Leased Line Costs in Canada: A Comprehensive Business Guide
A leased line — also called Dedicated Internet Access (DIA), is the premium tier of business connectivity in Canada. You get a private fibre circuit with guaranteed symmetric speeds, an SLA with financial penalties if the carrier underdelivers, and bandwidth that nobody else shares. It’s the gold standard.
It’s also expensive. A 1 Gbps leased line in downtown Toronto runs $1,100–$1,300/month. In Saskatoon? $1,400–$1,800. And that’s before installation, which can add $2,000–$50,000 depending on whether your building already has fibre.
The original version of this article was written in 2021, and the pricing landscape has shifted. This fully updated 2026 guide gives you real numbers by speed tier, city, and carrier, plus the factors that can swing your bill by 40% or more for the exact same service.
What’s in This Guide
What Is a Leased Line?
A leased line is a dedicated, private fibre-optic circuit between your business and your Internet Service Provider’s network. Unlike standard business internet where you share infrastructure with other users, a leased line reserves bandwidth exclusively for you. Nobody else’s traffic touches your connection.
In the Canadian telecom industry, the terms “leased line,” “Dedicated Internet Access (DIA),” and “dedicated fibre” are used interchangeably. They all refer to the same product: a private circuit with guaranteed performance.
Four features define a true leased line:
- Symmetric speeds: Upload and download are identical. Buy 500 Mbps, get 500 Mbps in both directions. This is critical for cloud backups, video conferencing, and VoIP.
- Guaranteed bandwidth: The speed you pay for is contractually yours 24/7/365. No “up to” language. No slowdowns during peak hours.
- Service Level Agreement (SLA): Carriers commit to specific uptime (typically 99.9%+) with financial penalties — bill credits — if they miss the target.
- Static IP addresses: Most DIA plans include a block of static IPs (typically a /29 block) for hosting servers, VPNs, or other services.
Leased Line vs. Standard Business Internet: A standard business internet plan from Bell, TELUS, or Rogers (the $85–$160/month plans) uses the same underlying fibre network as residential, you get priority support and a static IP, but you share bandwidth with other users and speeds aren’t guaranteed. A leased line is a fundamentally different product with a private circuit. That’s why the price jumps from ~$130/month to $1,100+/month. For a full comparison, see our guide on why business internet costs more.
2026 Leased Line Pricing by Speed Tier
All prices below assume a 36-month contract in a building that already has fibre infrastructure (an “on-net” or “lit” building). Shorter contracts and off-net locations cost significantly more, we’ll cover those adjustments further down.
| Speed | Monthly Cost (CAD) | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| 100 Mbps | $500–$800 | Small offices (10–20 employees), basic cloud apps, entry-level DIA |
| 500 Mbps | $700–$1,200 | Mid-size offices (40–60 employees), multi-cloud, VoIP, video conferencing |
| 1 Gbps | $1,000–$1,600 | Larger offices (80–120 employees), heavy cloud usage, e-commerce, data backup |
| 10 Gbps | $4,000–$7,500 | Data centres, large enterprises (250+ employees), real-time analytics |
The wide ranges reflect the enormous impact of location and building infrastructure on pricing, the single biggest factor affecting what you’ll actually pay.
Bandwidth Doesn’t Scale Linearly: Doubling your speed doesn’t double your cost. Going from 100 Mbps to 200 Mbps typically adds 50–60% to the price, not 100%. Jumping from 500 Mbps to 1 Gbps usually costs 30–40% more. This means higher speed tiers offer better per-Mbps value, something worth considering if you’re close to needing the next tier up.
