Car Insurance by Province: Public vs Private Systems Explained
This is a spoke of the Canadian insurance planning guide. The building next to the car is home and tenant insurance. Injury that keeps you from working is still disability insurance, because accident benefits inside an auto policy are not an own-occupation plan. The duplicate check is shopping without over-insuring.
- ICBC is the only seller of Basic Autoplan. Basic includes $200,000 of third-party liability. Optional collision and extended liability can come from ICBC or a private insurer.
- MPI's basic third-party liability is $500,000. SGI's basic plate insurance, as the Insurance Bureau of Canada summarizes the SGI rules, includes $200,000 of third-party liability.
- The SAAQ's public plan pays bodily injury on a no-fault basis. Private civil liability for property damage must be at least $50,000. Carriers and dangerous-goods vehicles have higher statutory floors.
- Ontario's minimum third-party liability is $200,000. For a new policy on or after July 1, 2026, only medical, rehabilitation, and attendant care benefits are mandatory accident benefits. Income replacement is optional.
- Alberta remains a private market in September 2026. The province has said a Care-First system starts January 1, 2027. The mandatory numbers below are the pre-Care-First description in Alberta's intentions paper.
Who sells the mandatory policy where you live?
The Insurance Bureau of Canada publishes a province-by-province summary and tells readers to confirm it with government sources because requirements change. Rows for British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta below were checked against the public insurer, the regulator, or the provincial paper named in the source list. Saskatchewan, Atlantic Canada, and the territories use IBC's summary of those governments' rules, reviewed September 2026. IBC's page carries 2025-update language, so a renewal in those places should still be checked against the local regulator.
| Jurisdiction | Who sells the mandatory layer | What that layer includes |
|---|---|---|
| British Columbia | ICBC only, for Basic Autoplan | $200,000 third-party liability and up to $200,000 basic vehicle damage coverage. Enhanced accident benefits apply regardless of fault. Optional collision, comprehensive, and extended liability: ICBC or a private insurer. |
| Alberta | Private insurers | Minimum $200,000 third-party liability, direct compensation for property damage, and accident benefits. The August 2025 intentions paper describes current accident benefits as up to $50,000 for up to two years, and income replacement as the lesser of $600 a week and 80 percent of average gross earnings for up to two years. Care-First is scheduled for January 1, 2027. |
| Saskatchewan | SGI, with the plate | IBC, citing SGI: $200,000 third-party liability, basic auto damage included with registration, and accident benefits unless the tort injury option is chosen. Extension coverage is separate. |
| Manitoba | MPI, Basic Autopac | Basic third-party liability of $500,000 on MPI's own page. IBC describes Basic Autopac as also including personal injury protection and all perils. MPI offers optional liability of $1 million, $2 million, or $5 million. |
| Ontario | Private insurers, regulated by FSRA | Minimum $200,000 third-party liability, uninsured automobile coverage, and statutory accident benefits. From July 1, 2026, a new policy must include medical, rehabilitation, and attendant care; other accident benefits, including income replacement, are optional. Direct compensation for property damage can be declined, an option FSRA dates to January 2024. |
| Quebec | SAAQ for bodily injury; private insurers for property | No-fault bodily injury for Quebec residents, in Quebec or elsewhere, funded through the licence and registration. Private civil liability of at least $50,000 for property damage. The SAAQ sets $1,000,000 for carriers and $2,000,000 when dangerous substances are transported. |
| New Brunswick | Private insurers | IBC: $200,000 third-party liability, direct compensation for property damage, accident benefits, and uninsured automobile. |
| Nova Scotia | Private insurers | IBC: $500,000 third-party liability, direct compensation for property damage, accident benefits, and uninsured automobile. The liability floor is higher than the $200,000 figure used in several other private provinces. |
| Prince Edward Island | Private insurers | IBC: $200,000 third-party liability, direct compensation for property damage, accident benefits, and uninsured automobile. |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | Private insurers | IBC: $200,000 third-party liability, direct compensation for property damage, and uninsured or unidentified automobile. IBC lists accident benefits as additional coverage, not in that minimum list. Confirm Section B before you assume it is included. |
| Yukon | Private insurers | IBC: $200,000 third-party liability and accident benefits. |
| Northwest Territories | Private insurers | IBC: $200,000 third-party liability, uninsured or unidentified automobile, and accident benefits. |
| Nunavut | Private insurers | IBC: $200,000 third-party liability, accident benefits, and uninsured or unidentified automobile. |
Table as of September 2026. A legal minimum is a floor. It is not a recommendation of how much liability to buy.
Why does the liability limit matter more than the logo?
