Are cellphone bills falling in Canada? Critics question Ottawa’s claims

As the federal government touts measures meant to curb the cost of Canadians’ cellphone bills, some say there is a disconnect between what consumers are paying and the rhetoric surrounding price declines.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau drew the ire of social media users when he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that “we’ve cut the cost of cellphone plans in half since 2019 — in part by increasing competition.”

“Next, we’re going after the junk fees on your phone bill, so you can do things like cancel your plan or switch to a cheaper one with no added charges,” Trudeau said.

We’ve cut the cost of cell phone plans in half since 2019 — in part by increasing competition. 
 
Next, we’re going after the junk fees on your phone bill, so you can do things like cancel your plan or switch to a cheaper one with no added charges. <a href=«https://twitter.com/hashtag/Budget2024?src=hash&ref_src=» https:>#Budget2024

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) <a href=«https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1781078321284952355?ref_src=» https:>April 18, 2024

But the post raised questions, including from consumers saying they don’t feel as though they are paying less on their cellphone bills than they were five years ago.

“A show of hands please? Has your phone plan cut itself in half? Mine hasn’t,” said X user Ryan Lindley.

“My kingdom for a single person whose cellphone bill has been cut in half since 2019,” tweeted Steve Boots.

Trudeau was promoting a plan in last week’s federal budget, which said the government would amend the Telecommunications Act to help Canadians switch internet and phone providers. The budget cited Statistics Canada data from December 2023 that showed cellphone plan costs declined by 50 per cent since the