Get set to remember 437, because it’s likely to be the Toronto’s newest area code.

Those three digits have been recommended by the Canadian Numbering Administrator for approval by the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission to join current area codes 416 and 647.

The little known organization administers Canadian area codes on behalf of the telecom industry and the CRTC.

“There’s no hocus-pocus. There are no warm and fuzzy feelings. There is no favourite numbers, it’s just a plain old cold spreadsheet,” said CNA director Glenn Pilley. “That’s the one that fell out of the spreadsheet.”

It’s a massive one that shows all the available area codes for Canada not yet in use— about 20 — pitted against the first three digits of phone numbers in the geographic area. That’s to avoid duplicate or confusing combinations such as 647-647-0000 or 647-416-0000.

Each area code holds about 7.5 million possible numbers. Almost all of 416 are in use, and 647 has two-thirds of its numbers assigned. That translates into about 11.5 million numbers in an area with a population of 2.5 million, or more than four numbers per person.

Toronto wasn’t expected to exhaust all its numbers until July 2015, but the surge in cell phone use and devices from Internet sticks to OnStar service in vehicles has boosted demand for more numbers.

Also, the arrival of new cell phone providers such as Wind or Public Mobile created demand for more dedicated numbers.

In May, the numbering administrator submitted a recommendation to the CRTC that the 437 area code be added at the same time as the new 365 area code for the 905 area, currently scheduled for March 25, 2013.

The 905 area code covers a much larger geographic region, stretching from Niagara to Oshawa, and demand for its 289 number, mostly for cell phone use, is also on the rise.

Landline demand is on the decline, but smartphones and other high-tech devices are on the upswing. The latest hot phones with 3G or 4G technology only work with certain phone numbers, so cellphone companies are requesting more numbers, pushing up demand.

Tablets, iPads, rocket sticks to connect to the Internet as well as Magic Jacks, which create phone service through a computer, add to the ways Canadians are using multiple numbers, often on a daily basis.

Pilley’s own life highlights changing demand. Thirteen years ago, his family of five had one home phone number.

Today, his family still has that landline, plus a cell phone for each person, two cars with OnStar service, each using a number, and a cell phone for the U.S. to avoid roaming charges. And he has a Magic Jack on his home computer.

“I don’t think I’m that unusual,” he said. “It’s a wireless world which is chewing up the phone numbers.”

While the CRTC is expected to rule on the 437 area code proposal in the next week or so, it rarely rejects recommendations of the numbering association. It has only done so once before in 1981 over an area code in British Columbia.

If approved, it would go into effect in 2013, but Pilley says it likely won’t be in widespread use for another year, though some companies might want to grab a few key numbers right away.

“We like to put the new area code in a year early, in case there is a technical glitch, or in case there’s a run on numbers for a new type of service,” he said.

Most Canadians already dial 10-digits, even if it’s not long distance, with Saskatchewan and Manitoba moving to that system next year. The only places where seven-digit dialing is still in use are Atlantic Canada, the territories up north and 807 in northwest Ontario.

If you’re tired of trying to remember such long numbers, some countries in Europe have already moved to 13-digit dialing. In Japan, some area codes are four digits plus eight digits for the phone number.

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Eventually Canada and the United States will have to move to 12-digit calling, but Pilley says that’s still a draft idea, and likely 35 years down the road.

How people dial in across Canada

B.C. -- 10 digits

Alberta -- 10 digits

Saskatchewan -- 7 digits, but moving to 10 in 2012

Manitoba -- 7 digits, but moving to 10 in 2012

Ontario -- 10 digits except 807 in the northwest where "that area code is under no stress"

Quebec -- 10 digits

PEI, NS -- 7 digits but likely to move to 10 digits soon

NB -- 7 digits, no pressure to change

Nfld -- 7 digits, no pressure to change

Territories -- 7 digits, no pressure to change

Glenn Pilley, Canadian Numbering Administrator

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