AlarmForce is gone. Not bankrupt. Bought.
Bell paid about $182 million for it in January 2018, kept the eastern customers, and handed everyone in BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan to TELUS before the ink dried. Then in 2025, Bell quit home security altogether and sold those same customers a third time. If you signed up with AlarmForce years ago, the name on your bill has changed twice without you touching a thing.
Here's the whole story. And if you're still paying that Bell home security bill, or whatever name is on it now, here's what you can do about it.
3
times AlarmForce customers changed hands
2018: Bell. 2018: the west to TELUS. 2025: everyone else to a.p.i. Alarm. Nobody got a vote.
In this article
What happened to AlarmForce, exactly?
The short version: Bell bought AlarmForce in January 2018 for roughly $182 million and folded it into Bell Smart Home. The same day, it agreed to hand AlarmForce's western customers to TELUS for $66.5 million. Then in October 2025, Bell exited home security entirely and sold every remaining account to a.p.i. Alarm Inc. The AlarmForce brand is gone, but your equipment probably still works. You have three options: stay where you landed, cancel, or keep your gear and switch the monitoring to a local company.
AlarmForce started in Toronto in 1988, founded by Joel Matlin. It got famous for two-way voice. When your alarm tripped, a real person talked to you through the panel. That was a big deal in the early nineties, and the company rode it hard: onto the Toronto Stock Exchange in 1997, then up to become Canada's third-largest home alarm company, with about 135,000 customers at its peak.
Then the corporate story took over. Here's the whole arc on one page.
- 1988AlarmForce is founded in TorontoJoel Matlin starts the company the same year Force Security opens in Niagara Falls.
- 1991Two-way voice makes it famousAlarmVoice lets a live operator talk to you through the panel. Customers love it.
- 1997AlarmForce goes publicListed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, it grows into Canada's third-largest home alarm company.
- 2013The board fires the founderMatlin is pushed out of his own company. He sues. It settles.
- 2018Bell buys AlarmForce for $182 millionThe deal closes January 5. The same day, Bell agrees to hand about 39,000 western customers to TELUS for $66.5 million.
- 2025Bell quits home securityEvery remaining account is sold to a.p.i. Alarm Inc. on October 1. The customers move again.
And that was the end of AlarmForce as a company. What happened to its customers is where it gets interesting.
Sold twice in one day
Now the part most customers never noticed. On the very same day Bell closed the deal, it agreed to hand every AlarmForce account in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan over to TELUS. About 39,000 customers, $66.5 million.
So a customer in Vancouver went to bed with AlarmForce and woke up with TELUS. A customer in Hamilton woke up with Bell. Nobody asked either of them. The accounts were simply part of the purchase price.
That's not a conspiracy theory. It's just what alarm accounts are on a balance sheet. Recurring monthly revenue, bought and sold in blocks. Hold that thought, because it happened to these exact customers again.
AlarmForce became Bell Smart Home. Then Bell quit.
After the sale, Bell phased the AlarmForce name out. Bell Canada's home security systems got rebranded Bell Smart Home. Same customers, new logo. The alarm now lived inside the same company that sold you internet, TV and a phone plan.
Bell home security packages were sold the telecom way: bundled with your other Bell services, discounts tied to the bundle. That worked fine for some households. It lasted seven years.
Then Bell got out of the business entirely. In 2025, BCE agreed to sell substantially all of its home security assets to a.p.i. Alarm Inc., a Toronto monitoring company, in a deal worth up to $170 million. The transfer completed October 1, 2025. Every remaining Bell Smart Home account moved to a.p.i. Alarm, with rates held for two years from that date.
Count it up. If you signed with AlarmForce in Hamilton in 2010, you've now been an AlarmForce customer, a Bell customer and an a.p.i. Alarm customer without ever choosing anyone but the first one.
Still hunting for the old AlarmForce login page? It's gone twice over. Check the name on your latest bill. That's who monitors your home now.
Who owns what now
Count the logos and the pattern is hard to miss. TELUS owns ADT Canada. TELUS owns Vivint Canada. TELUS bought The Monitoring Center. TELUS took AlarmForce's western customers. Bell took the rest, built Bell Smart Home on top of them, then sold the whole thing and walked away.
| The brand you signed with | Who actually has your account now |
|---|---|
| AlarmForce (east) | a.p.i. Alarm, via Bell (sold 2018, sold again 2025) |
| AlarmForce (BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan) | TELUS (2018) |
| Bell Smart Home | a.p.i. Alarm (October 2025) |
| ADT Canada | TELUS |
| Vivint Canada | TELUS |
| The Monitoring Center | TELUS (2026) |
| Force Security | Still Force Security. Family-owned since 1988. |
We wrote about what happened when TELUS bought The Monitoring Center, and the playbook is the same every time: the accounts move, the contracts follow, support gets absorbed somewhere new, and the rate usually creeps up at renewal. Your system keeps working through all of it. The thing that changes is who's on the other end, and how much they know about your street.
