How to Watch Canadian TV Abroad — CBC Gem, CTV, and Crave

You're sitting in your apartment in London, or on a beach in Florida, or halfway through a work assignment in Singapore — and you just want to watch the new season of something on Crave. You open the app, hit play, and get a message telling you the content isn't available in your region. Infuriating. Especially when you're paying for the subscription.

Here's the good news: this is a fixable problem. All three of Canada's major streaming platforms — CBC Gem, CTV, and Crave — use geo-blocking, which means they check your IP address and refuse to load if you're outside Canada. A VPN tricks them into thinking you're still home. That's it. That's the whole trick.

Let's get you sorted.

Why Canadian Streaming Services Block You Abroad

CBC Gem, CTV, and Crave don't block you because they hate you. They do it because of licensing deals. The rights to show a specific series in Canada don't automatically extend to the rest of the world — those are separate contracts, often held by different companies. So when you land in another country, your Canadian subscription becomes temporarily useless. This hits Canadian expats and snowbirds especially hard, because you're paying for a service you literally can't access half the year.

A VPN puts a Canadian IP address in front of your connection, so those streaming services see "Canada" and let you in.

The VPN We Recommend — and Why It's Not Just Any VPN

We'd tell you to use NordVPN here, and we mean it specifically. It has a large number of Canadian servers (which matters when one gets blocked), it's consistently fast enough for HD streaming without buffering, and it works reliably with all three services — CBC Gem, CTV, and Crave. A lot of VPNs say they work with Canadian streaming; NordVPN actually does, consistently.

It runs about $3.99–$6.99/month (around £3.20–£5.50 / €3.70–€6.40) depending on the plan you pick, and there's a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can test it risk-free.

If NordVPN doesn't appeal to you for whatever reason, ExpressVPN is a solid alternative — slightly pricier but rock-solid for streaming. Surfshark is worth a look if you're budget-conscious and want to cover unlimited devices.

Why a Free VPN Won't Cut It

Free VPNs almost never work with major streaming platforms. They have limited servers, low bandwidth, and streaming services actively block the IP ranges they use. You'll either get an error message or speeds so slow the video never actually loads. Beyond that, some free VPNs have genuinely dodgy privacy practices — you end up paying with your data instead of your wallet. For something you'll use regularly, just pay for a proper one.

Step-by-Step: How to Set It Up

On Desktop (Windows or Mac)

1. Go to NordVPN's website and sign up for a plan.
2. Download and install the app for your operating system.
3. Open the app and log in.
4. In the server list, search for Canada and connect to a Canadian server.
5. Once connected, open your browser and head to gem.cbc.ca, ctv.ca, or crave.ca.
6. Log in to your account and start watching. Done.

If a page still won't load, try clearing your browser cache or switching to a different Canadian server in the NordVPN app. Sometimes one server is being tested by the streaming platform — just hop to another.

On iPhone or iPad (iOS)

1. Download NordVPN from the App Store.
2. Sign in, tap the search icon, and connect to a Canadian server.
3. Open the CBC Gem, CTV, or Crave app — or use Safari to go to the website.
4. Log in and watch.

One thing to check: if you downloaded the streaming app while you were outside Canada, it may not have appeared in your local App Store. You might need to switch your Apple ID region to Canada temporarily to download it, then switch back. It's annoying, but it's a one-time thing.

On Android

1. Install NordVPN from the Google Play Store.
2. Connect to a Canadian server.
3. Open the streaming app or browser and log in.

Android is actually more flexible here — if the app isn't available in your region's Play Store, you can usually download the APK directly from the network's website. CBC, CTV, and Crave all have direct download options.

On a Smart TV

Smart TVs are trickier because most don't support VPN apps directly. You've got a couple of options:

• Router-level VPN: Set up NordVPN on your home router. Everything on your network goes through the Canadian server, including your TV. NordVPN's site has setup guides for most router models.
• Use a streaming stick: A Fire TV Stick or Nvidia Shield runs Android, which means you can install NordVPN directly. Connect to Canada, then stream through the apps.
• Smart DNS: NordVPN includes a SmartDNS feature that works on TVs without full VPN support. It doesn't encrypt your traffic but it does unblock content — perfectly fine for streaming.

Common Problems and How to Fix Them

"This content is not available in your region" — You're either not connected to your VPN, or the server you're on has been flagged. Reconnect and try a different Canadian city (Toronto and Montreal usually work well).

Buffering or slow video — Try a server closer to your actual location, or switch protocols in the NordVPN settings (NordLynx is the fastest). Also worth checking: is another app eating your bandwidth?

The app crashes or won't load — Clear the app cache, make sure the app is up to date, and confirm the VPN is connected before you open the streaming app, not after.

Crave specifically asks for a cable provider login — Some Crave content is tied to a Canadian cable subscription. If you're a cord-cutter, the standalone Crave subscription works fine with a VPN. Just make sure you have a Canadian account set up.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it legal to use a VPN to watch Canadian TV abroad?

Using a VPN is legal in most countries. Technically it may violate the terms of service of the streaming platform, but it's not a criminal matter, and no one has ever been prosecuted for it. The worst that's happened is accounts being temporarily flagged — which is rare and easily resolved.

Will my Canadian CBC Gem or Crave account still work?

Yes. Your existing account is fine. The VPN just changes what IP address the site sees — your login credentials don't change at all.

Do I need a Canadian credit card to subscribe?

Not necessarily. Crave and CBC Gem accept international credit cards for subscriptions. If you're setting up a new account from abroad, connect to your VPN first, then sign up — that way the platform sees you as being in Canada throughout the process.

Can I watch live Canadian TV abroad, not just on-demand?

Yes. CBC Gem streams CBC live, and CTV's site has live feeds too. Connect to a Canadian VPN server and they work just like you're sitting in Toronto.

Does NordVPN slow down streaming quality?

A small amount of speed loss is normal with any VPN, but on a decent connection you won't notice it. NordVPN's NordLynx protocol is fast enough that most people can't tell the difference. If you're on slower hotel Wi-Fi, that's usually the bottleneck — not the VPN.

What if the streaming service blocks NordVPN's servers?

It happens occasionally. The fix is simple: try a different Canadian server in the app. NordVPN has many Canadian servers specifically for this reason, and they cycle through new IPs regularly. If one doesn't work, another will.

Our Honest Recommendation

If you're a Canadian expat, a snowbird spending winters in the US or Europe, or just someone who wants access to CBC Gem, CTV, and Crave while traveling — NordVPN is the most reliable way to do it. It's not free, but it's cheap, it works, and the 30-day refund means you can try it without committing. Set it up once, and you'll never think about it again — it just runs quietly in the background while you watch whatever you want, wherever you are.

That's the whole point, really. You paid for the subscription. You should get to use it.