers. The broadcasting side of the regulator's mandate has not yet received the same treatment.
On Friday April 24, 2026, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission released Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2026-78, requiring all telecom service providers to allow customers to modify or cancel their internet and cellphone plans through self-service tools — an app, a website, or email. The rules take effect April 26, 2027, giving providers twelve months to implement.
For Canadians who have spent hours on hold trying to leave a contract or downgrade a plan, the policy is overdue. It is also the clearest signal yet that the CRTC's consumer-protection agenda has matured into an explicit framework rather than a series of one-off decisions.
The Three Pieces of the Consumer Protections Action Plan
Policy 2026-78 is the third and final determination flowing from amendments to the Telecommunications Act that came into force on October 30, 2025. Together, the three decisions form a coherent consumer-protection architecture for the telecom side of the CRTC's mandate:
- Telecom Regulatory Policy 2026-43 (March 12, 2026) — prohibits activation, change, and cancellation fees that act as barriers to switching providers. Effective June 12, 2026.
- Bill-shock notification rules (April 2026) — requires providers to notify customers before contracts, discounts, or promotions end, and when international roaming charges accumulate to $50.
- Telecom Regulatory Policy 2026-78 (April 24, 2026) — requires self-service cancellation and modification of plans. Effective April 26, 2027.
The framework is anchored in subparagraph 17(b)(iv) of the 2023 Policy Direction, which directs the Commission to take measures to ensure consumers can “promptly, affordably, and easily cancel, downgrade, transfer, or otherwise change their services.” Policy 2026-78 cites that language directly. CRTC chairperson Vicky Eatrides framed the April 24 decision as a competition issue as much as a consumer-rights one, noting that more choice is meaningless if Canadians cannot easily switch. The Commission's position, restated across all three decisions, is that competition without low-friction exit is competition in name only.
What the New Self-Service Rule Actually Requires
Under Policy 2026-78, telecom service providers must:
- Allow customers to cancel a plan, downgrade, or otherwise modify service through at least one of: an app, a website, or email.
- Make customer-initiated changes effective immediately.
- Provide written confirmation of any self-service action a customer takes.
- Comply regardless of size — the rule applies to all telecommunications service providers, large and small.
The Commission rejected industry arguments that self-service cancellation could create security risks or unintended consequences such as the loss of a phone number. The Commission found that providers already have authentication tools and customer-warning mechanisms available to address those concerns. The Policy Direction's command to enable easy cancellation, the Commission held, takes priority.
A Coherent Framework on One Side of the Regulator's Mandate
The Consumer Protections Action Plan now spans the full lifecycle of a telecom subscription: how plans are entered into (notification rules), how subscribers learn about changes (bill-shock rules), and how they can leave (fee prohibition and self-service cancellation). The CRTC has also signalled further work — a future consultation will simplify and combine the Wireless Code and the Internet Code into a single consumer-protection code.
For internet and cellphone customers, the picture is increasingly coherent. The CRTC has articulated a doctrine: subscribers should be able to enter, change, and exit telecom services on their own terms, with minimal friction.
The Other Half of the CRTC's Mandate
The Commission's authority covers two regulated sectors — telecommunications and broadcasting. The decisions discussed above apply only to telecom. They do not apply to television and broadcasting distribution undertakings, which are governed by a separate statutory and regulatory framework under the Broadcasting Act.
In the broadcasting sphere, the closest analogue to the Consumer Protections Action Plan is Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2015-96 — the “Let's Talk TV” framework — which introduced pick-and-pay channel selection and a $25 entry-level service. Let's Talk TV set out consumer-choice principles for television subscribers more than a decade ago. Whether those principles have been consistently carried through into how individual broadcasting services are licensed and packaged is a question this site continues to track across active proceedings.
For now, broadcasting subscribers do not have the equivalent of Policy 2026-78. In most cases they cannot cancel, modify, or restructure the composition of their television package through a self-service mechanism. That gap is conspicuous against the benchmark the CRTC has just established for telecom.
Timeline for Subscribers
- June 12, 2026 — activation, change, and cancellation fees prohibited under Policy 2026-43.
- 2026 onward — bill-shock notifications phased in.
- April 26, 2027 — self-service cancellation and modification mandatory under Policy 2026-78.
- Future consultation — combined Internet Code and Wireless Code expected.
If you have an internet or cellphone plan today, the practical effect of the framework will accumulate over the next twelve months. By spring 2027, leaving a provider should not require a phone call or an in-person visit. Whether the equivalent flexibility ever arrives for broadcasting subscribers depends on proceedings still in progress — including several the CRTC has yet to schedule.
Further Reading
- Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2026-78
- Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2026-43
- CRTC Consumer Protections Action Plan announcement
- Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2015-96 (“Let's Talk TV”)
Tracking active CRTC consultations on broadcasting consumer protection — see our CRTC consultation tracker.
Canadians for Broadcast Accountability monitors broadcaster compliance and helps Canadians navigate the CRTC process. Learn more about what we do or join our email list for updates.