30 Free Streaming TV In Canada Choices (2024)
Looking to save a few bucks on your entertainment costs?
With all the content available now on so many different platforms, consumers have more options than usual.
And yes, many of them are free. Below, I came up with a list of the best free streaming TV in Canada options and services, as well as a few low-cost providers.
Best Free Streaming TV Options In Canada
Free TV is the best TV, right? Whether you’re looking for movies, want to catch up on your favourite Canadian tv shows, or just watch the evening news, here are the best free streaming TV options in Canada.
YouTube
- Type of Content: Vlogs, TV shows, movies
- Pricing: Free, get YouTube Premium (ad-free) for $11.99
- How To Sign Up: Watch Here
- Downside: Limited availability of major network TV shows
When it comes to totally free streaming services, it’s hard to beat YouTube.
These days, I honestly spend more time watching YouTube shows on my phone than I do in front of a television screen. Thanks to the widespread availability of HD cameras, anybody can start their own TV series and be the star of the show with YouTube.
There are a staggering 15 million active content producers on Youtube, so there are bound to be multiple channels that you will really enjoy.
Aside from pure entertainment content, YouTube is also an amazing resource for learning and education as well. I often use it to catch up on the latest market news, watch inspiring travel vlogs, learn about emerging technology, and get some fresh business ideas.
YouTube also offers free movies from time to time, which I’ll take advantage of whenever I have some downtime. Parents can also create separate kid-friendly profiles to filter the content that their kids can watch on the app.
If you’re looking for tips on personal finance, travel, and investing, be sure to subscribe to the Wealth Awesome YouTube channel as well.
The Roku TV Channel
- Type of Content: TV shows, movies
- Pricing: Free with Roku device
- How To Sign Up: Sign Up Here
- Downside: Mostly older shows and movies, no new-release content
If you have a Roku device or have a Roku TV, then you’ll automatically be given access to The Roku Channel and other free streaming services available on the Roku home page.
This all-in-one streaming app gives Roku users access to over 4,000 TV shows and movies. All of the content on The Roku Channel is ad-supported, so you’ll have to sit through some brief commercials.
Aside from this, the only downside is that most of the content is a bit outdated. You won’t find the latest episodes of hit TV or blockbuster movies here. It’s a great choice for family movie night or if you just want some background TV, though.
Tubi
- Type of Content: TV shows, movies
- Pricing: Free
- How To Sign Up: Sign Up Here
- Downside: Mostly outdated content
Tubi is very similar to The Roku Channel as far as TV and film offerings go. Like Roku, all of Tubi’s content is ad-supported, so you’ll have plenty of commercial breaks in between.
The upside of Tubi is that it’s 100% free, and you don’t need to buy any special devices. You can watch Tubi on your smartphone, Amazon Firestick, Xbox, Playstation, PC, Roku app, or Apple TV app.
The content is mostly older TV shows, movies, and documentaries. However, there are some real gems hidden in Tubi’s vast library.
CBC Gem
- Type of Content: CBC TV shows
- Pricing: Free, with available premium service
- How To Sign Up: Watch Here
- Downside: No blockbuster movies
CBC is one of Canada’s oldest broadcasting companies, so it only makes sense that the company would try to compete with other free streaming services.
Its cable TV channel is free to most cable subscribers. For those who’ve chosen to disconnect from cable, though, CBC’s online Gem platform is a great alternative.
You can stream all of your CBC favourites on CBC Gem, including CBC originals, documentaries, and kids TV shows. Like cable television, CBC Gem is an ad-supported streaming service. You can eliminate the ads by upgrading to their paid tier, though.
Pluto TV
- Type of Content: TV shows, live TV, movies, entertainment
- Pricing: Free
- How To Sign Up: Watch Here
- Downside: Commercials, specific showtimes
Pluto TV is one of the most well-known free streaming services in North America.
I like to refer to Pluto TV as, “The Wikipedia of streaming.” When it comes to free streaming TV in Canada, Pluto TV offers one of the widest selections of movies and TV shows.
