contingent liabilities (Details)	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2016 item
Claims and lawsuits \| 4G LTE Network patent infringement claim
Claims and lawsuits
Number of third-party patents involved in patent infringement claim	3

The number of third-party patents involved in the patent infringement claim.

No definition available.

Name:	tu_PatentInfringementClaimNumberOfThirdPartyPatents
Namespace Prefix:	tu_
Data Type:	xbrli:decimalItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration