Best VPNs for Canada

Canada, while being a part of the Commonwealth of Nations, does not share the restrictive sanctions of UK internet law, for example. The country of the maple leaf is very diverse; people of many origins inhabit its lands. Therefore, Canada treats hate speech in a very sensitive manner – making a great effort to respect differences – and promotes a sense of community built on it. Being the neighbor and a trading partner of the USA, Canada gains benefit in the online domain as well from this relationship. Some on-demand US content that is restricted elsewhere is available in Canada, making the country an already worthy place to connect to.

Editor's choice

NordVPN

Editor's rating:

Easy to use on any device

Extra privacy and file sharing

Comprehensive online protection

Fast and reliable connections

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Security

Surfshark

Editor's rating:

Easy to use everywhere

Enhanced online privacy

Fast and secure connections

Protect unlimited devices

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Multi-device users

IPVanish

Editor's rating:

Protect all your devices

Ensures user privacy

Help anytime you need it

Strong online protection

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Gaming

ExpressVPN

Editor's rating:

Works on all major platforms

Fast, smooth browsing

Easy for anyone to use

Added features for flexibility

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Traveling

CyberGhost VPN

Editor's rating:

Enhanced privacy and security

Fair prices

Flexible IP address options

Protects all your devices

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Streaming

ZoogVPN

Editor's rating:

Affordable VPN solution

Fast and stable connections

Straightforward platform

Protects your online privacy

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Torrenting

Private Internet Access

Editor's rating:

Multiple device compatibility

Keeps your IP address private

Suitable for all users

Tailor settings to your needs

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Beginners

TunnelBear

Editor's rating:

Intuitive and easy to use

Extra privacy and security

Blocks trackers and ads

Smooth, fast browsing

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Using a Canadian IP

Canada is a multicultural country, with many minorities present within its borders. In order to justify pride in diversity, you get great advantages by connecting to the internet with a Canadian IP address. Most prominently, you can get to further dive deep into the incredible variety of Canada that is also present online. To establish contact into or from Canada, some of the suitable VoIP providers include Yak, RingCentral, VoIP Studio, ITP, Phone Power, RingOffice for Businesses and of course Skype.

An interesting incident in terms of internet freedom occurred in 2011 in Canada. By the request of the Canadian ISP Bell Internet, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) enacted to set bandwidth caps for smaller ISPs. The cap was set at 25GBs, a considerably low ceiling. While bigger ISPs are thus more favored, we recommend consulting your VPN provider and collecting information in this matter before connecting to a Canadian IP address from abroad, or you just want a safe place for browsing. Do not expect stellar speeds in Canada, though; great inland distances create many problems.

Canadian online privacy laws

From a legal perspective, Canada’s online content is not regulated all that much. The attitude of the government and the Supreme Court is relatively lenient. Whether this is because of a lack of attention internet law, or is just another aspect of respecting diversity, is unknown. To illustrate this attitude, the Supreme Court ruled in 2011 about defamatory material: in Canada, online publications that link to defamatory materials cannot be deemed guilty if the wording of the link itself is not defamatory. There is a hint of live and let live attitude here that wants to rely on the quick flow of information and content on the internet. Still, hate speech is strongly regulated in Canada: even discriminatory letters written for publicist companies can take their toll on the author. For file sharing, Canada’s copyright act states that unauthorized copying both for fair use and for profit is illegal.

Internet censorship in Canada

In Canada, there is a widespread cooperation between ISPs to combat harmful online material. Project Cleanfeed Canada is a project in which ISPs voluntarily block child pornography websites, for example. It is also worth mentioning that a non-governmental organization is the one that oversees, compiles and manages the list of blocked websites in the country. Cybertip.ca elected to run matters by itself, and the government approved of it. The other most important type of controversial content – hate speech – is not censored in the strict meaning of the word. Rather, hate speech is penalized (or worse) and the content is asked to be removed or is just removed by authorities. File sharing however thrives in Canada. Though unauthorized copying is not permitted, this does not apply to sound recordings of music (and incidentally, Canadian music is sought after both locally and internationally). Cut versions of music film and such are also shareable.

Streaming Services in Canada

The availability of streaming services in Canada is good. One of the music streamers restricted to Canada and US only is Slacker. Spotify is open for listeners, and so is SoundCloud and Apple Music on Android and iOS. Google Play Music is similarly good to go, but Amazon Prime is not within reach. Another restricted service is Napster, along with Pandora. For moving picture entertainment, Netflix is the closest thing, but there have been complaints about bandwidth shortage, making the use of a VPN or smart DNS connection all the more desirable. Hulu is restricted to the US only, and BBC iPlayer can only be accessed from UK grounds – most Commonwealth countries do not benefit from access to UK content.

Free Canadian VPN trials

Finally, there are three VPN services in particular that fit connecting to Canada the most. Bandwidth and speed are natural problems for the great distances. After all, Canada is the second biggest country in the world by total area. First, we advise you to take a look at ExpressVPN. Living up to its name, it is one of the fastest VPN services on the market with up to speed servers in various Canadian locations. This is the result of the minimal loss of speed that naturally comes with running a VPN connection – ExpressVPN are experts in reducing this deficit. Private Internet Access is another possible choice. With extremely low prices, but solid service and kind post-purchase customer support, PIA also has its own positive edges.

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