Pricing by Canadian City (1 Gbps DIA)
Location matters more than speed tier when it comes to leased line pricing. Here’s what a 1 Gbps dedicated circuit actually costs across Canada in 2026:
| City / Region | 1 Gbps Monthly Cost | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Downtown Toronto | $1,100–$1,300 | Dense fibre infrastructure, multiple carriers competing, many lit buildings |
| Downtown Montreal | $1,100–$1,400 | Strong carrier competition, good fibre density in core |
| Downtown Vancouver | $1,200–$1,500 | Good infrastructure but fewer carriers than Toronto; TELUS dominates |
| Downtown Calgary | $1,200–$1,500 | TELUS and Shaw/Rogers compete; oil & gas sector drives business demand |
| Ottawa | $1,300–$1,600 | Government demand supports infrastructure; fewer competitive options than Toronto |
| Kitchener-Waterloo | $1,400–$1,800 | Growing tech hub but thinner fibre footprint outside core |
| Winnipeg | $1,400–$1,800 | Bell MTS incumbent; FlexNetworks expanding fibre footprint as competitive alternative |
| Saskatoon / Regina | $1,400–$1,800 | SaskTel dominant; FlexNetworks offers fibre alternative with 2,000+ km network across the province |
| Halifax | $1,400–$1,800 | Bell Aliant incumbent; fewer alternatives |
| Rural / remote | $2,000+ (if available) | May require significant construction; limited or single-carrier options |
The pattern is clear: the more carriers competing in your area, the lower the price. A 1 Gbps circuit in a competitive Toronto office tower with 3–4 on-net carriers can be half the price of the same speed in a Tier 2 city with only one option.
Five Factors That Determine Your Actual Price
1. Building Infrastructure (On-Net vs. Off-Net)
This is the single most important factor, and the one most businesses don’t think about until they get quotes.
An on-net (lit) building already has fibre infrastructure from one or more carriers running into the telecom room. The carrier just needs to extend a cable from there to your suite, configure equipment, and turn up the circuit. Installation is straightforward and often discounted or waived on a 3-year contract.
An off-net building requires the carrier to build new fibre to your location — sometimes hundreds of metres from the nearest network junction. This involves trenching, boring, or running aerial cable, plus permitting and construction. Off-net construction costs range from $5,000 to $50,000 or more, and monthly fees are typically 15–30% higher than on-net pricing.
Check Before You Sign a Lease: If you’re choosing a new office location, research building connectivity before signing the commercial lease. A location that’s $200/month cheaper in rent can easily cost $500/month more in internet if it’s off-net. Ask prospective landlords which carriers serve the building, or call Bell, TELUS, and Rogers directly with the building address. This one step can save you thousands per year.
2. Number of Competing Carriers
Carrier competition drives pricing down dramatically. In a building with only one on-net carrier, you have no leverage, expect to pay top-of-range pricing. With three or more carriers in the building, they’ll compete aggressively for your business, and you can often negotiate 20–30% below listed rates.
This is basic supply and demand. When a carrier knows they’re the only option, they have no incentive to discount. When they know you have two other competitive quotes, prices drop fast.
3. Contract Length
Longer commitments mean lower monthly costs. All the pricing in this guide assumes a standard 36-month term. Here’s how shorter contracts affect the price of a typical $1,200/month 1 Gbps circuit:
| Contract Term | Price Premium | Estimated Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 36 months (standard) | Baseline | $1,200 |
| 24 months | +10–15% | $1,320–$1,380 |
| 12 months | +20–30% | $1,440–$1,560 |
| Month-to-month | +35–50% (rare) | $1,620–$1,800 |
Month-to-month DIA is almost non-existent in the Canadian market. When available, expect to pay the premium above plus full upfront installation costs with no amortization.
Early termination is expensive. Most contracts require payment of 50–75% of remaining monthly fees if you cancel before the term ends. Walking away from a 36-month contract after 12 months means writing a cheque for 12–18 months of service you’ll never use.
4. Type 1 vs. Type 2 Access
This distinction is overlooked by most buyers, but it directly affects your price by 25–40%.