A driver carries the $200,000 third-party liability minimum that ICBC, FSRA, and Alberta's paper each describe as the floor in their systems. A claim is resolved at $750,000. The insurer's limit pays $200,000. The remaining $550,000 is the driver's problem in this illustration. The $750,000 is not a statistic about Canadian lawsuits. It is arithmetic that shows why a floor and a personal limit are different numbers. Alberta's intentions paper, with data as of July 25, 2025, says most Alberta drivers choose $1,000,000 or $2,000,000. That is the government's description of behaviour, not a quote for your policy. MPI will sell $1 million, $2 million, or $5 million above the $500,000 basic limit. Ask what a trip outside the province does to the lawsuit risk. MPI says injury lawsuits are largely removed inside Manitoba and remain a reason to raise liability if you drive elsewhere.
What changes in 2026 and 2027 should you read before you renew?
Ontario already changed. FSRA says that if you buy a new policy on or after July 1, 2026, medical, rehabilitation, and attendant care stay mandatory, and other accident benefits, including income replacement, are optional. Existing policies renew with the same coverage unless you agree in writing to decline benefits, but FSRA also says who is covered for the newly optional benefits changes on July 1, 2026, even if your renewal date is later. Income you need if you cannot work belongs on a disability policy you have actually read, not on an auto benefit you declined to save premium. FSRA's consumer fact sheet says to check workplace and private benefits before you remove an auto benefit.
Alberta has not switched yet. The government's Care-First intentions paper says the new system starts January 1, 2027, and it warns that the paper is not legally binding and was current as of July 25, 2025. Until that date, the private tort-and-accident-benefits market described in the table is the system to renew into. Re-read the Superintendent's pages at renewal in 2027 rather than treating this article as the regulation.
Collision and comprehensive are how you repair your own vehicle when the mandatory layer does not. In British Columbia they are optional and can be bought from ICBC or a private insurer. In Manitoba, IBC describes all perils as part of Basic Autopac, which is a different design. A leased or financed car often requires physical damage in the loan agreement even when the province does not. That requirement is the lender's, and it belongs in the same conversation as the mortgage guide only in the sense that both are contracts you sign beside a loan. The car loan is not a mortgage.
Frequently asked questions
Which provinces have public car insurance?
British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba require the basic policy from ICBC, SGI, and MPI. Quebec is split: the SAAQ covers bodily injury, and a private insurer covers property damage, with at least $50,000 of civil liability. Alberta, Ontario, the Atlantic provinces, and the three territories use private insurers for the mandatory policy. Optional coverage in the public provinces can still be private. ICBC says so for B.C.
Why are there no average premiums on this page?
A provincial average hides territory, vehicle, driving record, and coverage. It is also a number that goes stale. This page cites mandatory structure from insurers and regulators. Your premium is the one on the declaration. Compare two quotes at the same liability limit and the same deductibles, in the province where the car is plated.
Is $200,000 of liability enough?
It is the legal minimum in several jurisdictions, including B.C. and Ontario, and the minimum Alberta's paper describes. It is a poor personal limit if a claim can exceed it, because you pay the excess. Nova Scotia's minimum, on IBC's summary, is $500,000. Manitoba's basic limit is $500,000. Raising the limit is an optional purchase even where the basic policy is public. The illustration on this page is the arithmetic, not a required amount.
What changed in Ontario on July 1, 2026?
FSRA says medical, rehabilitation, and attendant care benefits stay mandatory on new policies, and other statutory accident benefits, including income replacement, become optional. You can also decline direct compensation for property damage, an election available since January 2024. Declining income replacement does not decline your need for income. Read the disability guide before you trade that benefit for a lower premium.
Does Quebec auto insurance cover injuries?
Yes, through the SAAQ public plan, on a no-fault basis, for Quebec residents injured in Quebec or elsewhere in the world. You still buy private insurance for property damage, at least $50,000 of civil liability for a passenger vehicle. The public plan is not collision coverage for your own car. Tell the private insurer if you will drive outside Quebec, which is the SAAQ's own instruction, because lawsuits in other places are not the same system.
Will Alberta's Care-First system change my 2026 renewal?
The intentions paper schedules Care-First for January 1, 2027. A September 2026 renewal is still the current private system: $200,000 minimum liability, direct compensation for property damage, and the accident benefits the paper describes, including up to $50,000 for medical and rehabilitation for up to two years. Treat the 2027 date as a date to re-check, not as a rule already in your policy.
Sources
- ICBC: basic insurance and Enhanced Care
- MPI: basic third-party liability
- SAAQ: public automobile insurance plan in brief
- SAAQ: liability insurance for property damage
- FSRA: what is in a standard Ontario auto policy
- FSRA: accident benefits changes, July 1, 2026
- Government of Alberta: Care-First intentions paper, August 2025
- Insurance Bureau of Canada: mandatory auto coverage by jurisdiction
The plate is local. The income you need if you are injured is not.
Accident benefits and a personal disability policy can overlap, and the tax treatment does not. The 2026 tax guide is the income side.
Get the 2026 Tax Guide — $49 CAD
