While not many people watch TV these days, some channels are too good to miss out on. We’re usually talking about US TV channels like ABC and HBO, but oftentimes, you’ll find some great content on Canadian TV channels too.
Many of you want to know how to watch Canadian TV outside of Canada and for a good reason. I mean, everything from blockbusters, series, and entertainment programs to live sports events is here, especially when talking about channels like City TV, CBC, TSN, and many others.
Unfortunately, these channels are only accessible to people living in this country, while everybody else abroad won’t have the same privileges. Today, I will show and explain to you how to watch Canadian TV channels live overseas, regardless of your true location.
Why People Abroad Can’t Watch Canadian TV Online?
If you’re located outside of this country, you’ll find it discouraging that you can’t access your favorite TV channels. You might be a Canadian resident on a vacation abroad or you simply never visited this country and you want to explore what they have to offer.
In any case, you’ll quickly find out that accessing Canadian TV outside of Canada is impossible but there’s a very good reason for that. Namely, the whole issue has a legal background and lies in licensing agreements that allow channels from this country to broadcast only locally.
This means that they can’t broadcast to people abroad, and instead, they’ll have to focus on satisfying domestic audiences. Sadly, this is the case with pretty much all local TV channels. For example, we can say the same about UK TV channels that you can watch abroad using a similar trick.
Now, for this tutorial, I decided to try and watch a few Canadian TV channels abroad, in my country. The first one I tried is CBC Gem and it says I’m trying to access protected content which basically means it’s geo-restricted and kept away from users abroad.
Let’s take a look at another channel called City TV.
Here, the channel is more direct. It says the video cannot be viewed in my country, and below, we can see a message saying “geo-restricted video”.
So what can I do about it? Well, there are two solutions. One is to travel to Canada, which sounds ludicrous as I’m from Europe, and another one is to somehow fool Canadian TV channels into “thinking” that I’m located in this country.
How to Watch Canadian TV Outside of Canada: A Step-by-Step Tutorial
And that very thought brings us to the solution to the problem. You see, it’s easy to watch Canadian TV live abroad by changing your IP address to this country and pretending that you’re located there. You can do that by using a VPN, which perfectly fills this role.
What is a VPN, you might ask? Well, it’s a service that not only changes your IP to another country but also secures your connection and makes it untraceable by anyone, not even your ISP. It’s a great tool for staying secure online, and in addition, it also lets you bypass geo-blocks like this one.
To watch Canadian TV live outside of Canada, you’ll need a high-quality VPN with unlimited bandwidth and fast speeds, which sounds exactly like ExpressVPN (CyberGhost and NordVPN are also great VPNs with servers in Canada).
Here’s how to use a VPN in three simple steps to unblock your favorite channels.
1. Subscribe to ExpressVPN
I want to make something clear and that is the fact that ExpressVPN isn’t free. Keep in mind that free providers aren’t suitable for this purpose because they limit your bandwidth, provide slow speeds, and can’t unblock geo-restricted platforms and TV channels.
On the flip side, using the button below leads you straight to ExpressVPN’s 49% discount and 3 free months for the annual plan where you get a 30-day money-back guarantee with no conditions. The same money-back guarantee applies even to the monthly plan!
This means that you can use it to watch Canadian TV abroad on your vacation, and when you’re back home in Canada, simply get a refund in the first 30 days if you don’t need it. Don’t forget to use the button to get this deal, as it won’t last forever.
Once you do that, simply install ExpressVPN on your device, open the app, and sign in.
The dashboard will look like this on all platforms. Besides, this is the best VPN for Android and iOS as well, so you can perform the same solution on your mobile devices.
2. Change Your IP to Canada
Speaking of solutions, let’s see how to get a Canadian IP address. Once you open the app, click on the three horizontal dots in the image above to open the server list. Then, click on All Locations and select Americas. Now, double-click on Canada to connect to a server in this country.
As you can see, I connected to a server in Toronto, which should allow me to watch Canadian TV live abroad. To connect to a server on iOS/Android, the steps are the same with the difference being tapping once on the country you want, instead of double-clicking on Windows.
3. Watch Canadian TV Live Overseas
In every case, ExpressVPN gave great results, and instead of a geo-restriction message, the channels worked, allowing me to watch them live.
Before you ask, the solution applies to ALL Canadian TV channels. With ExpressVPN, you can watch Canadian TV live outside of Canada and access ANY channel you want from this country.