You don’t even need to create an account! Just visit the website, and you can start watching TV and movies immediately.
The platform is ad-supported, so expect some commercial breaks when switching between channels or during the middle of movies. The only other downside is that the main site can be a bit slow and laggy due to the excessive amount of on-page ads.
Other than that, though, it’s a top-tier free streaming service.
HGTV
- Type of Content: Home & Garden TV
- Pricing: Free
- How To Sign Up: Watch Here
- Downside: Lots of ads
If you’re into real estate, house shopping, home improvement, or gardening, then HGTV’s free streaming service is a great option. Whenever I’m looking to get inspired and change some things up around my house, I can always count on HGTV to give me a creative spark.
You’ll be able to watch the same HGTV shows that you can find on cable. Most episodes will be posted online within 24 hours of the original cable TV air date.
CTV
- Type of Content: TV shows, movies
- Pricing: Free
- How To Sign Up: Watch Here
- Downside: Lots of ads
CTV is one of Canada’s oldest and largest television networks and has been around since 1961. It’s one of CBC’s main competitors, and offers a wide range of Canadian and American TV shows, as well as a decent selection of movies.
CTV is a great way to catch up on your favourite shows (posted after the air-date) and also allows you to watch live TV, so you can watch with your friends and family.
There are ads, but the website itself is very quick and doesn’t lag, which I really appreciate.
On a side note, I’m now a personal finance columnist for CTV, you can check out my work here.
Slice
- Type of Content: Vlogs, how-to videos, documentaries
- Pricing: Free
- How To Sign Up: Watch Here
- Downside: No mainstream content
If you’re looking for makeup tutorials, travel hacks, skincare routines, and fashion ideas, then Slice is a great place to go for inspiration. You won’t find major TV shows or movies here, but the content they offer is all very well done.
Slice’s goal is to, “Amplify emerging Canadian voices.” More than anything, it’s an influencer platform that features videos and short films made by up-and-coming Canadian influencers.
Personally, I enjoy some of the travel content on Slice.
Food Network
- Type of Content: Recipes, cooking competitions
- Pricing: Free
- How To Sign Up: Watch Here or subscribe to GlobalTV to access full episodes
- Downside: None
Whether you enjoy cooking or just like to drool at amazing food creations, you’ll love the content that Food Network has to offer. They offer tons of free recipe videos on their main site, many of which are ad-free.
Anytime that I’m ever feeling unsure of what to cook for dinner, I always turn to Food Network to get some inspiration.
Unfortunately, their free site doesn’t offer full-length episodes. If you want to catch up on full Food Network episodes, you’ll need to subscribe to GlobalTV. Then, you’ll be able to add the Food Network channel to your account and watch full episodes.
BNN Bloomberg
- Type of Content: Business and finance-related news
- Pricing: Free
- How To Sign Up: Watch Here
- Downside: It’s all news
If you invest in the stock market, then I highly suggest watching BNN Bloomberg for a few minutes every day. This free streaming app provides viewers with a live stream of BNN Bloomberg and offers free video clips and interviews as well.
All of the topics discussed or related to Canadian or global business and finance. It’s a great way to stay on top of emerging companies, trends, and financial news that directly affects the stock market.
I like to stream a bit of BNN while I’m eating breakfast or brushing my teeth in the morning.
Remember – the best investors are informed investors. BNN Bloomberg is a great (and free) way to stay informed.
Vice TV
- Type of Content: Documentaries, vlogs, docuseries, news
- Pricing: Free
- How To Sign Up: Watch Here
- Downside: No mainstream TV shows or films
If you’re looking for real, honest opinions and an up-close look at global cultures, then Vice TV has some incredibly interesting content. Unlike mainstream news (which is often a bit biased), Vice gives you the full story.
Their reporters travel around the world, documenting their experiences, investigating stories, and making connections with local communities.
A lot of Vice’s content tends to be a bit controversial, which is what makes their shows so engaging and interesting.
