Area Code 289: Who Called Me From the Greater Toronto Area?
Your 289 number, with +1 in front
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Where is area code 289?
Area code 289 covers the suburbs and cities that surround Toronto, but not the city itself: Hamilton, the Niagara Peninsula, and the regions of Halton, Peel, York and Durham, including Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville and Oshawa. It was overlaid on 905 on June 9, 2001, which made ten-digit dialing compulsory, and was later joined by 365 and 742.
| Location | The Golden Horseshoe around Toronto (“the 905”) |
|---|---|
| Region | Ontario |
| Time zone | Eastern Time: UTC−5, UTC−4 in summer |
| Shares its area with | 905, 365 and 742 |
| Exchanges in service | 772 (CNAC, Oct 23, 2026) |
| Carriers holding exchanges | 20 |
Part of “the 905”
Locals call this suburban ring “the 905” after its original code, and 289 is simply the second code of the same area. The city of Toronto inside it keeps its own codes, 416, 647, 437 and 942, so a 289 number is from the suburbs, not downtown.
Where 289 exchanges are
| Place | Exchanges |
|---|---|
| Hamilton | 71 |
| Oakville | 39 |
| Oshawa | 36 |
| St. Catharines-Thorold | 35 |
| Brampton | 30 |
| Ajax-Pickering | 29 |
| Burlington | 28 |
| Newmarket | 25 |
What cities are in area code 289?
Area code 289 serves the Golden Horseshoe around Toronto. These are the places with the most 289 exchanges in the CNAC records, so a 289 number most likely belongs to one of them:
- Hamilton
- Oakville
- Oshawa
- St. Catharines
- Brampton
- Ajax–Pickering
- Burlington
- Newmarket
- Richmond Hill
- Cooksville
- Streetsville
- Markham
Local time in Toronto’s 905 belt (ET): Eastern Time
289 is on Eastern Time. A call at an odd local hour is a small red flag: real people and businesses in Toronto’s 905 belt rarely dial in the middle of their night.
Is 289 a cell phone number?
Not necessarily. Every 289 number belongs to one of 772 exchanges, and each exchange is held by a specific carrier (CNAC, Oct 23, 2026). Grouping them by type of carrier gives this picture. The largest share of 289 exchanges sits with internet and wholesale carriers, which supply numbers to calling apps and VoIP services. Those numbers are cheap to create, which is why spammers like them.
Percentages refer to 289 exchanges (blocks of numbers), grouped by the kind of company that holds them. Ported numbers keep their code, so check the exact number above.
289 complaints: FCC and FTC data
Americans rarely complain about 289 numbers: 50 FCC complaints since 2022 and 12 FTC reports between March and June 2026, far below big US codes. That doesn’t mean 289 is spam-free. Canadians file their reports with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, which doesn’t publish figures by number, so most of the picture stays out of these counts.
289 FCC complaints by year
*2026-10-25
289 call types, Oct 2025–Oct 2026
- Recorded message (robocall): 21 (81%)
- Live caller: 4 (15%)
- Text message: 1 (4%)
Top 289 FTC topics
- Lotteries, prizes and sweepstakes: 2
- Impostors (government, business or family): 2
- Computer & technical support: 1
Who holds 289 numbers?
- TELUS: 91 exchanges (12%)
- Fibernetics Corporation: 89 exchanges (12%)
- Iristel: 71 exchanges (9%)
- Rogers Wireless: 67 exchanges (9%)
Numbers can move between carriers when people switch, so the lookup shows where a specific number sits today.
Got an unwanted call from 289?
Common Toronto’s 905 belt scams are fake Canada Revenue Agency calls, “your package is held” messages and bank impersonators. Don’t share codes or personal data, report the call to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and sign up for the National Do Not Call List (DNCL). Americans can report 289 calls at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
Frequently asked questions
What time zone is area code 289 in?
Area code 289 keeps Eastern Time. Check the local time in the card above before calling back a missed 289 number.
Is 289 a Toronto area code?
Not the city itself. 289 covers the Greater Toronto Area outside Toronto, such as Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville, Hamilton and Niagara. Toronto proper uses 416, 647, 437 and 942.
Is 289 the same as 905?
Yes, they cover the same area. 905 dates from 1993; 289 was added on top of it in 2001, followed by 365 and 742.
Who is calling from area code 289?
Callers with 289 numbers range from family and friends to delivery drivers, clinics and sales teams based in the Golden Horseshoe around Toronto. Some are unwanted: US consumers have reported 289 numbers 50 times to the FCC since 2022. The topic that comes up most in the FTC reports is prize and sweepstakes offers. The free lookup above shows what is known about a particular number.
Why do 289 numbers keep calling me?
Repeated calls from several different 289 numbers are a typical sign of a dialer that rotates local-looking caller IDs. Robocalls made up 81% of the recent FCC complaints about 289, and texts 4%. A real contact will leave a voicemail, so let unknown calls go to it.
Is 289 a legitimate area code?
Completely. 289 has been assigned to the Golden Horseshoe around Toronto under the North American Numbering Plan. What deserves suspicion is behavior, such as a caller asking for codes, gift cards or remote access to your computer, not the area code.
Is 289 a cell phone number?
It can be any type of line. Of the 289 exchanges in service, 25% belong to wireless carriers, 19% to landline companies and 34% to internet and VoIP carriers. Our lookup checks the line type of the specific number.
How do I look up a 289 number for free?
Paste the 289 number into the search box above (with +1 in front). The free report combines carrier and line-type data with complaint records and online mentions.
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