Car Insurance in Canada: Public vs. Private, by Province

Last verified: July 6, 2026 · Official sources: ICBC (BC) · SGI (Saskatchewan) · MPI (Manitoba) · SAAQ (Quebec) · FSRA (Ontario auto reform) · IBC — mandatory coverage by province

General information, not legal or financial advice. Confirm your specific requirements with your provincial insurer or a licensed broker.

The one thing to know first: who you buy from depends on where you live

Car insurance is mandatory everywhere in Canada, but who you buy your basic coverage from is set by your province, not by shopping the open market everywhere:

Public auto insurance (basic coverage is a government monopoly): British Columbia (ICBC), Saskatchewan (SGI), Manitoba (MPI), and Quebec (SAAQ covers bodily injury; property damage/liability is bought privately).
Private auto insurance (fully open market): Ontario, Alberta, and the Atlantic provinces (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI, Newfoundland & Labrador).

In public-insurer provinces, you generally must buy your basic mandatory coverage from the provincial insurer (ICBC/SGI/MPI), though optional extra coverage can often still be bought from private insurers on top. In private-market provinces, you shop and compare among private insurance companies for everything.

What this means practically as a newcomer

In BC, Saskatchewan, or Manitoba: you'll deal directly with ICBC, SGI, or MPI (often through a licensed broker) for your basic policy — there's no "shopping around" for the mandatory portion, though you can still compare optional add-ons and brokers.
In Quebec: bodily injury coverage is public (SAAQ, funded through your driver's licence and vehicle registration fees) — but you still need to buy private liability and property damage insurance separately, so you do have a market to shop for part of your coverage.
In Ontario, Alberta, or Atlantic Canada: you're comparing private insurers for your entire policy — rates vary more by company, driving history, and location, so it's worth getting quotes from a few insurers or a broker.

New drivers / no Canadian driving history

Whichever system your province uses, insurers generally price you higher with no Canadian driving record — this is separate from whether your foreign driver's licence itself is accepted (see Driver's Licence Exchange by Province). Some insurers will give partial credit for a clean foreign driving history/abstract if you can provide official documentation from your home country — ask specifically, since this isn't automatic or advertised everywhere.

A 2026 change worth knowing if you're insuring in Ontario

Effective July 1, 2026, Ontario's auto insurance rules changed so that most accident benefits beyond medical, rehabilitation, and attendant care coverage became optional add-ons rather than automatically bundled into every policy (Ontario Regulation 383/24, administered by FSRA — the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario). In practice this means Ontario policies now vary more by what optional benefits you choose to add — read your policy's OPCF 47R endorsement carefully and ask your broker what's included versus optional before you buy. Confirm the current rules directly with FSRA since this is a recent, evolving change.

Where this fits

Pair this with Getting a Driver's Licence before you drive, and see Renting Basics for the other insurance policy most newcomers set up around the same time.