As of iOS 13.1, there is now a mechanism to transfer an eSIM from an older iPhone to a new one. When I tried this after upgrading my iPhone this year I found that Telus does not yet support this, and I had to get a new physical eSIM card. This increases waste that ends up in a landfill and I think Telus should look into supporting this kind of eSIM transfer.
https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT210655