In 2028, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island residents looking to get a new phone number will have to remember three digits: 851. That will be the new area code for both provinces in less than two years, according to a decision from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). The decision says the 851 area code will go into effect on May 27, 2028. Nova Scotia and P.E.I. already have the 902 and 782 area codes, but according to the decision, those numbers are at risk of being exhausted by February 2029. “When an area code or area code complex runs out of assignable central office codes, a new area code is added to the geographic area served by the original area code(s),” the decision reads. “This new area code is referred to as an overlay on the original area code(s). When it provides telephone numbers to the same geographical area as the original area code(s), it is considered a distributed overlay area code.” The decision noted it is introducing the new area code nine months ahead of the projected exhaustion date to give customers and telephone service providers time to implement it into their systems and databases. The CRTC introduced mandatory 10-digit dialing and the 782 area code in Nova Scotia and P.E.I. in 2014.
