Online trading has become a huge phenomenon today and everybody wants to be part of it. Due to international recent events and to the fact that many people are restrained in their houses because of the stay-at-home orders after the pandemic waves of , online trading has boomed in Canada.
With that being said, there are so many brokerage services and names on the net that one may feel overwhelmed by this tsunami of information. Plus, there’s even the chance to encounter misleading info and frauds on your way to inform yourself in order to choose a broker to start trading in stocks and FX pairs.
Seeing that we decide to share with you the criteria used to select our top 5 Canada Stock and Forex brokers in Canada for 2021.
Before You Start
If you want to start trading in the stocks or in the Forex market, you’ll have to open a trading account with a broker. Once you decide which broker fits your needs, the process to open an account is very similar for every broker available.
You’ll just have to:
- Give a proof of identity: such as passport (preferred), ID (e.g. driving license)
- Give a proof of residence: such as bank statement or any other official document with your current address on it
Once verified, you’ll be able to trade financial assets with your trading account on a platform given or suggested by the broker.
Regulation In Canada
Stock and Forex trading are perfectly legal in Canada, although retail brokers and individual trading are generally more monitored in some parts of the federation, especially in Alberta (but we’ll speak about this later).
Stock and Forex trading are both regulated in Canada by the IIROC (Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada), also known in French (second official language of the country) as ORCVM (Organisme canadien de réglementation du commerce des valeurs mobilières).
IIROC is a non-profit, national self-regulatory organization established through the merger of two former national organizations called IDA (Investment Dealers Association of Canada) and RS (Market Regulation Services Inc.).
Its purpose is to monitor its members for securities law compliance and enforce the established security regulation via quasi-judicial proceedings.
To verify if a broker is regulated by the IIROC, you can double check both their websites and search for the registration number. If a broker is not IIROC regulated, each regional regulation may decide to allow or not a broker to offer their services in their region
Regulation in Alberta
Regulation in Alberta has different rules if confronted with the rest of the nation, and it imposed some restrictions on stock and Forex trading whether or not a broker complies with the IIROC regulation.
In order to operate in this province you will have to satisfy at least one of the following criteria.:
- To be a bank or another financial institution
- To be in possess of a net income of $200.000 in the last two years
- To have gain at least $200.000 in the past 2 years
- To have at least $1.000.000 in your financial portfolio
- To have at least $5.000.000 invested in properties
Trading Platform Implemented
Once opened an account with an online broker, in order to let you trade on a financial market brokers will give you the access to a trading platform.
Trading platforms differ one by another and each one of them may have a different focus on a particular feature if compared to the competition. Pay attention before opening a trading account with a new broker and check if the platform or platforms they offer match with your needs.
Brokers usually offer two kind of solution regarding trading platforms:
- Broker’s proprietary trading platform: some brokers decided to implement their own trading platforms in order to avoid a third party company service.
- Mainstream trading platforms: many brokers let traders use their accounts on mainstream trading platforms such as MetaTrader4 and MetaTrader5 developed by the famous MetaQuotes software corporation .
Trading Techniques Available
There are plenty of trading techniques to perform on a platform, but not all of them may be available within a platform or a country. At the same time, there’s also the chance of being authorized to perform a certain technique, but with poor results because of the trading account characteristics.
If you are a scalper for example you’ll have to constantly open and close positions in order to gain small profits, which means you’ll need the tightest spreads on the market, while swing traders may be interested in other features.
That’s especially important to check in Canada because many online brokers may offer online limited trading capability, especially regarding the relationship between the Great White North and Forex trading.
Customer Service & Novice Support
To choose a broker means also to choose a service that fits with your personal ambitions and your entry level as a trader in this sector.
If you are a beginner, it may be a good idea to choose a low-risk broker with a solid customer service in Canada and the lowest minimum deposit required to open an account.
Many brokers also started to dedicate a section of their sites and trading platforms exclusively dedicated to educating their traders on many financial and trading matters. They intend to achieve this goal by sharing a large amount of free e-books on the topic and many valuable (and often free) trading courses.
Additionally, choosing a broker which implements the usage of a negative balance protection system would help you to protect your funds from high volatility or an incorrect usage of a leverage.
Top 5 Stock/Forex Brokers In Canada
By following the aforementioned criteria, we can now proceed by showing you which ones are the best stock and Forex brokers in Canada.
- AvaTrade
Famous for being one of the top brokers in the entire world and the official sponsor of Manchester Football Club, AvaTrade took the first place in our list for many reasons.
AvaTrade is an IIROC regulated broker, and AvaTrade Canada branch provides for the access to some of the most in-depth trading instruments available on the market worldwide. Their trading account give access to most of the major trading platforms available right now (MT4 and MT5 included) plus an extraordinary proprietary web platform. They also provide leverage of up to 50:1 for all those traders which are accustomed to this investing tool.
In order to protect their traders’ balance, they also implemented negative balance protections, plus their exclusive feature: AvaProtect.
