Proton VPN

Proton VPN has a genuinely free tier — the only one we recommend — with no data cap, no ads and no activity logs, run by the Swiss company behind Proton Mail under a non-profit foundation. The catch is scope: the free plan covers one device and a small set of server countries, and Canadian servers are reserved for paid subscriptions. Paid plans start at US$4.99/mo and renew at US$6.99/mo; they unlock 110+ countries including Canada, much faster speeds and streaming support. So it's honestly free for basic privacy on one device, but you'll want a paid plan for Canadian servers, speed and streaming.

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It's optional. Proton VPN doesn't need your device's GPS location to work — the permission only powers convenience features, such as automatically connecting when you join an untrusted Wi-Fi network. If you'd rather share as little as possible, decline it; the VPN tunnel itself encrypts your traffic and hides your IP exactly the same either way. Nothing about your core protection depends on granting it.

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No, they're unrelated companies. Proton VPN is made by Proton AG in Geneva, Switzerland — the encrypted-email company behind Proton Mail, run under a non-profit foundation. StrongVPN is a separate, US-owned service. Similar-sounding names, entirely different providers.

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Like any VPN, Proton sees your real IP address the moment you connect — that's technically unavoidable, since it needs to route your traffic. What matters is what happens next: Proton's independently audited no-logs policy means it doesn't record your browsing or store connection history, and Swiss privacy law, which sits outside EU and US data-sharing frameworks, backs that up. The websites you visit see only the VPN server's location, not yours. So Proton momentarily handles your IP to make the connection, but by policy and audit it keeps no record of it.

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Yes. On a paid plan you get Canadian servers in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, with full speed and streaming support — ideal for local content and low-latency connections. On the free plan Proton still works from within Canada, but it routes you through its free server countries abroad, which is fine for everyday privacy but not for Canadian-specific streaming or the fastest local speeds. For a Canadian IP address specifically, you'll need one of the paid tiers.

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