Prescription Sunglasses in Canada

Most sunglasses can be fitted with prescription lenses, but not all. Frames with a steep wrap, very thin rims or an unusually curved lens shape may not hold a prescription lens accurately, and strong prescriptions are harder to fit into large or highly curved frames.

Every frame in this collection has been checked as prescription-ready. Bring your own frame into an FYidoctors clinic and an optician can confirm whether it will work.

You need a current eye prescription, which is valid for both glasses and sunglasses. Book an eye exam with an FYidoctors optometrist, or bring a prescription from another provider.

From there: choose a frame from this collection, then visit an FYidoctors clinic to select your lens type — single-vision, progressive or bifocal — and add a polarized, tinted or photochromic finish.

The fitting happens in person so your optometrist can measure your pupillary distance and how the frame actually sits on your face. Those measurements determine whether a progressive lens works properly, and they're the part an online order has to guess at. Most vision plans are direct-billed at the clinic.

A tinted lens darkens everything evenly and blocks UV. A polarized lens adds a filter that removes reflected glare, which is why it is the usual recommendation for driving, water and snow.

A photochromic lens is clear indoors and darkens in sunlight, so one pair works for both — though most photochromic lenses darken only partially behind a car windscreen. All three block 100% of UV.

Use a microfiber cloth and a lens cleaner made for eyewear. Avoid household cleaners, paper towel and tissue — they can scratch lenses and strip anti-reflective coatings. Rinse off sand or salt with lukewarm water before you wipe, so grit doesn't drag across the lens. Any FYidoctors clinic will clean and adjust your frames for free.

Yes. Polarization is a filter applied to the lens, so it can be combined with any prescription — single-vision, progressive or bifocal. Any frame in this collection can be ordered with polarized prescription lenses, and polarization can be paired with a mirror or gradient tint. There is an additional lens charge, which your optometrist will confirm at your fitting.

Prescription sunglasses are usually covered by vision benefits plans. Non-prescription sunglasses generally are not.

Coverage works this way because insurers classify lenses by function, not by style. Sunglass lenses that correct vision qualify as eyewear; tinted lenses without a prescription do not.

What most plans do:

• Provide a set dollar amount toward frames and lenses
• Apply that same amount whether the pair is clear or tinted
• Cover an optometrist-documented medical need for tinted lenses in some cases

What most plans do not do:

• Offer a separate sunglasses benefit
• Cover non-prescription or plano tinted lenses

Whether one allowance can be split across two pairs depends on the plan. Contact your nearest FYidoctors location ahead of your visit to go over your coverage.