The Yukon government says cellular service in the territory continues to have persistent “deficiencies,” with negative implications for public safety, emergency response and economic activity.

The territory’s government sent letters to Bell Canada CEO Mirko Bibic, CRTC chair Vicky Eatrides, and Industry Minister Mélanie Joly last week outlining long-standing concerns about “coverage gaps and service instability” in Yukon.

The letter to Bibic says mobile services in the territory are not “discretionary,” but rather “essential public infrastructure” due to Yukon’s climate and geography, where unstable cell service heightens risks compared to more populated areas.

The letter to Eatrides says the regulator should consider using “regulatory levers” and other tools to improve services in the territory, where remote areas have been marginalized in the context of “national network strategies.”

They say the Yukon government is still getting consistent complaints about dropped calls, poor data performance, coverage gaps on major and remote travel routes, and degrading service during peak hours and emergencies.

The latest complaints come two years after former Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai sent a letter to Bibic about poor cell service in the territory, stating “it should be embarrassing to telecommunications providers that Yukoners cannot have uninterrupted cellphone calls” in downtown Whitehorse in 2024.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2026