Area code 250 is an area code for most of the Canadian province of British Columbia, including Vancouver Island. It was created on October 19, 1996, as a split of area code 604, which was retained by the Lower Mainland.
The area code also serves the United States community of Hyder, Alaska, which sits along the border near the town of Stewart.
The incumbent local exchange carriers are Telus, Northwestel and CityWest in the city of Prince Rupert.
By the mid-2000s, 250 was already on the verge of exhaustion, due primarily to Canada's inefficient system of number allocation. Canada does not use number pooling as a relief measure; each carrier is allocated blocks of 10,000 numbers in each rate centre where it plans to offer service, even in the smallest hamlets. While most regions do not need that many phone numbers, once a prefix is assigned to a rate centre, it cannot be allocated elsewhere. This has resulted in thousands of wasted numbers, a problem exacerbated by the proliferation of cell phones and pagers. It was decided to make 778, which had been an overlay area code for Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, an overlay for the entire province starting on July 4, 2007. Overlays have become the preferred method of area code relief in Canada; no area codes have been split since 1999. However, it is probable that an overlay would have been chosen in any event as another split would likely have been implemented by leaving area code 250 assigned to Vancouver Island and assigning the rest of the province, outside the Lower Mainland, a new area code. The region's carriers did not want to force their customers (particularly in rural areas) to change their numbers for the second time in a decade.
Armstrong (250): 546
Bella Bella (250): 957
Bridge River Valley, including Bralorne, Brexton, Gold Bridge, and Gun Lake (250): 238
Campbell River (250): 201 202 203 204 205 286 287 346 504 830 850 895 923
Castlegar (250): 304 365 608 687
Chetwynd (250): 788
Cranbrook (250): 417 420 421 426 450 464 489 581 919
Creston (250): 254 402 428 431 435 977
Comox (250): 339 890 941
Courtenay (250): 207 218 331 334 338 465 585 650 702 703 792 871 897 898
The Cowichan Valley comprises the following local rate centres:
Chemainus (250): 210 246 324 416 436 533 606
Cobble Hill (250): 733 743 929
Duncan (250): 252 466 510 597 701 709 710 715 732 737 746 748 815 856
Ladysmith (250): 245 912 924
Lake Cowichan (250): 749 932
Youbou (250): 745
Cumberland (250): 336
Dawson Creek (250): 219 467 719 782 784 795 806 854
Elkford (250): 865
Enderby (250): 838
Fernie (250): 278 430 946
Fort Nelson (250):
Fort St. James (250): 996
Fort St. John (250): 224 261 262 263 264 271 329 663 785 787 793 794
Gold River (250): 283
Golden (250): 344 439 272
Grand Forks (250): 442 443 584 666
Gulf Islands, including Galiano Island, Mayne Island, and Saturna Island (250): 222 539
Hazelton (250): 842
Hixon (250): 998
Houston (250): 845
Hudson's Hope (250): 783 903
Hyder, Alaska (250): 234 636
Invermere (250): 270 341 342 409 688
Kamloops (250): 214 299 312 314 318 319 320 371 372 374 376 377 434 461 554 571 572 573 574 576 578 579 682 705 819 828 851 852 879
Surrounding communities:
Barriere (250): 672
Clearwater (250): 674
Cache Creek (250): 313 457
Logan Lake (250): 523
Savona (250): 373
Kaslo (250): 353 943
Kelowna (250): 212 215 258 300 317 322 448 450 451 452 454 469 470 491 575 681 712 717 718 760 764 765 769 801 807 808 826 859 860 861 862 863 864 868 869 870 872 878 899 979 980
Surrounding communities:
Oyama (250): 548
Peachland (250): 767
West Kelowna (250): 700 707 768
Winfield (250): 766
Kimberley (250): 427 432 520 602 908
Kitimat (250): 632 639
Kitwanga (250): 849
Rural Kootenays (250): 229 357 399 424 429 445 447 529 603 829
Lillooet (250): 256
Merritt, British Columbia (250): 280 315 378 525 936
Midway (250): 449 528 605
Nakusp (250): 265
Nanaimo is divided into the following local rate centres:
Cedar (250): 323 722
Lantzville (250): 390 933
Nanaimo (250): 244 255 268 327 518 585 591 616 618 619 667 668 713 714 716 734 739 740 741 753 754 755 762 796 797 802 816 824
Wellington (250): 729 751 756 758 760
Nanoose Bay (250): 468
Nelson (250): 352 354 505 509 551 777 825
Parksville (250): 228 240 248 586 607 905 927 937 947 951 954
Pender Island (250): 629
Penticton (250): 274 276 328 460 462 482 486 487 488 490 492 493 770 809 817
Port Alberni (250): 206 419 720 723 724 730 731 735 736 913 918
Port Hardy (250): 230 902 949
Port McNeill (250): 956
Prince George (250): 277 301 552 561 562 563 564 565 596 612 613 614 617 640 645 649 906 960 961 962 963 964 970 981
Prince Rupert (250): 624 627
Qualicum Beach (250): 752
Quesnel (250): 255 316 925 983 985 991 992 747 249 555
Revelstoke (250): 814 837
Rossland (250): 362
Saanich (250): 544 654 655 657 665 669
Salmon Arm (250): 489 515 803 804 832 833
Salt Spring Island (250): 537 538 653
Sidney (250): 652 656
Slocan Valley (250): 355 358 359 226
Smithers (250): 847 877 917
Sooke (250): 642 664 867
Jordan River (250): 646
Port Renfrew (250): 647
Sparwood (250): 425 910
Stewart (250): 636
Summerland (250): 404 494
Terrace (250): 615 631 635 638 641 892 922 975
Tofino (250): 522 725
Trail (250): 231 364 368 512 521 693 921
Fruitvale (250): 367
Tumbler Ridge (250): 242
Ucluelet (250): 266 726
Union Bay, including Fanny Bay, Denman Island, and Hornby Island (250): 335
Valemount (250): 566
Vanderhoof, (250): 524 567 570 944
Vernon (250): 241 260 275 306 307 308 309 351 503 540 541 542 543 545 549 550 558 907 938
Victoria (250): 208 213 216 217 220 294 298 356 360 361 363 370 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 391 405 410 412 413 414 415 418 419 472 474 475 477 478 479 480 483 507 508 514 516 519 532 536 580 588 589 590 592 595 598 634 658 661 686 704 708 721 727 744 800 812 813 818 823 853 857 858 880 881 882 883 884 885 886 888 889 891 893 896 915 920 940 952 953 978 984 995 999
Wells (250): 994
Williams Lake (250): 267 302 303 305 392 398 855
Wynndel (250): 866
The projected exhaust date of area code 250 was January 2008. The plan recommended by the Canadian Numbering Administrator, to change the boundaries of area code 778 to include the entire province, was approved by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on June 7, 2007. Mandatory 10-digit dialing began September 12, 2008. As this solution was an overlay, the existing telephone numbers in area code 250 remained unchanged. Three CO prefixes in the 250 area code were reserved for use by Northwestel, as 13 of its 15 switches at the time could not handle multiple area codes, and its system could not accommodate 10-digit-dialling.
Area code 236 was implemented as a distributed overlay of area codes 604, 250, and 778 on 1 June 2013.
Area code 672 has been reserved for British Columbia once area code 236 is exhausted.