Type 1 (facilities-based) access means you’re buying directly from a carrier that owns the fibre infrastructure, Bell, Rogers, TELUS, Cogent, or another company whose physical cable runs to your building. No middlemen. Pricing runs 30–40% lower on average.
Type 2 (resold) access means you’re buying from a company that leases fibre from someone else and resells it to you with their own margin on top. You’re paying 25–50% more for functionally identical service.
Always ask your provider: “Do you own the fibre infrastructure to my building, or are you reselling another carrier’s connection?” If they’re reselling, consider going directly to the underlying carrier to cut out the markup. The exception: if you need a single vendor to manage internet across many locations across Canada, the convenience of a reseller managing multiple underlying carriers can justify the premium.
5. Bandwidth Requirements
More speed costs more, but as noted above, the relationship isn’t linear. Here’s a practical framework for estimating how much bandwidth your office actually needs:
| Usage Profile | Bandwidth Per Employee | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Basic (email, web, light SaaS) | 5–10 Mbps | 20 employees = 100–200 Mbps |
| Moderate (video calls, cloud sync, CRM) | 10–15 Mbps | 40 employees = 400–600 Mbps |
| Heavy (large file transfers, real-time collaboration, cloud backup) | 15–25 Mbps | 60 employees = 900 Mbps–1.5 Gbps |
Use our Business Internet Calculator to get a more tailored recommendation based on your specific usage patterns.
Understanding SLAs, What You’re Really Paying For
The SLA is arguably the most important thing you’re buying with a leased line. It’s the contractual guarantee that turns a “we’ll try our best” internet connection into a legally binding commitment with financial consequences when things go wrong.
Uptime Tiers
| SLA Tier | Allowed Annual Downtime | Price Premium | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| 99.9% (standard) | 8.7 hours/year | Included in base DIA pricing | Most businesses; general office use |
| 99.99% (premium) | 52 minutes/year | +15–25% above base | E-commerce, trading, customer-facing apps |
| 99.999% (five nines) | 5.3 minutes/year | +30–40% above base | Mission-critical: hospitals, financial services, data centres |
What Happens When They Miss the Target?
You get bill credits, but only if you know to ask. Bell’s standard DIA SLA, for example, structures credits at roughly 10% of your monthly fee for each 0.1% below the uptime guarantee. So if your $1,200/month circuit delivers 99.5% uptime instead of the guaranteed 99.9% (that’s 0.4% below target), you’d be entitled to a credit of approximately $48–$96, depending on the specific SLA terms.
Premium SLAs at the 99.99% tier can offer credits reaching 100% of monthly fees for any measurable outage, essentially a free month of service.
Beyond Uptime: Other SLA Commitments
A good DIA SLA also guarantees: Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) typically a 4-hour commitment for on-site repair, which is dramatically faster than the “next business day” response you’d get on a standard business plan. It also covers response time commitments (usually 15–30 minutes for initial troubleshooting), packet loss thresholds (commonly less than 0.1%), and latency guarantees for round-trip network traffic.
Read the Fine Print: Most SLAs exclude downtime caused by your own equipment, scheduled maintenance windows, and events like natural disasters, ears ext. Some carriers measure uptime monthly while others measure annually, this affects how quickly you accumulate enough downtime to trigger credits. Understand exactly what triggers credits and how to claim them. Many businesses don’t realize they need to proactively request compensation, carriers rarely volunteer it.
Carrier Comparison: Who Offers DIA in Canada
Bell Canada
Bell has the broadest DIA footprint in Eastern Canada, particularly in Ontario, Quebec, and the Atlantic provinces. Their dedicated circuits include managed router service in base pricing, with static IP blocks (typically /29) included as standard. Bell offers scalable speeds from basic DIA up to 10 Gbps+ for enterprise, with 24/7 proactive network monitoring. Typical 1 Gbps pricing in Ontario/Quebec runs $1,200–$1,400/month on a 3-year term. Note that 24/7 support requires upgrading to premium support packages on some plans.
