819 Area Code – Gatineau, Quebec: Location, Time Zone & History

Few numbering plan areas cover as much ground as 819, which stretches from the Ontario and U.S. borders in the south all the way to the Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay in far northern Quebec. It dates to 1957, when the original 514 area covering the entire province was divided in a flash cut: the south kept 514, the north was folded into 418, and the central and western swath -- including the Quebec side of the National Capital Region -- became 819.

By 2006, 819 was effectively exhausted, and relief followed in two further overlays. Area code 873 entered service on September 15, 2012, its start date moved up from an originally planned 2015 once forecasts showed exhaustion arriving sooner. A decade later, area code 468, reserved back in February 2017, went into service on October 20, 2022 as a third layer on the same 819/873 footprint.

• Gatineau, the largest city in 819, sits across the Ottawa River from Ottawa, giving the region a strong federal public-service presence.
• The Outaouais, Eastern Townships around Sherbrooke, Mauricie around Trois-Rivieres, and the mining country of Abitibi-Temiscamingue all fall within 819.
• Forestry, mining around Rouyn-Noranda and Val-d'Or, and manufacturing around Trois-Rivieres and Shawinigan anchor the regional economy.