Updated Jan. 10, 2024 11:05 a.m. PT
Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission.
Reviews ethics statement
Mae has always been fascinated with technology. From teaching her parents to send their first email to writing about antivirus software and VPNs. She has always enjoyed learning about the latest cybersecurity and teaching others how to stay safe online.
Expertise Computer software, VPNs, Antiviruses, PC games, PC help guides
Why You Can Trust CNET
1600170018001900200021002200230024002500
Speed Tests
We intensively test each VPN, making sure it meets our standards for privacy, speed and usability. How we test VPNs
Show expert take Show less
Show expert take Show less
Show expert take Show less
Show expert take Show less
If you’re traveling to Canada from the United States, you’ll likely need to use several public Wi-Fi hotspots or networks to access the internet. Unless you have a VPN (Virtual Private Network), networks may monitor your personal data and sell it to third parties. According to a study conducted by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada in 2020, 87% of Canadians expressed concerns about the protection of their online privacy. Note that Canada is a member of the Five Eyes Alliance and shares collected data with other countries.
Using a VPN in Canada can help protect your online privacy, unblock geo-restricted content from your streaming accounts (such as Hulu or Netflix’s US library), and access local news from your hometown. CNET has extensively tested the top VPN providers over the years to identify the fastest, most reliable, and overall best options. Based on that testing, we’ve identified the best VPNs to use in Canada, which we recommend using when traveling to ensure your data remains secure no matter where you are.
We highly recommend using a VPN anywhere you go, but it’s crucial if you’re traveling outside of the US to Canada (or any country). A VPN will protect your information while connecting to Wi-Fi at the airport or a Canadian hotel. Also, while in Canada, you can use a VPN to connect to streaming accounts from the US (Like Netflix, Hulu or Disney Plus), watch the latest sports game that could be facing a blackout in Canada, or securely check bank account information.
ExpressVPN is CNET’s best VPN for Canada thanks to its vast privacy protection features, high-end security options and a large network of servers in the US and Canada. NordVPN is a close runner-up, offering lightning-fast speeds, a huge list of Canadian servers and an independently-audited privacy policy. When on a budget, Surfshark is the recommended choice as it is the most affordable option on this list while still providing the necessary features for maintaining privacy while in Canada.
CyberGhost
CyberGhost is one of the best VPNs for streaming, as it offers specialized servers for streaming different websites in multiple countries (including Canada). It also had specialized servers for torrenting, the best servers with a static IP address and NoSpy servers. Although these were neat features and could be helpful when visiting Canada, CyberGhost has a poor ad-blocker function that would make it easier to fall for malicious ads in Canada, has no obfuscation feature and lacks security options.
Proton VPN
Proton VPN is the only free VPN we recommend thanks to its security and because even the free version would unblock US Netflix in Canada. Although its free version does not have a Canadian server, its premium version does. On its premium server, you can unblock more than just US Netflix, although you may still have issues unblocking many US-based streaming sites. Proton VPN had the most inconsistent speed tests out of all the VPNs we tested.
Privacy and server accessibility are crucial aspects when selecting the best VPN for Canada. Whether connected to a familiar network or using public Wi-Fi in the country, your data may be vulnerable to various entities, such as companies or governments collecting personal information. Therefore, it’s essential to use a VPN with robust privacy features. These features can include a kill switch, DNS leak protection, multi-hop connections and comprehensive privacy policies. Additionally, we assessed the number of servers each VPN had in the United States (since you would need to connect to a US server to access geo-restricted content) and Canada (when you only require local news or web search results while maintaining protection).
We also weighed factors such as budget, streaming capabilities, device connections and security features. For instance finding a mobile VPN with support for multiple device connections helps ensure your VPN will work on whatever phone you travel with.
Finding the best VPN to use while traveling to Canada can be overwhelming. We used these base factors to determine which VPN stood out.
Privacy:
Due to antiterrorism laws in Canada, there’s a considerable amount of cyber surveillance in the country. Choosing a VPN with a strong privacy policy (that is independently tested), kill switch and DNS leak protection helps ensure your data will be secure and can’t be shared or stolen.
Servers:
VPNs with large server networks are always great, but this list includes factors such as how many servers are in the home country (the US) and Canada, so you can easily access content from the US or have the best connectivity while on a Canadian server.
Streaming capabilities:
Some VPNs have stronger geo-unblocking capabilities than others, and we wanted to find the best VPN for streaming.
Speed:
Every VPN you connect to will give you a speed drop, so having a super-fast VPN will barely affect your online experience. The top Canadian VPN (NordVPN) will only drop your speed by 10%, but we don’t recommend any VPN that decreases your speed by more than 40%.
Price
No matter what VPN you get, you always want to ensure the cost is worth the value you get from your VPN. You don’t always need a cheap VPN to get the best value, especially with VPNs with annual deals that provide a good discount or a 30-day money-back guarantee if you aren’t satisfied.
Obtaining a Canadian IP address is easy. All you need to do is download a VPN service (ideally one of the top Canadian VPNs) and connect to a server located in Canada. It doesn’t matter whether you’re currently in Canada or outside of it as long as the geo-location appears in Canada. The closer the selected server is to your location, the less it will affect your connection speed. Once you have selected the location, simply establish the connection and you will have a Canadian IP address.
Yes, all VPN services in Canada are legal. It’s worth mentioning that Canada actively engages in cyber-surveillance and is a member of the Five Eyes Alliance, which includes sharing data with foreign governments. By using a VPN, you can privately access the internet for legitimate purposes and safeguard yourself against potential hackers on unsecured public Wi-Fi and other networks in Canada. That said, using a VPN to conduct unlawful activities in the country is illegal.
The only free VPN we recommend using in Canada is Proton VPN. Unlike other free VPNs, Proton VPN gives you unlimited data and decent security features, although, you’ll only be able to access servers in three countries (US, the Netherlands and Japan). You can use other free VPNs in Canada, but most free VPNs make money by accessing and selling your data. Also, free VPNs usually restrict how much data you can use or the number of servers you can connect to.