Rogers Communications
Rogers operates primarily in Ontario, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland, with expanded Western Canada coverage after acquiring Shaw. Their Ethernet Dedicated Internet product offers similar pricing to Bell for comparable speeds, with guaranteed 99.9% uptime SLA and 24/7/365 dedicated business technical support. Rogers also offers wireless backup options for redundancy. Best for businesses in Rogers’ cable/fibre footprint, especially in Ontario.
TELUS
TELUS dominates Western Canada (British Columbia and Alberta) with their PureFibre network, offering symmetric speeds up to 5 Gbps on dedicated circuits. They compete aggressively on pricing, often undercutting Bell and Rogers by $150–$200/month for equivalent 1 Gbps service in their home markets. TELUS provides fully managed DIA service with a single point of contact for support. They’re also expanding into Eastern Canada, with fibre now available in select Ontario and Quebec communities, making them a new competitive option in Bell’s traditional territory.
FlexNetworks
FlexNetworks is a privately held, Canadian-owned fibre provider that owns, manages, and operates its own pure fibre-optic network across Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario. Founded in 2014, they’ve invested over $100 million in infrastructure and built more than 2,000 km of fibre across the Prairies, including the first commercial 100 Gbps link between Saskatoon and Regina. FlexNetworks offers business fibre plans starting at $60/month for symmetric 500 Mbps (2-year term) up to $195/month for 2.5 Gbps symmetric, alongside private network and dedicated fibre services scalable from 10 Mbps to 10,000 Mbps and beyond. Their network is 100% fibre with no legacy copper infrastructure, and they advertise 99.999% uptime with 24/7/365 monitoring. For businesses in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, FlexNetworks is a strong alternative to SaskTel and Bell MTS, particularly for enterprises needing multi-location private networks or dedicated circuits where incumbent pricing lacks competition. They also serve the Winnipeg commercial market through an extensive metro fibre network. PC Magazine recognized FlexNetworks as the fastest gaming ISP in Canada for 2025 — a reflection of their network quality across both residential and business services.
Regional & Independent Carriers
Regional specialists often offer the best DIA value in their service areas, undercutting national carriers by 20–30%:
- Beanfield — Owns its own 100% fibre-optic network in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Ottawa. Known for hyper-competitive DIA pricing in multi-tenant buildings within their footprint. Offers dedicated Ethernet at 1G, 10G, and even 100G speeds with strong SLAs. If Beanfield serves your building, get their quote, it will also give you leverage to negotiate better prices from Bell or Rogers.
- Novus Independent fibre provider in Metro Vancouver with competitive business DIA offerings.
- SaskTel The incumbent carrier in Saskatchewan, offering dedicated fibre internet across the province. Often the only DIA option in smaller Saskatchewan communities.
- Cogent Communications A facilities-based Tier 1 internet carrier operating globally, including in major Canadian cities. Known for aggressive DIA pricing, especially in well-connected downtown buildings.
Always Get a Regional Quote: Even if you plan to go with a national carrier, getting a quote from a regional provider gives you negotiating leverage. When Bell or Rogers know you have a competitive Beanfield or Cogent quote, they’ll often sharpen their pricing by 15–25%.
Installation & Hidden Costs
The monthly price is only part of the story. Here’s what else you need to budget for:
| Cost Category | Typical Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard installation (on-net building) | $2,000–$5,000 | Running cable from telecom room to your suite, equipment config, testing. Often waived or discounted on 36-month contracts. |
| Off-net construction | $5,000–$50,000+ | New fibre build to your building. Urban with existing conduit: $5,000–$15,000. Suburban/rural requiring boring or pole runs: $25,000–$50,000+. |
| Equipment (managed router) | $0–$500 | Most carriers include a managed router in monthly pricing. If you want to own equipment: $300–$500 for business-grade, $1,500–$3,000 for enterprise-grade. |
| Early termination fee | 50–75% of remaining term | Cancelling a 36-month contract after 12 months = paying for 12–18 months of unused service. |
Splitting Construction Costs: If your building is off-net, ask the building owner or property manager to split the construction cost. New fibre connectivity benefits all tenants, not just you. In multi-tenant commercial buildings, landlords will sometimes cover part of the construction in exchange for the carrier making service available to other units. Always negotiate this before signing a DIA contract.
