Crave and CBC Gem only stream to Canadian IP addresses, so from abroad you need a VPN connected to a Canadian server, ideally Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal, before you open either one. Crave is the fussier of the two because it also checks your DNS requests (more on those below), so DNS leak protection has to be switched on. CBC Gem is gentler, but its free account asks for a Canadian address at sign-up, which is where most people get stuck.

Below you'll find why the blocks happen, one set of fixes that works for both services, and then everything specific to each: what's on, how to sign up and pay from outside Canada, error messages and devices.

Why Canadian streaming services block VPNs

Canadian broadcasters buy the rights to shows for Canada only. HBO series on Crave, for example, are licensed to Bell Media for Canadian viewers, and a different company holds them in the UK. So when Crave or CBC Gem sees an IP address from outside Canada, it has to refuse to play.

A VPN fixes that by giving you a Canadian IP address. The services push back in a few ways:

  • Blocklists. VPN server addresses that lots of people share get flagged and blocked. Not every VPN keeps its Canadian servers fresh enough to stay ahead.
  • DNS checks. DNS is the address book your device uses to find websites. If those lookups go through your normal internet provider rather than the VPN (a DNS leak), your real country shows through even when your IP looks Canadian. Crave checks this separately, which is why it catches out VPNs that work elsewhere.
  • Leftover cookies. If you've visited before without a VPN, your browser may have saved your real location, and the site can read that old data even after you connect.
  • Live content. Live sport and live channels get stricter treatment than on-demand shows, and a dropped VPN connection mid-stream can trigger a block.

Of the two, Crave is one of the more demanding services to get working from abroad. CBC Gem's detection is a lot less aggressive than most US or Australian services, so a clean Canadian server is usually all it takes.

How to fix it, step by step

  1. Install the full VPN app. A browser extension only covers what happens in the browser, so it won't help the Crave or CBC Gem apps at all.
  2. Connect to a Canadian city. Search for a city rather than just picking "Canada". Toronto is the best starting point, with Vancouver and Montreal as backups. If your VPN has servers labelled for streaming, try those first. In NordVPN, search for Toronto; in ExpressVPN, choose Canada and pick a city.
  3. Turn on DNS leak protection. In NordVPN it's under Settings > Connection. ExpressVPN protects your DNS automatically when connected. Our DNS leak guide covers other apps.
  4. Check your location. Open our IP address checker with the VPN on. If it shows Canada and doesn't show your real internet provider, you're ready. If not, reconnect or change server.
  5. Open a private window. VPN on, then a private window (Incognito in Chrome and Edge, Private Browsing in Firefox and Safari), then the site. The order matters.
  6. Clear your cookies if it's still stuck. If the site plays in a private window but not your normal browser, clear cookies and cached files with the time range set to All time. Our guide to clearing cache and cookies has the steps for every browser.
  7. Switch server. Try another server in the same city, then a different city, rather than retrying the same one. Our guide to switching VPN servers shows you how.
  8. Try the app instead of the browser, or the other way round. The two handle connections slightly differently; our guide to using the streaming app instead of a browser explains when it matters.
  9. Switch protocol and turn on the kill switch. WireGuard is the fastest, most reliable protocol for video. The kill switch stops your real location showing through if the VPN drops; see our kill switch guide.
  10. Sort out the TV. Most smart TVs can't run a VPN app, so set the VPN up on your router (every device at home then connects through Canada), share a VPN-connected laptop or phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot, or cast from a connected device.

If the stream keeps buffering, try a physically closer Canadian city; Toronto and Montreal tend to have more capacity than smaller cities during Canadian evening hours. If the VPN keeps dropping, our guide on why VPNs keep disconnecting covers the usual causes.

Crave

Crave is where Canadians watch HBO. Game of Thrones, The Last of Us, House of the Dragon and Succession all live there, because the HBO app doesn't exist separately in Canada. It also carries Showtime content and a growing library of Crave Originals, which gives it one of the deepest catalogues in the country. Many UK viewers use Crave specifically for the full HBO library, which is more complete there than what Sky or NOW carry. It's the same HBO production as in the US: same episodes, same quality, same release schedule.

The free CTV tier. Since May 2026, Crave has carried all CTV content on a free ad-supported tier. That means CBS and NBC shows licensed for Canada, Canadian originals like Transplant and Coroner, CTV News and live CTV broadcasts, with no subscription, just a free Bell Media account. If you had a CTV account before the move, your login carries over. Both the free and paid tiers are restricted to Canadian IP addresses.

Crave geo-restriction error shown when accessing outside Canada
This is the error Crave shows when you load it from the UK without a Canadian VPN connection. Connect to a Canadian server before loading Crave to avoid it.

"Not available in your region" with the VPN on. This is almost always a DNS leak. Crave can see your real internet provider through DNS requests even when your IP looks Canadian. Turn on DNS leak protection (step 3), check our IP checker doesn't show your real provider, then reconnect to a different Canadian server and open Crave in a fresh private window. If you've tried several servers with DNS protection on and you're still blocked, your provider's Canadian addresses have probably all been flagged, and that's a sign you need a VPN with stronger Canadian coverage.

Signing up from abroad. The free Bell Media tier only needs an email address, with no Canadian payment details, so it's easy to set up from anywhere. The paid Crave subscription, which adds HBO, Showtime and Crave Originals, asks for a Canadian billing address and a payment method that reads as Canadian. A Canadian-issued prepaid card is one option if you don't have a Canadian bank card; having a relative or friend in Canada set it up for you is another common route. Either way, keep the VPN on a Canadian server for the whole sign-up, not just the payment screen.

