Canadians might not be as invested in stocks as their neighbors to the south, but there’s still brisk demand for investing platforms.
Depending on the study, anywhere between 30% and 40% of Canadians buy and sell stocks, compared to roughly 60% of Americans. Still, stocks are the country’s top investment choice, favored by 46% of investors, according to a HelloSafe survey. The same survey showed that nearly two-thirds of Canadians prefer to invest on their own.
That translates into millions of independent investors—plenty of fuel for a robust market of brokers. Indeed, Canadians have access to roughly 200 brokerage firms. And much like how the country’s fast food choices are a mixture of both Canadian (Tim Hortons, Harvey’s, Swiss Chalet) and American/international (McDonald’s, Subway, A&W) operators, so too are the brokers Canadians can trust with their nest eggs.
Of course, you don’t need 200 brokerage firms. You only need one. So, to make your decision much easier, I’m going to whittle the country’s offerings down to a handful of the best brokers for Canadians. From there, you should be able to find a broker that best suits your needs.
The Best Brokers for Canadians—Our Top Picks
|
Flexible Broker w/Transparent Fees
|
Feature-Rich Investing
|
Best for Managed Services
|
|
Primary Rating:
3.8
|
Primary Rating:
3.8
|
Primary Rating:
4.1
|
|
No account minimums. $100 annual fee (can be waived)* Commission rates below.
|
No account minimums. Account admin fee: $25/qtr. (can be waived)*. U.S. dollar registered account fee: $15/mo.**
|
No account minimums or fees. Commission rates below.
|
The Best Online Brokers in Canada
Below, I’ve outlined several of the top online brokerages that operate in Canada. Among the criteria I’ve reviewed when determining the best options are commissions, available asset classes, user experience, and broker features, among others.
Let’s dig in!
1. CIBC Investor’s Edge (Flexible Broker With Transparent Fees)
- Available: Sign up here
- Best for: Beginner to intermediate investors
- Platforms: Web, mobile app (Apple iOS, Android)
CIBC Investor’s Edge is a workhorse online broker that provides a satisfying experience for investors across the proficiency spectrum while charging relatively modest and transparent fees.
Investor’s Edge allows you to trade not only U.S. and Canadian stocks and ETFs, but also options, mutual funds, and bonds. And you can do so from non-registered accounts, as well as a variety of registered accounts, including FHSAs, TFSAs, RRSPs, RESPs, and more.
The Investor’s Edge platform also provides a variety of screening and charting tools, analyst reports, customizable watchlists and alerts, Regular Investment Plans, and more. You can also stay informed and up to date through CIBC’s investor learning center, expert videos and webinars, and various newsletters.
Note that, in addition to flat commission fees (listed below), CIBC Investor’s Edge does sometimes charge an account fee. Specifically, you’ll pay $0 when the balance of all CIBC Investor’s Edge accounts is greater than $10,000, but $100 annually if the balance is $10,000 or less. That said, CIBC requires no minimum account balance.
And CIBC is a screaming deal for younger investors. Anyone age 18 to 24 can start trading stocks and ETFs online for free—no annual fee, and no commissions—if they first open a CIBC Smart Account with CIBC Smart Start.
Whether you’re looking to get started, or are an experienced investor who just wants to lower their commissions, look into CIBC Investor’s Edge today.
- CIBC Investor's Edge is a straightforward, easy-to-use brokerage platform that allows access to a variety of investments—including stocks, ETFs, options, mutual funds, bonds, and more—at reasonable and transparent costs.
- Modest commissions. U.S. and Canadian stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds: $6.95 per trade for investors (150 or fewer trades per quarter); $4.95 per trade for active traders (150+ trades per quarter). Money market mutual funds: $0. Mutual funds: $6.95. Options trades also include a $1.25 contract fee.**
- Available account types include: Non-registered, FHSA, TSFA, RRSP, RESP, RRIF, LIRA, LRSP, LRIF, PRIF.
- Suite of investing and trading tools includes screening, charting, watchlists, alerts, news, education center, and more.