Free users can watch some full episodes, short clips, and news stories. If you’ve already added Vice TV to your existing cable or online TV subscription, then you’ll have unlimited access to stream all full Vice TV episodes.
Kanopy
- Type of Content: Films and documentaries
- Pricing: Free with a public library card or university login
- How To Sign Up: Sign Up Here
- Downside: Mostly films, no TV shows
If you’re looking for something to watch during your next movie night, then Kanopy is a great site to check out. They have an interesting business model that allows users to watch ad-free films and documentaries.
Kanopy partners with public library networks and universities, allowing their members to create a free account and access their movie collection.
The only downside of Kanopy is that you’re not going to find your favourite hit TV shows or blockbuster movies. However, they have some great classics that will never go out of style.
TVO Kids
- Type of Content: Kids TV shows, educational content
- Pricing: Free
- How To Sign Up: Watch Here
- Downside: Nothing for adult audiences
Traditional streaming apps can be a bit risky, as far as kids are concerned. One second they’re watching cartoons and the next second they’ve somehow managed to start playing an R-rated movie.
TVO Kids is a 100% kid-friendly, safe streaming site for children’s shows and educational content. The site is easy-to-navigate, lets kids watch live TV, and even offers some educational games as well.
There aren’t any movies or shows for teens and adults, but it’s perfect if you’re looking to keep your kids occupied and engaged with some safe television.
Omni TV
- Type of Content: News, TV shows, documentaries
- Pricing: Free
- How To Sign Up: Watch Here
- Downside: Most of the content is global news and documentaries
You won’t find your favourite new-release movies and dramas on Omni, but you will find some interesting documentaries as well as global news.
You can stream Italian, Cantonese, Punjabi, and Mandarin news. You’ll also find some short documentaries and individual episodes on Canadian and global culture.
The main downside of Omni TV is that they don’t have a lot of content. In total, their site offers around 65 episodes, documentaries, and news channels. Personally, I’m more of a fan of Pluto TV, but Omni TV is still worth knowing about if you’re into global news.
Vision TV
- Type of Content: Reality TV, documentaries
- Pricing: Free, with paid content
- How To Sign Up: Watch Here
- Downside: Only some of the content is free
Vision TV is a channel offered by most Canadian cable and satellite TV providers. If you’re already subscribed to Vision TV, then you can stream all past episodes, series, and movies on their website.
If you’re not a Vision TV subscriber, then you’ll still be able to enjoy a fair amount of free content as well. They offer individual episodes of some of their most popular reality TV series, dramas, and documentaries.
Most of their free content is a bit outdated, but it’s still good entertainment and can be watched without signing up for a membership.
CPAC
- Type of Content: Canadian political news
- Pricing: Free
- How To Sign Up: Watch Here
- Downside: It’s all political news, no TV shows or movies
CPAC is your one-stop shop for keeping up with domestic politics. You’ll be able to watch keynote speeches, live coverage of senate and house meetings, and stay up to date with legislative news.
The nice thing about CPACs free streaming services is that it’s all unbiased political news. You’ll be able to stream live speeches and hear first-hand political updates without the personal commentary you’ll get from mainstream news.
The only downside is that it’s all just news. CPAC doesn’t offer any entertainment-related content. It’s great for keeping up with what’s going on in our country, though!
TSC – The Shopping Channel
- Type of Content: TV shopping, product reviews, demonstrations
- Pricing: Free
- How To Sign Up: Watch Here
- Downside: All content is shopping-related, no TV shows or films
If you love to shop, then you’ll appreciate The Shopping Channel. This free streaming service is as close as you’ll get to a virtual shopping mall. TSC offers live streaming content 24/7, showcasing the latest retail products.
They showcase fitness gear, jewelry, clothing, shoes, home products, electronics, and beauty products. You’ll be able to watch the hosts provide live product demonstrations, which is something that you won’t get while shopping online with Amazon.
Plus, TSC offers a lot of on-the-spot deals and price cuts, allowing you to save a bit of money on showcased products.