Subscribing through Prime Video. Since October 2025, Crave Standard with Ads has been sold as a Prime Video Channel in Canada, so Canadian Amazon Prime members can add it to their existing account instead of signing up with Bell Media directly. Standard with Ads costs CAD$11.99 a month, and there's also a pricier ad-free Premium plan. The channel lives inside your Canadian Prime Video account, and channels are tied to your account's country. Prime Video also checks where you're connecting from, so switch on a Canadian server before you open the app, or the Crave channel may not show up at all. Paying for Prime Video's ad-free option doesn't remove ads from the Crave channel either, which catches a lot of people out. If you subscribe this way, billing questions and cancellations go through Amazon rather than Bell Media. Our Prime Video guide covers Amazon's own location checks in more detail.

Apps and devices. Crave has apps for iOS, Android, Apple TV and some Samsung and LG smart TVs, plus Chromecast support. If the browser won't play, try the app; it's often more reliable, as long as the full VPN app is running on that device. The built-in smart TV systems don't let you install a VPN, so a router VPN is the tidy fix there. PlayStation and Xbox have no native Crave app, so casting from a connected phone or laptop is the simplest way to get it onto a console-connected TV.

If you're mainly after US premium channels rather than HBO, our guide to US add-on channels covers those services.

CBC Gem

CBC Gem is Canada's answer to BBC iPlayer: a free public broadcaster service with a huge library of Canadian TV and documentaries. It's the only place to stream CBC originals in full. The big draw is Schitt's Creek, with all six seasons, and a more complete version than Netflix carries internationally. Other highlights include Kim's Convenience, Murdoch Mysteries, Dragons' Den Canada and a strong documentary back catalogue including The Nature of Things and The Fifth Estate. Gem also streams CBC Television live, including CBC News and major events.

CBC Gem not available outside Canada error shown when accessing from the UK without a VPN
The message you'll see on CBC Gem from the UK without a VPN connected. Switch to a Canadian server and it clears straight away.

The account and the Canadian address. You need a free CBC Gem account to watch most content, and according to CBC's own support page, a Canadian address is required when you create it. This is the step that catches out most people abroad, because the form won't accept a UK-style postcode. Canadian postal codes follow a letter-number pattern, and Toronto ones start with M. The address is only asked for at sign-up, isn't used for billing, and you won't be asked for it again. Connect to Canada first, then sign up at gem.cbc.ca with your email address. No payment method is needed for the free tier.

Free versus Premium. The free tier really is free: the full on-demand library with adverts, plus a live stream of the main CBC Television channel. CBC Gem Premium removes the adverts and adds extra live CBC regional and specialty channels, but it needs a Canadian payment method, which makes it trickier from abroad. For most people outside Canada, the free tier covers everything they want.

Error messages.

  • "This content is not available in your area": the standard geo-block. The VPN isn't connected, isn't showing a Canadian IP, or the server has been flagged. Switch to another server in the same city first, then change city. A server switch usually gets you through in one or two attempts.
  • A sign-up form that won't accept your address: expected, as above. Connect to Canada before loading the sign-up page.
  • Video that loads then freezes on a spinner: more often a cookie problem than a location block. Try a private window before assuming the VPN has failed.

If your IP genuinely shows Canada and you're still told your location isn't supported, a DNS leak is the most likely cause, so work through step 3 again.

Apps and devices. CBC Gem has apps for iOS, Android, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Android TV, Samsung and LG smart TVs, and Xbox. The app may not appear in your App Store outside Canada; switch your store region to Canada to download it, or use gem.cbc.ca, which works well on mobile for on-demand shows. Samsung and LG TVs have a native Gem app but can't run a VPN, so use a router VPN or a VPN-connected hotspot. We can't confirm Gem's limit on simultaneous streams, so check gem.cbc.ca, and remember every device watching from abroad needs its own Canadian connection.

What's on this autumn. The 2026 autumn season brings Heartland and Murdoch Mysteries back for their 20th seasons, along with Marketplace, The Fifth Estate and season 10 of The Great Canadian Baking Show. CBC also publishes a "New to CBC Gem" list every month. Gem has become a bigger home for live sport too: earlier in 2026 it streamed the Milano Cortina Paralympic Winter Games, and it's been showing Canadian Elite Basketball League games. For live sport, connect before the game starts, not halfway through, and if it stutters, try a different Canadian city rather than reconnecting to the same one.

CBC without a VPN. A small amount of CBC content is free without any account or VPN. The National is on cbc.ca and the CBC News YouTube channel, and The Fifth Estate episodes are on cbc.ca and its own YouTube channel. If CBC News is all you want, you may not need a VPN at all.

Which VPN works best for Canadian streaming

For Crave, ExpressVPN is our top recommendation: its Canadian server coverage is broad and it refreshes its addresses regularly. NordVPN is a strong alternative and our overall first pick, with Toronto and Montreal servers that also suit CBC Gem. PureVPN is our third choice. Whichever you use, look for a provider with servers in more than one Canadian city so you've always got a backup, and don't be shy about asking its support team which Canadian servers have been working recently.

Free VPNs won't work with Crave; their server pools are too small and too well known. They'll sometimes get you into CBC Gem for a while, but they're often too congested for smooth HD playback, and some make money by logging and selling your browsing data. Our guide to free VPN safety explains what to look out for. For more services from outside the UK and US, see the international streaming hub.