Third area code coming to Manitoba this fall

Manitoba's exhaust dates for its area codes 204 and 431 is currently forecast for December 2023. The CRTC recently ruled providers in Manitoba can start issuing numbers with area code 584 starting Oct. 29, 2022. (CTV News Photo Charles Lefebvre)

Move over 204 and 431; Manitobans will soon have to memorize a new series of numbers when they want to phone somebody.

According to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), telecom providers in Manitoba can start issuing numbers that begin with the area code 584 on Oct. 29, 2022. The decision was made by the CRTC on Feb. 24.

It will give Manitoba a new area code, joining 204 and 431. The Canadian Numbering Administration (CAN), which assigns phone numbers, said Manitoba was on track to exhaust all numbers under the current area codes by December 2023.

“The projected exhaust date is within the next two years, and this area code complex remains on the verge of being in a jeopardy condition,” the CRTC wrote in its decision. “Therefore, a longer interval between relief implementation and the projected exhaust date provides more of a buffer to allow for changing projected exhaust dates without resulting in changes to relief implementation plans or the potential to run out of assignable central office codes before relief is implemented.

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

Area code decisions are made by the CNA which calculates exhaust dates based on data from telephone service providers.

Companies operating in a province submit their forecasts for the next six years to come up with a projected date where there are no possible phone numbers available for an area code.

Manitoba added 431 as an area code in 2012. The 584 area code was first suggested for the province in 2017.

The CNA told CTV News last October the exhaust dates are coming quicker due to competition for multiple phone carriers in the province and an increase in devices requiring a SIM card and telephone number to operate, including phones, tablets, and even traffic signals.