The drawback of TSC is that it’s all shopping-related content. However, it’s a good place to check if you’re investing in some self-care or need to buy some thoughtful gifts.
Crunchyroll
- Type of Content: Anime movies, films, manga
- Pricing: Free, with paid tier
- How To Sign Up: Sign Up Here
- Downside: It’s all anime content
If you love anime and manga, then Crunchyroll will be right up your alley. The free streaming service currently offers one of the largest selection of anime series in the world, along with award-winning films.
As a Crunchyroll member, you’ll also be able to access their vast library of manga graphic novels. This is a neat option for those who like to read the manga behind their favorite anime series.
Most of their content can be viewed with a free membership. You’ll just have to put up with ads and commercials. They also offer three different membership tiers, for those who want ad-free content. As a paid member, you’ll also get access to special deals and exclusive content.
Streema
- Type of Content: Canadian news
- Pricing: Free
- How To Sign Up: Watch Here
- Downside: Some of their live stream links don’t work
Streema hosts links to live streaming from major Canadian news broadcasters, including CTV, CBC, CHCH, CP24, CPAC, and more. They offer both French and English-language news, which is nice.
Streema doesn’t offer TV shows or movies, and is solely meant for streaming live local news. You can also stream local radio stations as well, if you’re looking for some tunes or you want to listen to radio broadcasts.
One of the cool things about Streema is that you can view global news networks as well. You can listen to radio news in Mexico City, stream French news, or tune into daily news broadcasts in every major city in the world.
Toronto CityNews
- Type of Content: News
- Pricing: Free
- How To Sign Up: Watch Here
- Downside: No entertainment content, just news
If you live in Toronto, then Toronto CityNews offers a 24/7 live stream of their news broadcasts. You’ll also be able to read written news stories, watch past news clips, and catch up on local Canadian politics.
Toronto CityNews is one of the more reputable broadcasters in the nation, and they provide great coverage of important events that affect all Canadians.
They only showcase news-related content, though, so don’t expect to find any entertainment content.
Best Low-Cost Streaming TV Options In Canada
Free streaming is great, but you simply won’t find as many hit movies and TV shows as you will with paid streaming services. If you’re looking for the ultimate all-in-one entertainment package, here are the best low-cost streaming TV options in Canada.
Netflix
- Type of Content: Movies, TV shows, documentaries
- Pricing: $9.99 to $20.99 per month
- How To Sign Up: Sign Up Here
- Downside: None
Netflix is one of the most popular streaming companies in the world and offers a wide variety of blockbuster movies, TV series, and some incredible documentaries.
All of their content is available in multiple languages (dubbed and captioned), so you can enjoy films and TV series from all over the world. Netflix is best known for their original series, including Stranger Things, Peaky Blinders, You, The Wticher, and a whole lot more.
You can search for series and films by category, and they even offer a “random” feature if you’re ever feeling indecisive.
Netflix has an industry-leading algorithm that keeps track of what you watch in order to provide you with intuitive suggestions.
Amazon Prime Video
- Type of Content: TV shows, movies, documentaries
- Pricing: $7.99 per month or $79 annually
- How To Sign Up: Sign Up Here
- Downside: Some content not available in Canada
Amazon Prime Video launched in 2006, but didn’t really become a popular streaming service until the past few years. Today, they offer award-winning Prime Video originals, blockbuster movies, popular TV series, and a decent selection of documentaries as well.
One of the other things that I appreciate about Prime Video is that they make it easy to add other channels to your subscription. For instance, you can stack Paramount+ or Starz onto your Prime membership for a few extra dollars per month.
Prime also allows you to rent or purchase films, which is great if you want to watch the newest releases that aren’t available for streaming yet.
Discovery+
- Type of Content: TV series, documentaries
- Pricing: $4.99 per month (ad-supported) or $6.99 per month (ad-free)
- How To Sign Up: Sign Up Here
- Downside: None
Discovery+ has something for everybody. Whether you like animal documentaries, DIY content, reality TV, cooking, space documentaries, or travel TV, you’ll be able to watch all of your favourite Discovery Channel series with a Discovery+ subscription.