AvaProtect is an exclusive AvaTrade tool which allows you to get your money back on losing trades. Developed by the broker in order to protect up to one million dollars over a chosen time frame, this service can be selected in exchange for a modest hedging cost to pay.
Their offer includes the chance of trading over 100 assets ranging from many different markets, including:
- Shares
- FX Pairs
- Indices
- ETFs
- Bonds
In order to open a trading account you’ll have to make a minimum deposit of just $100, which is a reasonable and affordable cost, especially if compared to their top tier services.
BASIC INFO:
- Regulated by: IIROC, FSA, MIFID-ESMA, ASIC, FSCA, Offshore, FSC (British)
- Regional restrictions: Alberta (Accredited investors only)
- Trading Platforms Available: Mirror Trader, ZuluTrade, MT4 Web, MT5 Web, Proprietary Web Platform, MAC Platforms
- Leverage: yes
- Minimum Deposit Required: $100
- VantageFX
VantageFX is an Australian based broker which became internationally famous in the industry also in Canada thanks to their highly professional and yet easy to use platforms, top spreads and competitive costs.
They are not IIROC regulated, still they do have to comply with other international regulatory bodies which are recognized in most of Canada too.
VantageFX trading account offer starts from a $200 minimum deposit, and it gives access to a variety of different financial assets and markets. Those include:
- Shares
- FX Pairs
- Indices
- Soft Commodities
- Precious Metals
- Energy
They also have a variety of accounts depending on what kind of trader you are, which can benefit from high-speed trade execution through one of the trading platforms included in the service. Their spreads start from 0 pips on the Forex market, plus you’ll also be able to invest in CFDs on the aforementioned assets.
On many markets you’ll also give you the chance of using leverage of as much as 50:1.
BASIC INFO:
- Regulated by: FCA, MIFID-ESMA, ASIC. Offshore
- Regional restrictions: Alberta (Accredited investors only), British Columbia
- Trading Platforms Available: ZuluTrade, MT4 Web, MT4 Desktop, MT5 Web, MT5 Desktop, MAC Platforms
- Leverage: yes
- Minimum Deposit Required: $0
- Forex.com
Originally known as a top Forex broker veteran, nowadays Forex.com is considered as a top market leader with hundreds of global markets available thanks to their account and many competitive features.
Forex.com is an IIROC regulated broker and has access to many assets in which you may invest thanks to a series of trading accounts available from an affordable $50 minimum deposit.
Thanks to it, you’ll be able to invest in:
- Shares
- FX Pairs
- Indices
- Commodities
They also have very intriguing and competitive spreads, which start at 0.8 pips and fixed spread only available when trading on commodities.
BASIC INFO:
- Regulated by: IIROC, FSA, FCA, MIFID-ESMA, , SFC
- Regional restrictions: Alberta (Accredited investors only)
- Trading Platforms Available: MT4 Web, MT4 Desktop, Proprietary Web Platform, Proprietary Desktop Platform
- Leverage: yes
- Minimum Deposit Required: $100
- Oanda
Oanda is one of the most selected brokers in Canada, due to the possibility of access to more than 100 markets thanks to their trading account and many intriguing features for every kind of trader.
IIROC regulated and with a variety of excellent trading features to use, they include in their service also the access to the famous Oanda Algo Lab.
Oanda Algo Lab is a technology empowered by QuantConnect, which allows you to code, backtest and deploy your automated trading strategy right from your web browser. This advanced feature includes an unparalleled speed and backtesting with results 50x faster than is possible on an average home computer. It also support multiple project languages, including:
- C#
- Python
- F#
Regarding the financial assets traded thanks to Oanda, they have specialized in the Forex market and give access to over 70 Forex pairs. There’s also the chance of trading with a leverage up to 50:1 to maximize your profits, although this feature can surely be used carefully because of the risk it brings to your finances in case of failure.
You can start trading with Oanda without having to do a minimum deposit.
BASIC INFO:
- Regulated by: IIROC, FSA, MAS, FCA, CFTC, MIFID-ESMA, , ASIC
- Regional restrictions: Alberta (Accredited investors only)
- Trading Platforms Available: Proprietary Desktop Platform, Proprietary Web Platform
- Leverage: yes
- Minimum Deposit Required: $0
- CMC Markets
A veteran brokerage service which has been around since 1989, CMC became a world renowned leader in this sector, therefore in Canada too.
Based in London and regulated by many top tier financial regulatory bodies, CMC Markets complies with IIROC regulation standards too.
With no need for a minimum deposit and a core-base in CFDs trading, we have access to a long list of assets available on different markets. Those include:
- Shares
- FX Pairs
- Indices
- Commodities
- Treasures
CMC Markets trading account is also very suitable for those who need fast spreads on trusted platforms such as MT4 due to spreads starting from 0.3 pips.
BASIC INFO:
- Regulated by: IIROC, MAS, FCA, MIFID-ESMA, ASIC. FMA, CBRC
- Regional restrictions: Alberta (Accredited investors only)
- Trading Platforms Available: Proprietary Web Platform
- Leverage: yes
- Minimum Deposit Required: $0