If you want the full head-to-head, we compared ADT, TELUS, Bell and Force on contracts, monitoring and support.
The other security company from 1988
One thing we can't resist pointing out. AlarmForce was founded in 1988. So were we.
Two Canadian security companies, born the same year. One went public, fired its founder, got bought by a telecom, got sold again, and doesn't exist anymore. The other is still in Niagara Falls, still family-owned, and still answers its own phone.
We're not saying that to brag. It's the actual difference between the two models. A family security company survives by keeping the same customers happy for decades. A publicly traded one survives by growing until somebody buys it. Both are legitimate businesses. Only one of them will still know your name in ten years.
Think you're with Bell home security? Check your bill first
Whether you've got an old AlarmForce setup or a newer Bell alarm system on the wall, the equipment is probably fine. The question is who's watching it. Since October 2025, for most former Bell customers, the answer is a.p.i. Alarm. From there, you have three options.
- Stay where you landed. a.p.i. Alarm committed to holding rates for two years from October 2025. If the service works and support picks up when you call, staying is a fine choice. Just mark your calendar for what happens when that rate hold ends in late 2027.
- Cancel and start fresh. Doable, but read your contract first. Our step-by-step cancellation guide covers ADT and TELUS, and the same logic applies here: notice periods, buyout amounts, and how to time things so you never pay for two systems at once.
- Keep your equipment, switch the monitoring. This is the option most people don't know exists. An alarm system takeover reprograms the panel and sensors in your existing Bell security system to report to our ULC-certified monitoring centre instead of theirs. No rip-out. No rewiring. Whether your specific panel qualifies depends on the hardware, and a free assessment answers that in one visit.
Find out what your system can do in one visit
Our technician checks your panel, tells you straight whether a takeover works, and gives you a quote on the spot. No contract pressure. Family-owned in Niagara Falls since 1988, serving Hamilton, St. Catharines and the GTA.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who bought AlarmForce?
Bell. Its parent company BCE announced the deal in November 2017 and closed it on January 5, 2018, paying $16 per share, roughly $182 million total. On the same day, Bell agreed to sell AlarmForce's roughly 39,000 customers in BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan to TELUS for about $66.5 million.
Is AlarmForce still in business?
No. The brand was retired after Bell bought it in 2018. Western customers went to TELUS, eastern customers became Bell Smart Home customers, and in October 2025 those accounts were sold again to a.p.i. Alarm when Bell exited home security entirely.
Who owns Bell Smart Home now?
a.p.i. Alarm Inc. bought Bell's home security business in a deal that completed on October 1, 2025. Bell no longer operates home security in Canada. If you had Bell Smart Home, a.p.i. Alarm handles your monitoring and service now, with rates held for two years from that date.
What is a.p.i. Alarm?
A Canadian alarm company headquartered in Toronto. It took over Bell's home security accounts when Bell exited the business in October 2025, which is why your bill may have changed names even though nothing changed on your wall.
Where do I log in to my old AlarmForce account?
There's no AlarmForce login anymore, and since October 2025 there's no Bell Smart Home account to log into either. Your account most likely lives with a.p.i. Alarm now, or with TELUS if you're out west. Check the name on your most recent bill and use that company's app or portal. If you're not sure who has you, call the number on the bill.
Does old AlarmForce equipment still work?
If it's been maintained, usually yes. The systems kept getting monitored through every ownership change. Whether another monitoring company can take over a specific panel depends on the model, which is exactly what a free assessment figures out before you commit to anything.
Can Force Security take over a Bell or AlarmForce system?
Often, yes. Our takeover service reprograms compatible panels to report to our ULC-certified monitoring station. Door contacts, motion sensors and keypads usually stay right where they are. The assessment is free and tells you whether your hardware qualifies.
Can I switch alarm monitoring companies without buying new equipment?
Usually, yes. If your panel is compatible, a takeover reprograms it to report to a new monitoring station. That's true whether your system started life as AlarmForce, Bell, or something else entirely. The free assessment confirms compatibility before anything changes.
How do I cancel Bell home security?
First, check who actually bills you now. Bell sold its security accounts to a.p.i. Alarm in October 2025, so your contract likely sits there. Find the notice period and any remaining term, give written notice, and line up your replacement before the end date so your home is never uncovered. Our cancellation guide walks through the whole process step by step.
