Area codes 778 and 236 are overlay area codes for the Canadian province of British Columbia. Area code 778 was created on November 3, 2001, as a concentrated overlay of area code 604, the area code for the Lower Mainland. It originally served only Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley Regional District, with the rest of the Lower Mainland continuing to use only 604. Nonetheless, the implementation of 778 made 10-digit dialing mandatory across the Lower Mainland.
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The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announced on June 7, 2007, that 778 would become an overlay for the entire province effective July 4, 2007, because of exhaustion of phone numbers in area code 250, the area code for the rest of British Columbia. Overlays have become the preferred method of relief in Canada, and Telus and other carriers wanted to spare customers outside the Lower Mainland the expense and burden of changing their numbers for the second time in a decade.
As of June 23, 2008, 10-digit dialing became mandatory across British Columbia; attempting to use seven digits would trigger an intercept message reminding callers of the new rule. After September 12, 2008, 7-digit dialing ceased to function.
This was intended as a long-term solution, but within four years 604, 250 and 778 were close to exhaustion once again. To solve the problem, area code 236 went into effect as an additional overlay for the province on June 1, 2013.
Communities included
Future planning
Area code 672 is reserved for British Columbia once area code 236 is exhausted.