Hidden Cost: Construction Fees Baked Into Monthly Pricing
If a carrier offers to waive or reduce the upfront construction cost, check whether they’ve amortized it into your monthly fee. A $30,000 construction cost spread over a 36-month contract adds about $830/month to your rate. Ask for separate quotes: one with construction paid upfront, and one with it amortized. The upfront-payment quote tells you what your monthly fee would look like on a renewal contract when construction is no longer a factor.
How to Negotiate a Better Leased Line Deal
DIA pricing is not fixed. Here are the tactics that actually work:
1. Get at Least Three Competing Quotes
This is the single most effective tactic. Get quotes from at least three carriers (include at least one regional if available), then share pricing ranges, without naming competitors — and ask each carrier to improve their offer. This alone typically saves 15–25%.
2. Time Your Purchase Strategically
Carriers run seasonal promotions, especially during Q4 (fiscal year-end) and Q2. Installation fee waivers, reduced monthly rates for the first 6–12 months, and equipment discounts are more likely during these windows. If your timeline is flexible, timing the purchase can save thousands.
3. Negotiate Price Lock Clauses
Include this clause in your contract: “Pricing locked for contract duration with option to decrease rates if provider publishes lower rates for equivalent service.” This protects you against market price drops during your contract term. Carriers won’t always agree, but it’s worth asking, especially if you’re committing to 36 months.
4. Start the Renewal Conversation Six Months Early
Don’t let your contract auto-renew at whatever rate the carrier decides. Six months before expiry, solicit new quotes from competing carriers. Use those quotes to renegotiate with your existing provider. Inertia is expensive, carriers count on you not wanting the hassle of switching.
5. Ask the Right Questions Before Signing
Five essential questions for any DIA provider:
- “Is my service truly dedicated, or is it shared business internet with a different label?” If the answer is unclear, you may be buying standard business internet at DIA prices.
- “Do you own the fibre to my building (Type 1), or are you reselling another carrier’s circuit (Type 2)?” If Type 2, consider going directly to the facilities-based carrier.
- “Am I paying for construction costs, and if so, how are they structured?” Get a quote with construction paid upfront so you know your true recurring cost.
- “Who are your upstream internet providers, and where do you connect to them?” This reveals where your traffic is physically routed, which determines latency and performance.
- “What happens when there’s a problem? Walk me through your last major outage and how it was resolved.” The SLA is only as good as the team behind it. This question reveals their actual support quality.
Do You Actually Need a Leased Line?
Honest answer: most small businesses don’t. Here’s how to decide:
You likely need DIA if:
✅ You have 30+ employees relying on cloud applications, VoIP, or video conferencing simultaneously
✅ You host servers, applications, or services at your office that customers or remote employees access
✅ An hour of internet downtime costs your business more than $1,000 in lost revenue or productivity
✅ You need guaranteed symmetric speeds (e.g., heavy cloud backup, real-time data replication)
✅ You process high volumes of transactions where latency or jitter causes real problems
A standard business internet plan is probably sufficient if:
⬜ You have fewer than 25 employees doing typical office work (email, web, SaaS, video calls)
⬜ Occasional speed fluctuations are annoying but not business-critical
⬜ Your servers and applications are all cloud-hosted (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)
⬜ You can tolerate a support response time of hours rather than minutes
A common middle-ground approach: use a standard business fibre plan from Bell or TELUS ($85–$160/month) as your primary connection, and add LTE/5G or Starlink as a backup on a different carrier for redundancy. This combination costs $150–$400/month total and provides better resilience than a single DIA circuit, at a fraction of the price. For more on this strategy, see our guide on internet diversity vs. redundancy.