I love all of the educational content on Discovery, and most of their shows are family-friendly, so it’s an investment that everybody in your family can enjoy.
Currently, Discovery+ offers two membership tiers:
- $4.99 per month for ad-supported content
- $6.99 per month for ad-free content
You can sign up directly through their website or you can add Discovery+ to your Prime video account, if you want the ability to access all of your content through one app.
Disney+
- Type of Content: TV series, movies, documentaries, shorts, kids tv
- Pricing: $11.99 per month or $119.99 annually
- How To Sign Up: Sign Up Here
- Downside: None
Disney+ is one of the fastest-growing streaming platforms in the world, and offers a huge selection of titles.
It’s not just for watching traditional Disney movies, either. You’ll be able to access the entire catalog of Disney’s affiliated brands, including Marvel Studios, National Geographic, Star Wars, and Pixar.
This means you’ll get to watch all of the latest Star Wars mini-series, Marvel Cinematic Universe films, Pixar originals, and some incredible documentaries from National Geographic.
Most of the Disney+ titles available in the US are also available in Canada, so you won’t be disappointed by geo-blocking (which can often happen with Netflix and Prime Video titles).
Canadians can subscribe to Disney+ for just $11.99 per month or save with a $119.99 annual subscription (which comes out to $9.99 per month).
Sundance Now
- Type of Content: TV shows, movies, true crime documentaries
- Pricing: $6.99 per month
- How To Sign Up: Sign Up Here
- Downside: There aren’t a lot of new-release movies or hit TV shows
Sundance is known for its large collection of classic films, documentaries, dramas, and tv series. They also have a great collection of true crime titles, which is what sets them apart from other streaming services.
Sundance Now launched in Canada in 2017, and has since become one of the top Canadian streaming platforms.
The only downside worth mentioning about Sundance Now is that they don’t have as many mainstream titles as Netflix, Disney+, and Prime Video. However, the audience that Sundance caters to usually isn’t looking for mainstream content.
Sundance Now is affordably priced at $6.99 per month, and your subscription gives you access to 100% ad-free content.
FuboTV
- Type of Content: Live sports, sports news, documentaries, tv series
- Pricing: $19.99 per month, $49.99 per quarter, $179.99 annually
- How To Sign Up: Sign Up Here
- Downside: It’s a bit expensive
If you watch a lot of sports, then FuboTV could be the perfect streaming platform for you. With your FuboTV subscription, you’ll be able to watch just about any sports game that’s airing in your region, as well as a number of global sports events.
One of the coolest features of FuboTV is that you’ll be able to watch live sports, allowing you to completely disconnect from traditional television network subscriptions.
If you can’t watch the live game, you can record and save games into your FuboTV cloud storage DVR, so you can watch them later.
While the platform is mostly geared towards sports fans, they also offer a variety of general entertainment titles from their affiliated networks.
Shudder
- Type of Content: Horror and thriller films, TV shows
- Pricing: $4.99 per month
- How To Sign Up: Sign Up Here
- Downside: It’s mostly just horror movies
Shudder is a horror streaming platform made by horror fans for horror fans. They boast that they have more horror and thriller titles than any other streaming platform, which is definitely true. Prior to Shudder, Netflix had the best collection of streaming horror titles.
Of course, this is the only downside. Shudder is great for watching a late-night horror flick, but they really don’t offer any other titles.
The good thing about Shudder is that it’s very affordable and only costs $4.99 per month in Canada. You can sign up directly from their website or you can stack your Shudder subscription with your existing Prime Video account for ease of access.
AMC+
- Type of Content: Movies, TV shows, documentaries, true crime
- Pricing: $8.99 per month
- How To Sign Up: Sign Up Here
- Downside: There’s not a lot of family-friendly content on AMC+
Before you sign up for Shudder, you might want to consider purchasing an AMC+ subscription instead. That’s because all Shudder titles are included with AMC+, along with titles from Sundance Now and IFC Unlimited.
