Blog · 21 September 2026

Free TV Channels in Canada: What You Get with an Antenna, City by City

An indoor or attic antenna gets you the main Canadian networks in HD for free — no monthly fee, no login, no streaming buffering. What exactly you receive depends on where you live: Toronto and Montréal get the most, and cities close to the US border pick up American networks as well. Here's what to expect city by city, and what those channels actually air.

The channels almost everyone gets

Channel	Owner	What it airs
CBC / ICI Radio-Canada	Public	The National, Canadian drama and comedy, Olympics — Hockey Night in Canada left CBC after 2025-26
CTV and CTV2	Bell	The biggest US primetime shows, NFL Sunday games, Super Bowl, CTV News
Global	Corus	US network dramas and comedies, Global News
Citytv	Rogers	Blue Jays (select games), US comedies, Breakfast Television
TVA and Noovo (Québec, Ottawa, Montréal)	Québecor / Bell	French-language series, news and variety
OMNI	Rogers	Multilingual news and programming
TVO (Ontario), Knowledge (BC), Télé-Québec	Provincial public	Documentaries, kids' programming, educational

All of these are broadcast in 1080i or 720p HD. Sports on free TV are limited to what CTV and Citytv carry (NFL Sundays, the Super Bowl, some Blue Jays) — from 2026-27 no NHL game airs over the air, and TSN, Sportsnet and RDS are cable/streaming only, which is why the NHL and NFL guides matter if you cut the cord.

City by city

City	Canadian stations	US border stations
Toronto	CBC, CTV, CTV2 (Barrie), Global, Citytv, OMNI 1 & 2, TVO, CHCH (Hamilton), Yes TV, TFO, ICI Radio-Canada	Buffalo: ABC (WKBW), CBS (WIVB), NBC (WGRZ), FOX (WUTV), PBS (WNED) — with a roof antenna aimed south
Montréal	ICI Radio-Canada, TVA, Noovo, Télé-Québec, CBC, CTV, Global, Citytv, ICI Télé, CJNT	Plattsburgh / Burlington: NBC (WPTZ), ABC (WVNY), CBS (WCAX), FOX (WFFF), PBS (WCFE)
Vancouver	CBC, CTV, CTV2 (Victoria), Global BC, Citytv, OMNI, Knowledge, ICI Radio-Canada, CHEK, Joytv	Seattle / Bellingham: ABC (KOMO), NBC (KING), CBS (KIRO), FOX (KCPQ), PBS (KCTS)
Ottawa	CBC, CTV, CTV2, Global, Citytv, TVO, TVA Gatineau, Noovo, ICI Radio-Canada, TFO	Usually none — too far from the border
Calgary	CBC, CTV, CTV2, Global, Citytv, OMNI, ICI Radio-Canada	None
Edmonton	CBC, CTV, CTV2, Global, Citytv, OMNI, ICI Radio-Canada	None

US border stations matter for sports: they carry the American regional NFL game on Sunday, college football, and NBC's Sunday Night Football — often games that aren't on Canadian TV. They also carry the US versions of primetime shows a few hours earlier than the simulcast on CTV/Global.

What antenna do you need?

Downtown or within 20 km of the transmitters: a flat indoor antenna in a window is enough for the Canadian networks.
Suburbs, or to pull in US stations: an attic or roof antenna pointed at the border. In Toronto that means aiming at Buffalo (south-east); in Vancouver at Seattle (south).
Check first: the CRTC and TV Fool / RabbitEars.info both show which transmitters reach your address.

Note that Canadian broadcasters shut down many small-town transmitters in 2011–2012; outside the cities above, reception may be limited to CBC/Radio-Canada and one private network, or nothing at all.

Free streaming alternatives

If an antenna isn't practical, the networks stream a lot of the same programming free: CBC Gem streams the live CBC feed with a free account; CTV.ca, Global TV and Citytv+ offer next-day episodes free with ads, but their live feeds need a TV-provider login. Pluto TV, Tubi and Samsung TV Plus add free ad-supported channels, though none carry the Canadian networks live.

Find what's on the free channels tonight

Our Tonight page lists every channel, and each city page above pins the local over-the-air stations to the top. The full channel list links to every channel's 7-day schedule.