Bargains make me happy. Canadian phone carriers are all corrupt AF and SO expensive, but my two year contract was almost up so I had to choose to upgrade or pay off my phone, as that’s how it’s mostly done here. When I went into the store the clerk told me to upgrade my phone would cost 30 something more dollars a month, over 100 bucks, and I wouldn’t get a better plan for it. I stared at him and told him I was going home to look into other options and would find another carrier, and he argued with me that it’s a premium phone and that’s a really good price. Uh, no it isn’t.
So my workplace has an employee discounts program for various things, and there were several various phone plans which I had never investigated, and to make a long story short, I got an employee pricing plan and upgrade. The price she quoted me was 60 dollars plus 1 dollar for the phone, which is even a savings from my previous plan, but when I went to pick it up the plan price had dropped (they change for various sale periods) and I got a Pixel 10 for 45 dollars a month plus 1 dollar for the phone, 30 GB more data,and international calling which I didn’t have before. And I still deal with my carrier and don’t have to change stores or anything, it’s just done through an employee pricing plan.
So TL;DR I got a good price and new phone, and I like all of that. I really love when I can get a good bargain.
I don’t know all the constraints driving OP’s choices in Canada, but in my experience, the best deal you can get is 1) pay cash for a used flagship phone of the prior generation; and 2) get service from a MVNO. I’m running a Pixel 6 Pro with GrapheneOS (I paid $200 and have had it for a few years now and will probably upgrade soon), and use Visible Wireless’ $19/mo. unlimited plan. Visible uses Verizon’s 5G network, is significantly cheaper, and the service has been flawless.
There are smaller carriers here with deals like that; the thing is coverage outside of bigger cities is less than ideal. We really are screwed in general.
The MVNOs here were created by major carriers and use their networks. Visible Wireless was started by Verizon and uses their network, so coverage is exactly the same as it would be if I had Verizon service.