AMC+ offers a vast selection of horror titles, movies, true crime documentaries, dramas, thrillers, and more. Also, if you’re a fan of the Walking Dead series, AMC+ has every episode of every spin-off series as well!
The only downside is that there’s not a lot of kid-friendly content, so it might not be the best option for families. It’s great for teen and adult audiences, though.
For the amount of titles that members have access to, AMC+ offers a lot of value for $8.99 per month.
Apple TV+
- Type of Content: Movies, TV shows, documentaries
- Pricing: $5.99 per month
- How To Sign Up: Sign Up Here
- Downside: Apple TV is a newer streaming platform, so they don’t have a huge selection of titles yet
Apple TV+ just launched in late-2019, making it one of the newest streaming platforms on the market. Because of this, they don’t have quite as many hit titles as you’ll find on more established streaming platforms.
That being said, Apple TV+ is banking on their original series. Since they launched, they’ve invested over $6 billion into their original series and films in an effort to compete with Disney+.
If you purchased an Apple device in the past 90 days (or plan to do so in the future), you can take advantage of their promotion offering three free months of Apple TV+, which is a great opportunity to try it out free of charge.
Gaia Conscious TV
- Type of Content: Documentaries, health-related, extraterrestrial
- Pricing: $11.99 per month, $99 annually
- How To Sign Up: Sign Up Here
- Downside: No hit movies or TV shows, mostly informative content
Gaia Conscious TV is a streaming platform designed for curious individuals who appreciate a not-so-scientific perspective on life. They’ve been around since 2011 and have been dubbed by fans as, “The Netflix of spirituality.”
If you’re into yoga, aliens, spirituality, meditation, world cultures, space, astrology, and ancient civilizations, then you’ll probably like Gaia. You won’t find a lot of hard science here, but they have some truly thought-provoking titles.
A monthly subscription to Gaia costs $11.99 per month, or you can save with a $99 annual subscription. They also offer a top-tier subscription of $299 per year if you want access to live streaming spiritual events.
Free TV Channels You Can Enjoy In Canada
This section of my guide will briefly discuss the different TV channels you can watch for free in Canada without subscribing to an expensive cable TV service. These channels range from niche stations to general-purpose channels with diverse content:
Global TV, CBC, Citytv
- Dragon’s Den
- Desperate Housewives
- he Amazing Race
- Hell’s Kitchen
- Big Brother
Treehouse, YTV, Teletoon, Family:
- Dora the Explorer
- Phineas & Ferb
- Transformers
- iCarly
- Good Luck Charlie
CTV News, BNN, Bloomberg News, Al Jazeera:
- News Hour
- W5
- Question Period
- The Stream
Much Music, MuchMoreMusic, CMT, MTV:
- Punk’d
- The Week That Was
- Degrassi
- Pet Heroes
- Jersey Shore
Food Network, HGTV:
- Property Virgins
- Everyday Exotic
- Holmes on Homes
- Kitchen Nightmares
Showcase, Discovery Channel, OLN, CTV Comedy Channel, A&E, Space:
- How It’s Made
- Storage Wars
- Ghost Hunters
- Doctor Who
- Lost Girl
- The Colbert Report
Depending on whether you are using an HDTV antenna, an online streaming service, or a set-top box, you can watch most of these TV channels in HD as well.
How To Watch Free TV Shows In Canada – What You’ll Need
Streaming free TV shows online is possible in different forms, like free-to-air, free-to-view, free online streaming platforms, or a combination of them. While these options don’t require monthly subscriptions, free-to-view and free-to-air options will still need you to pay for a decoder and a set-top box to set everything up.
Fortunately, that is all the money you will have to spend on them. Once you set things up, you can enjoy all the free-to-air TV channels for free.
Platforms offering free streaming TV in Canada have a different structure because they don’t require any additional hardware. Watching your favourite content can be as simple as using a dedicated app or going to the website through a browser.
Is Watching Free Streaming TV In Canada Safe And Legal?