- Special offer: Investors age 18-24 can invest for free if they first open a CIBC Smart Account with CIBC Smart Start.
- Very good selection of available investments
- Large selection of registered accounts
- Modest commissions
- No minimum account balance
- Trading tools not as advanced as many other competitors' offerings
- $100 annual fee for low-balance accounts
2. Qtrade Direct Investing (Feature-Rich Investing)
- Available: Sign up here
- Best for: Beginner and intermediate investors
- Platforms: Web, mobile app (Apple iOS, Android)
Qtrade Direct Investing is one of Canada’s best online brokers, providing access to Canadian and U.S. stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, bonds, and more via its award-winning web and mobile platforms, which are backed by Qtrade’s highly decorated customer support staff.
Qtrade provides investors with a wealth of tools and insights. You can get analyst recommendations from Morningstar. You can monitor stocks using Qtrade watchlists, or seek out stocks that meet your criteria using screeners. Qtrade’s Portfolio Creator can help you build an ETF portfolio from scratch just by answering a few questions. That ETF portfolio could be mighty inexpensive to build, too—Qtrade’s commission-free ETF program has more than 100 ETFs (including asset allocation ETFs) free to buy and sell with no minimums.
More active traders will enjoy customized charting and technical analysis capabilities, as well as Portfolio Simulator, which lets you test out trade ideas without putting your money at risk.
Qtrade offers holistic financial tools, too, such as savings, investment, and retirement calculators, which can help you set and follow your progress toward important life goals.
And no matter your experience level, you’ll find something useful in Qtrade’s extensive set of learning resources, which includes guides and how-to videos spanning basics like buying and selling stock to more advanced actions like margin trading and options trading.
One drawback of note is Qtrade’s account fees. For instance, clients are charged a CAD $25 quarterly admin fee if they have less than $25,000 in assets (though it’s waivable in many circumstances). U.S. dollar-denominated registered accounts pay USD $15 per quarter. You’ll also face a $100 fee if you close your account within the first year.
Most investors will typically be slotted into the Investor tier. However, more active traders and high-account-balance investors can enjoy reduced commissions and fees with an Investor Plus account, which requires either 150-plus trades per quarter and/or $500,000-plus in assets per client ID. Most notably, Investor Plus clients enjoy cheaper equity, fund, and options trades, and avoid having to pay a fee for USD registered accounts.
Qtrade also offers discounted commissions and no quarterly admin fees for young investors (investors age 18 to 30). To qualify, an investor must add $50 or more per month, via automatic pre-authorized contributions, to a Qtrade Investor account.
Learn more or start up an account by visiting Qtrade.
- Qtrade is one of Canada's top stock brokers, offering not just access to Canadian and U.S. stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, bonds, and more, but a wide set of tools and learning resources for investors and traders of all experience levels.
- Fair commissions. Investor tier: Equities, most ETFs, mutual funds: $8.75 per trade. Investor Plus tier: Equities, most ETFs, mutual funds: $6.95 per trade. Both tiers: Select ETFs: Free. Options contract fees: $1.25 per trade. Fixed income and exchange-traded debentures: $1 per $1,000 face value ($24.99 minimum, $250 maximum).
- Available account types include: Non-registered, TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, LIRA, LRSP, RESP, RRIF, LIF.
- Features include watchlists, screeners, customized charting and technical analysis capabilities, Portfolio Simulator, and access to Morningstar analyst recommendations.
- Special offer 1: Get a $50 signup bonus for each opened and funded account (maximum $150 bonus).***
- Special offer 2: Young investors (age 18 to 30) enjoy discounted commissions and no quarterly admin fees. (Requires $50+ in monthly automatic pre-authorized contributions.)
- Good selection of available investments
- Wide array of investing and trading tools
- Some ETFs trade commission-free
- Low margin rates
- Account fees
- High options contract fees
3. WealthSimple (Best for Managed Investment Services)
- Available: Sign up here
- Best for: Investors who want managed investment services
- Platforms: Web, mobile app (Apple iOS, Android)
Wealthsimple is a wide-ranging financial platform that offers not only self-directed and managed investment accounts, but also checking, savings, mortgages, and even tax-filing software.
