Article Summary
Mint Mobile is a cell phone service provider in the United States but offers no service to the Canadian market. The brand is famously known to be owned and promoted by Vancouverite Ryan Reynolds. A viral video he made with Rick Moranis was unintentionally popular in Canada and raised interest in bringing the low-cost brand to the Canadian market. Mint Mobile hasn’t released any plans for bringing Mint Mobile to Canada, but WhistleOut Canada will update this page with new information as it is announced.
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#1
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Freedom Mobile
Prepaid 1GB + Nationwide Talk & Text Starter plan
$19
Per 1 Month Top-up
+ $10 Upfront
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#2
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Koodo Mobile
$20 Quebec-Wide Calling Plan
$20
Per 30 Day Top-up
+ $10 Upfront
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#3
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PC Mobile
$20 Unlimited Talk & Text
$20
Per 1 Month Top-up
+ $10 Upfront
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#4
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Lucky Mobile
$22 Unlimited Canada-wide Calling Plan
$22
Per 1 Month Top-up
+ $10 Upfront
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#5
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Fizz
Unlimited Quebec Minutes & Text Messaging + 1GB Data
$23/mth
+ $15 Upfront
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#6
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Public Mobile
$25 Unlimited Canada-Wide Talk + Text + 1GB
$25
+ $10 Upfront
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#7
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Virgin Plus (previously Virgin Mobile)
Prepaid $28 Monthly Plan
$28
Per 1 Month Top-up
+ $10 Upfront
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What is Mint Mobile?
Mint Mobile is a mobile service company in the United States that offers low-cost prepaid cell phone plans. The company doesn’t have storefronts, and customer support is only available via online chat or phone call, so plans can be priced far lower than the competition. Mint Mobile only offers plans in 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month packages, which you must pay for upfront.
Consumers can choose from dozens of cell phone models from Apple, Google, Samsung, LG, Motorola and more. Financing is managed through a third-party company with payment plans of 12, 18 or 24 months available. But be aware, interest rates could be as high as 30%, depending on your credit.
Does Ryan Reynolds Own Mint Mobile?
In 2019, Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds bought a stake in Mint Mobile, estimated between 20-25%. However, he also became the face of the company. His internal ad agency, Maximum Effort, produces viral videos with Ryan as the ambassador of the company. The actor’s association with the brand has led to much speculation about Mint Mobile coming to Canada.
Is Rick Moranis Associated With Mint Mobile?
No. In summer 2020, Rick Moranis famously came out of retirement to film a Mint Mobile ad with Ryan Reynolds promoting the company’s new unlimited data plan in the U.S. for $30 per month (about $40 CAD). He has no other public connection with the company. However, the video had an unintended response as it went viral in Canada.
Many Canadians, Ryan included, grew up with Rick Moranis starring in some of their most beloved films, TV shows, and – of course – as one half of comedy duo, Bob and Doug MacKenzie. Moranis’ appearance in the Mint Mobile video ad enlightened the Great White North about American low-cost wireless plan prices.
Unlimited mobile data plans are still a relatively new concept in the Canadian mobile market and $30/month is around half the price offered by major Canadian carriers. The popularity of the ad north of the border led many mobile consumers to ask one common question:
Is Mint Mobile Available in Canada?
No, Mint Mobile is only available to U.S. customers. All plans require a U.S. address. Third-party mobile virtual network operators like Mint Mobile need to negotiate with existing networks and often cannot strike low-cost deals like we see in the United States.
November 2021 Update: A new campaign by Mint Mobile features a billboard in downtown Toronto, new MintMobile.ca website, and a YouTube video from Ryan himself. The campaign calls for Canadians to reach out to their federal representatives in Ottawa to reform the wireless market and make it easier for MVNOs like Mint Mobile to offer more affordable cell phone plans in Canada.
What's a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO)?
The simplest way to describe mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) is that they are mobile providers that don’t own cell phone towers. Instead, they buy service in bulk from major networks and resell access to customers at lower rates. The Canadian government regulates companies that can offer MVNO services. Most often you see “flanker brands” like Fido, Koodo and Virgin Mobile offer cheaper plans, but are carriers that are wholly owned by major Canadian telecom networks.
Regional carriers including Freedom Mobile, Videotron and Sasktel own a small cell tower network that is enhanced by partnerships with other wireless networks to provide nationwide coverage. These carriers can provide MVNO-like service through their own flanker brands such as Fizz.
Canadians can see the effect of true third-party telecom providers in home internet services. Virtual network operators (or VNOs) are allowed in Canada. Now, third-party providers like Teksavvy offer the same DSL, cable and fibre internet services for cheaper rates. Read more about it on WhistleOut Canada’s Best Internet Provider guide.
Best Buy and Mint Mobile
Despite a recent excited announcement by Ryan Reynolds that Mint Mobile is now available in Best Buy, that news only applies to U.S. based storefronts. Mint Mobile plans are not available in Canadian Best Buy stores at this time.
If you've arrived at this page from the United States, you'll appreciate that our American WhistleOut site catalogues every plan and device available at Mint Mobile. We'll even help you find a plan at Mint that includes 5G network access (hint: it's all of them).
Can I Use A Mint Mobile Plan in Canada?
Technically yes, but roaming charges are very expensive. Mint Mobile subscriptions registered in the U.S. can be brought across the border to Canada and used on partner networks, but none of the existing plans include international roaming. Costly pay-per-use charges will be applied. There’s no benefit to subscribing to Mint Mobile in the U.S. and bringing the plan here at this time. Using our Cheapest Cell Phone Plans guide, you can find low-cost alternatives that each cost less than $30/month (and that's in Canadian dollars).
Is Mint Mobile Coming to Canada?
There’s no clear indication when Mint Mobile might set up operations in Canada. The CRTC is the government organization that sets regulations about who can provide telecommunications services in Canada. The CRTC must approve of third-party MVNOs operating within the Canadian market before Mint Mobile can provide wireless services here. However, in messages posted on Twitter, Ryan Reynolds has indicated that the company is actively pursuing options to bring Mint Mobile’s low rate plans to Canada.
Find Cheap and Unlimited Plans in Canada
Getting a $30/month plan with unlimited data still seems impossible in Canada, but we found an unlimited data-only plan that’s only $15/month. Your downloads are extremely slow, but when you do a bit of shopping around and read the fine print, then you can find a great plan that fits your needs. If you don’t want to go through all that, just read our guide to all unlimited data plans in Canada because we’ve already read the fine print and found those best plans.
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