Use our Business Internet Calculator to get a recommendation tailored to your office size and usage.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a leased line cost in Canada in 2026?
A 1 Gbps leased line (Dedicated Internet Access) costs $1,000–$1,600/month in most Canadian cities on a 3-year contract. In major metros like Toronto or Montreal, expect $1,100–$1,300. In Tier 2 cities like Winnipeg, Saskatoon, or Halifax, $1,400–$1,800. Entry-level 100 Mbps DIA starts at $500–$800/month, while 10 Gbps runs $4,000–$7,500/month. For a breakdown of standard business internet costs, see our Business Internet Cost Guide.
Why is there such a huge price range for leased lines?
Building infrastructure is the biggest factor. An on-net building (fibre already installed) can be 30–40% cheaper than an off-net building requiring construction. The number of competing carriers also matters, buildings with 3+ carriers see dramatically lower pricing due to competition. Location (Toronto vs. rural Saskatchewan), contract length (12 vs. 36 months), and whether you’re buying Type 1 (direct from facilities-based carrier) or Type 2 (resold) access all affect the final price.
What’s the difference between a leased line and standard business internet?
A leased line gives you a private, dedicated fibre circuit with guaranteed symmetric speeds, an SLA with financial penalties, a 4-hour repair commitment, and a block of static IPs. Standard business internet uses shared infrastructure (the same fibre as residential), offers “up to” speeds that fluctuate, and comes with no uptime guarantee. The price reflects the difference: standard business fibre costs $85–$160/month, while DIA starts at $500/month and typically runs $1,000–$1,600/month for 1 Gbps.
How do I know if my building is on-net?
Call the carriers directly (Bell, Rogers, TELUS) with your building address, or ask your landlord/property manager which telecom carriers have fibre in the building. Many carriers also have online tools where you can enter your address to check availability. If your building is part of a larger commercial complex, the building management company will typically know which carriers are connected.
Can I use a standard business plan with a backup connection instead of DIA?
Yes, and for many businesses this is the smarter financial choice. A standard business fibre plan ($85–$160/month) paired with an LTE/5G backup on a different carrier ($50–$150/month) or Starlink ($140–$250/month) gives you redundancy for $150–$400/month total, far less than a single DIA circuit. You won’t get the guaranteed bandwidth or formal SLA, but for most small and mid-size businesses, the practical reliability is comparable. See our outage protection guide for more.
Is DIA pricing in Canada higher than in the US?
Yes, typically 20–35% higher for equivalent speeds. Canada’s lower population density, geographic challenges, and regulatory environment all contribute to premium pricing. However, urban centres like Toronto and Montreal are becoming increasingly competitive, especially with regional providers like Beanfield and Cogent offering aggressive alternatives to the Big Three.
How long does installation take?
For on-net buildings where fibre already exists, installation typically takes 2–4 weeks from contract signing. For off-net buildings requiring new fibre construction, expect 8–16 weeks or longer depending on permitting, construction complexity, and carrier backlog. Always ask for an estimated delivery timeline in writing before signing.
The Bottom Line
A leased line is a premium product for businesses that genuinely need guaranteed performance. If internet downtime costs you real money, if you need guaranteed symmetric speeds for VoIP or cloud applications, or if you’re running anything mission-critical from your office, DIA is worth the investment.
But for the majority of Canadian small businesses, a standard business internet plan with a backup connection on a separate carrier provides excellent reliability at a fraction of the cost. Don’t let a sales rep convince you that you need DIA if a $110/month TELUS Business Fibre plan with a $140/month Starlink backup would serve you just as well.
The key to getting the right deal: understand your building’s infrastructure, get at least three competitive quotes, ask the five essential questions, and never auto-renew without renegotiating.