It depends on the platform and if they comply with all laws and regulations of the country you’re in. I did encounter countless platforms that I didn’t mention in my guide because not all of them are compliant with the rule of law surrounding free TV streaming.
Can You Really Enjoy Free Streaming TV In Canada?
I know that it might sound too good to be true, but it is actually possible to watch your favourite TV shows online in high quality, practically free of cost.
Many of these options even offer you the chance to enjoy the content on your smartphones and tablets, with far fewer ads than you might expect to see from a traditional cable TV subscription.
But What Is The Catch?
If you’re wondering how it’s possible, the idea behind it is pretty simple. All the major television broadcasters and networks get most of their revenues through advertisement sales and not through subscriptions from cable or satellite TV providers.
Sure, the providers pay a licensing fee to the networks to get the rights to broadcast shows through their service. However, the licensing fee they pay is practically a fraction of the ad revenues that these networks rely on for income.
These networks and showrunners want to maximize their reach so that a large audience can watch their shows, thereby increasing their ad revenues. The best way to make it possible is to allow viewers to enjoy the shows over the internet through various mediums.
With high-speed internet becoming more commonplace today, free streaming TV in Canada is becoming more profitable for networks and more convenient and cost-effective for viewers.
If all this sounds familiar, that’s because it is. YouTube content creators already rely on this model to make income, with the popular video streaming platform having become a huge source of free internet TV itself.
- It is 100% free for viewers, is legal, and supports content creators.
- You get to watch your favourite TV shows on your schedule.
- You can pause, rewind, and forward the shows whenever you like.
- Commercial breaks are less frequent and often quite short.
- Your favourite shows are available in high-quality video and audio formats.
- Some networks have even made movies and shows that are made exclusively for TV available to watch online.
- Without a proper guide, setting everything up to start watching free streaming TV in Canada can be overwhelming
- You may find yourself using up much more of your internet bandwidth.
- You might occasionally run into videos that don’t offer the best quality.
- Content like live sports matches is rarely available online, especially for free.
- Most of the largest providers have put the best content available behind paywalls.
Since the free platforms are successful in keeping viewers, they can easily offer advertisement sales that generate significant revenue. As long as you don’t mind watching the occasional ad, you can get access to content online without having to pay a dime.
How To Tell If A Free Streaming Platform Is Legit?
A completely legitimate and free TV streaming service will only show content that comes without copyright limitations.
Red flags to Avoid:
- Streaming platforms that provide a perfectly legal service will never hesitate to publish verifiable and legitimate contact information, including their physical addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. If they don’t, it’s a big red flag.
- Another major red flag is when the platform highly recommends using proxies or VPNs to view the content. Any legitimate free TV streaming service provider will not be looking to cover its tracks.
- A free TV streaming platform with all the latest movies available in its selection, including movies that have just been released in the cinemas or are available on Blu-Ray and DVD
- Most of these TV streaming services in Canada rely on running ads to generate income and keep their services free. If you see that the platform charges nothing and has no ads, you should consider other options.
In some instances, you might not be entirely sure if the platform you’re considering is offering a completely legal free streaming TV service.
In such scenarios, I strongly suggest doing more research to find out whether it is legitimate. If it does not check all the boxes for what a legal service should be like, simply move on to other options.
It’s also common for phishing scams to be propagated in the guise of legitimate streaming services. For example, you might receive an email or text offering a year’s worth of free Netflix or Prime Video.
More often than not, these are not legitimate offers.
You’ll be redirected to a website that looks very similar to the streaming platform’s real site. In actuality, though, these are often clever copies designed to copy your login credentials and steal your information.
Always be cautious about dealing with any “free” streaming offers that come from paid platforms.
Watching Free Streaming While You Travel
Many of the free streaming platforms I mentioned in this list are available worldwide. No matter where you are, you’ll be able to catch up on your favourite shows and the latest movies, sports games, and more as long as you have an internet or data connection.
However, you may find it difficult to access some of the Canada-specific streaming platforms and channels if you’re travelling outside of the country.
