An eSIM allows you to use two cell plans in one phone. For example, I have a European plan on my eSIM and my Canadian line on a regular (nano) SIM.

That said, if you have no use for a second line, you’re much better off with a physical SIM because you can take that from phone to phone by just removing it from the old phone and inserting it in the new one. Koodo requires for an eSIM to be purchased again every time you want to switch it over to another phone.

Yes but my understanding is that the iphone 14 does NOT have the capability to house a physical sim card?

No worries there, the Canadian version has a physical SIM card.

Awesome. Thanks

ATM only American iphone 14s don’t have a physical sim card option.

BTW, can one just choose to use the new SIM they send you instead of using the current one … or does one have to “activate” that new one in order to use it?

If the old one fits your new phone, you just need to swap the SIM card over. The new one you can keep as a spare (it won’t be activated).

Yes but IF I wanted to use the new instead of the old, does one have to “activate” that new one in order to use it? 

Yes, you will need to activate it in self serve. That will render the old one inactive.