Wealthsimple has no account minimums nor monthly account fees. But it does have three different account tiers based on your assets—Core ($1-$99,999), Premium ($100,000-$499,999), and Generation ($500,000+)—and the higher the tier, the bigger the perks. All of these account tiers can invest via a variety of accounts, including TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, RESP, LIRA, RRIF, and non-registered.
With Wealthsimple’s managed investing services, the firm will customize a portfolio that matches your risk appetite and financial goals. Wealthsimple managed portfolios are built with low-fee ETFs; management fees are 0.5% annually for Core, 0.4% for Premium, and 0.2%-0.4% for Generation (varies by assets)—all much cheaper than the 2% you’d pay for your average Canadian mutual fund. Wealthsimple can help you build growth-focused, balanced, and conservative versions of classic diversified portfolios, socially responsible investing portfolios, and even halal portfolios. Premium and Generation Clients can also access two types of alternative investments—private credit and private equity—and also get access to a dedicated advisor.
Or, if you’re a DIYer, you can choose from thousands of Canadian and U.S. stocks and ETFs, as well as options, with self-directed investing. All tiers can trade stocks and ETFs commission-free. Core account holders can skip a 1.5% forex fee on U.S. assets by paying $10 per month; Premium and Generation account holders get this feature for free. And you can invest as little money as you want; Wealthsimple allows you to trade fractional shares.
Also worth noting: Premium and Generation account holders receive cheaper options trading fees, as well as cheaper fees trading the 60-plus coins on Wealthsimple’s crypto platform.
In addition to investing accounts, Wealthsimple also offers a high-interest checking and savings account—the Cash account—which pays different interest rates based on account type (outlined below). The account includes 1% back rewards in stock, crypto or cash, as well as higher interest and faster access to paychecks with qualifying direct deposits. You can also apply for mortgages with Wealthsimple, which provides low rates through direct lender Pine, or even file your taxes for as little as $0 with Wealthsimple’s tax software.
Interested in learning more? Check out Wealthsimple today.
- Wealthsimple is an all-in-one financial and investing solution, providing both managed and self-directed investing accounts, as well as checking, saving, mortgage, and even tax solutions.
- Let Wealthsimple build and maintain a portfolio suited to you through its managed portfolio services. Invest in classic, SRI, or even halal portfolios for 0.5% (Core), 0.4% (Premium), or 0.2%-0.4% (Generation, varies by assets).
- No commission fees for self-directed accounts when trading Canadian and U.S. stocks and ETFs. Core accounts must pay a 1.5% forex fee on U.S. stocks and ETFs, but can avoid the fee by paying $10/month.
- Available account types include: Non-registered, TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, RESP, LIRA, RRIF.
- High-to-decent options contract fees: Core: $2 USD. Premium and Generation: USD 75¢.
- Do your banking through Wealthsimple's Cash account. Earn 4% (Core), 4.5% (Premium), or 5% (Generation) on Cash account balances.
- No-commission trading of Canadian and U.S. stocks and ETFs
- Managed investment services
- Cash/stock rewards with Cash account
- Fractional shares
- Crypto platform
- High number of account types
- High threshold for Premium accounts
- High options contract fees for Core accounts
FAQs: Canada’s Best Online Brokers
What can I trade through a Canadian stock broker?
Like in most countries, Canadian stock brokers vary in what assets they allow investors and traders to buy and sell. Virtually all online brokers in Canada will allow you to trade stocks and ETFs. Many will also allow you to invest in mutual funds and options. A smaller number will let you buy individual bonds, futures, commodities, and other less-traveled assets.
From a geographical perspective, you’ll almost always receive access to stocks and funds listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). However, many Canadian online brokers also provide access to stocks and funds on U.S. exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq Stock Exchange (Nasdaq). That American exposure is sometimes offered for free, but sometimes requires forex and/or other fees.