This is because some streaming platforms have geo-blockers that prevent them from being accessed outside of the country. These rules are often in place because of complex international licensing and media distribution deals that streaming services have with studios.
The best way to keep up with your favourite shows while you’re travelling is to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) like Express VPN.
If you’re in Bali, for example, simply connect your device to a VPN server based in Canada. This will make it appear to streaming services as if you’re located back home in Canada, and you should be able to keep up with your shows as usual.
Conclusion
Paying $100 or more every month for a subscription to a TV provider can be frustrating and counterproductive if you’re working hard to earn and save money. It can be even more frustrating if you only get to enjoy watching shows on a handful of channels.
After all, why pay for an extensive package when you are only using a few of the channels available?
Fortunately, several providers understand this predicament and offer free streaming TV in Canada to counteract this problem. With the right free streaming service, you can watch whatever you want, when you want, and without paying exorbitant monthly subscription fees.
If you found this article helpful and informative and are looking for more ways to cut costs, check out my guide on “How To Save Money in Canada”.
You can also check out my guide on frugal living tips in Canada that can help you learn how to save more money, with cutting off your TV subscription being one of them.
11 thoughts on “30 Free Streaming TV In Canada Choices (2024)”
Crackle has not been available in Canada for awhile now.
You missed my favourites
CBC Gem, a huge selection of CBC and other quality content
Knowledge Network, out of BC good documentaries plus lots of free British detective series if you like that sort of thing.
I am a senior who has been watching Eastenders for 35 years. Vision tv has now cancelled it and you have to pay more money to something called ONE tv on top of the $102 a month I pay Bell tv satellite . I can’t afford this and am so disappointed. Do you know how I can steam it for free?
Thanks
Sandra G
You might want to try Amazon Prime Video, it’s much cheaper than that and it might be there!
Clickbait article. of the so called “8 Free Streaming TV In Canada Options” 1 is unavailable and 5 are subscription based ie: not free. That leaves only 2 FREE options.
I’ll be expanding this list soon, you’re right it is a bit thin.
Clickbait article. of the so called “8 Free Streaming TV In Canada Options” 1 is unavailable and 5 are subscription based ie: not free. That leaves only 2 FREE options.
I’ll be expanding this list soon, you’re right it is a bit thin.
Where & how do I sign up?
I have a few networks I’m streaming, Prime, StackTV, Discovery plus, my firetv stick has Alexa so when I ask for something I don’t known which network I’m watching such as StackTV offers live streaming of hgtv but Discovery plus has a library of hgtv so I ask for something on hgtv but it doesn’t tell me which so I’m dropping StackTV because Corus has a sync problem with Showcase and after months of complaints not fixed so dropping it, then when I ask Alexa for something of hgtv it will only have one option. The streaming needs a lot. Of work yet and certainly to many options cheap all competing. So many options so ride one out on free trial if ok stay or move on to another but don’t load more than two at a time while checking them out. I started with Prime added StackTV but it’s the same as cable u get live what’s up, so gone this month, Discovery plus library imho better but some shows I want live and stored to view later like StackTV, to many options . Question what’s the answer,, keep trying to u find the right one, what is the right one. ????????♂️
I have a few networks I’m streaming, Prime, StackTV, Discovery plus, my firetv stick has Alexa so when I ask for something I don’t known which network I’m watching such as StackTV offers live streaming of hgtv but Discovery plus has a library of hgtv so I ask for something on hgtv but it doesn’t tell me which so I’m dropping StackTV because Corus has a sync problem with Showcase and after months of complaints not fixed so dropping it, then when I ask Alexa for something of hgtv it will only have one option. The streaming needs a lot. Of work yet and certainly to many options cheap all competing. So many options so ride one out on free trial if ok stay or move on to another but don’t load more than two at a time while checking them out. I started with Prime added StackTV but it’s the same as cable u get live what’s up, so gone this month, Discovery plus library imho better but some shows I want live and stored to view later like StackTV, to many options . Question what’s the answer,, keep trying to u find the right one, what is the right one. ????????♂️