ESSENTIALS - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 770

Telephone
The area code for Vancouver and the lower mainland, including the Sunshine Coast, as far
north as Whistler, and east to Hope, is 604. The area code for the rest of the province, in-
cluding Victoria and all of Vancouver Island, is 250. The area code 778 and 236 applies to
new numbers. The area code for all of the Yukon is 867. You must add the relevant area
code to all numbers, even when dialed locally.
The country code for Canada is 1, the same as the United States. Toll-free numbers
have the 800, 888, or 877 prefix, and may be good within British Columbia, in Canada,
throughout North America, or, in the case of major hotel chains and car-rental companies,
worldwide.
To make an international call from Canada, dial the prefix 011 before the country code
or dial 0 for operator assistance.
Public phones accept 5-, 10-, and 25-cent coins; local calls are $0.35, and most long-dis-
tance calls cost at least $2.50 for the first minute. The least expensive way to make long-
distance calls from a public phone is with a phone card. These are available from conveni-
ence stores, newsstands, and gas stations.
Public Internet Access
Public Internet access is available throughout British Columbia. Nearly all hotels and mo-
tels have wireless or high-speed access; as a general rule, there is no charge for usage, with
the exception being at more expensive business-class properties. Except for wilderness hos-
tels, backpacker lodges also provide Internet access. You'll also find wireless connections
in many cafés and all libraries.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
Canada officially adopted the metric system back in 1975, though you still hear grocers
talking in ounces and pounds, golfers talking in yards, and seafarers talking in nautical
miles. Metric is the primary unit used in this topic, but we've added imperial conversions
for readers from the United States, Liberia, and Myanmar, the only three countries that have
not adopted the metric system. You can also refer to the metric conversion chart in the back
of this topic.
Electricity
Electrical voltage is 120 volts, the same as in the United States.