Actually, the same could be said about any other TV channel in other countries. You can use it to unblock and enjoy foreign TV channels from any country thanks to the servers in 105 countries that this provider has to offer.
Do We Recommend Any Free VPNs to Watch Canadian TV Overseas?
At the start of this tutorial, I briefly mentioned that you shouldn’t use free VPNs. I still stand by that. Free providers are notorious for their limitations that prevent many users from fully enjoying the internet. These limitations are most prevalent in terms of bandwidth and performance.
Both of these parameters are very important when talking about streaming. Usually, free providers limit your bandwidth to up to 10 GB a month but the majority of them go much lower. Atlas VPN gives you 5 GB, TunnelBear 2 GB, and we can go on and on.
These providers, while having servers in Canada, will severely limit your time spent watching Canadian TV abroad. On the other hand, we have providers like Hola VPN. It offers unlimited bandwidth and everything but its background is darker than it looks.
A provider like this collects and sells your private data to its third-party partners, which violates your privacy in the process. Not only that but other people can use your IP address to browse the internet, which can be dangerous if that person is a criminal and is doing something illegal online.
Free providers are full of limits like this that will surely ruin your whole experience. If you don’t want to worry about your personal data and enjoy the internet with no limits, your best bet is to go for a premium provider like ExpressVPN. Besides, you have proof that it works without issues.
Is Watching Canadian TV Overseas Legal?
One thing I want to answer has to do with the legality of unblocking geo-restricted content. These channels offer their content only in Canada due to licensing agreements, so people abroad can’t – or shouldn’t be able to access them.
If we take these channels’ terms and conditions into account, you will see that accessing their content abroad isn’t encouraged. IP-changing services like proxies and VPNs fall into that category too. However, it’s not to say that doing that is illegal.
It’s just against the terms and conditions of the site but it won’t get you imprisoned or punished by the authorities. Millions of people use a VPN for streaming on geo-restricted platforms and channels daily, yet all of them enjoy uninterrupted connections and internet freedom that a VPN gives them.
Summary
Bypassing geo-restrictions through the use of a VPN isn’t an overly complex process. Using ExpressVPN, you’ll be able to not only unblock Canadian TV outside of Canada but also ensure your online privacy and avoid hackers and snoopers online.
If you’re thinking about whether or not to get it, know that streaming and security aren’t its only purposes. A provider like this lets you download torrents anonymously, save money on flight tickets, and even visit the dark web in complete safety.
With unlimited bandwidth and the fastest speeds, I have zero doubts you’ll make the most out of its special discount.
Frequently Asked Questions
Since we covered everything you should know about accessing Canadian TV overseas, we’ll now answer a few more questions related to the subject.
Can I access Netflix Canada with the same trick?
Yes, you can. Albeit, Netflix CA is a lot harder to unblock because the platform implements drastic anti-VPN measures. ExpressVPN and CyberGhost will work with it, for example, but go for a low-quality service and you’re out.
The trick revolves around the same things. Connect to a Canadian server, go to Netflix, and you’ll be able to access this catalog in no time. For this purpose, we also advise trying Surfshark, as it’s cheap but works with 25-30 catalogs of Netflix easily.
However, keep in mind that unblocking foreign Netflix catalogs is against the platform’s terms and conditions. You won’t get in jail or anything like that but it’s good to know that Netflix doesn’t encourage such things.
Do I need a VPN if I’m in Canada?
If you’re in this country, you won’t need a VPN to access its channels. However, we still recommend using one for other purposes. Canada isn’t the safest country internet-wise and is known for its government surveillance as a result of the 5 Eyes participation.
Canadian authorities will gladly collect your private data and monitor your online activities. Not to mention the authorities frown upon torrenting, which is especially dangerous without a VPN. Many more reasons for using Canadian VPNs exist and these are only some.
That said, ExpressVPN and CyberGhost remain the top choices even in this case.
Can I find Canadian servers in free VPNs?
Yes, you can in some. TunnelBear, PrivadoVPN, and Hide.me offer these servers. PrivadoVPN is the only one suitable for streaming, as it works with a few Netflix catalogs but is limited to 10 GB of monthly bandwidth. As you can assume, that’s not a lot.
In the end, you can’t unblock Canadian TV channels abroad for free this way. You can, however, use a 30 or 45-day refund policy from ExpressVPN or CyberGhost respectively, and enjoy these channels risk-free before getting a refund.
