Best CFD Brokers in Canada

Benzinga readers often choose IFC Markets or FOREX.com as the best CFD Brokers in Canada.

A contract for difference (CFD) is an agreement to exchange the cash difference between the initial and closing price of a position. Although a CFD’s value depends on the price of a specific underlying asset, it remains a derivative financial instrument that does not involve actually buying or selling the asset.

Are you looking for a way to trade CFDs in Canada? How you trade CFDs is just as important as the broker you use to trade, so make sure you carefully select a Canadian CFD broker. 

Quick Look: Best CFD Brokers in Canada

• Best for Leverage Trading With Many Instruments: IFC Markets
• Best for Forex Investing: FOREX.com
• Best for Beginners: AvaTrade
• Best for Market-Leading Spreads: Capital.com
• Best for Sophisticated Investors: Interactive Brokers (IBKR)

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Disclosure: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

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Best Brokers for CFD Trading in Canada

When looking for the best online broker to trade CFDs through from Canada, you can review the list of our top picks below to choose one that optimally fits your overall requirements.

2. Best for Leverage Trading With Many Instruments: IFC Markets

IFC Markets supports nearly 200,000 clients in 80 countries who want to trade unique assets like forex and CFDs based on stocks, indices, oil, gold, etc. There are over 650 trading instruments from which you may choose, spreads as low as 0.4 floating and 1.8 fixed, instant execution for volume traders and no hidden fees or commissions.

Regulated by The British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission (BVI FSC) and the Labuan Financial Services Authority (LFSA) in Malaysia, IFC Markets is a safe place to trade for every investor in Canada, and a massive platform where you can  learn more about your investments, study currency pairs and monitor the scope of your portfolio.

Plus, did you know that IFC has won eight international awards for its services? Even better is the GeWorko Portfolio Quoting Method that allows traders to create synthetic assets they can use to bolster and diversify their portfolios. You can create as many of these instruments as you like and take leverage up to 1:400.

2. Best for Forex Investing: FOREX.com

FOREX.com lets you trade CFDs on a wide range of global stock market indices and numerous commodities, including metals, softs and energies. You can also use this broker to trade over 80 currency pairs in several account types aimed at traders with differing needs.

FOREX.com requires just a $250 minimum deposit to get started trading CFDs, although a direct market access (DMA) account requires a $25,000 initial deposit. The broker also offers an extensive array of useful research and educational material for traders.

This broker’s supported trading platforms include MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 and NinjaTrader, in addition to its own proprietary ForexTrader Pro platform for desktops. Platforms are also available for web browsers and mobile devices. 

3. Best for Beginners: AvaTrade

AvaTrade offers a reliable and user-friendly forex trading platform with a range of features and tools to suit traders of all levels. With their extensive selection of trading instruments, educational resources, and responsive customer support, AvaTrade is a solid choice for anyone looking to enter the world of forex trading.

AvaTrade is regulated by multiple financial authorities, including the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), the Central Bank of Ireland and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. This provides traders with peace of mind knowing that their funds are held in segregated accounts and that the platform operates in accordance with strict regulatory guidelines.

4. Best for Market-Leading Spreads: Capital.com

When you use Capital.com, you can trade CFDs on the NASDAQ 100, gold, oil, Tesla and about 6500 other places. Plus, Capital.com makes trading affordable, simple and safe with:

• Tight spreads
• No commissions
• Fast order execution
• High privacy and security standards
• Educational tools
• Current news items

Capital.com is regulated by:

• Financial Conduct Authority
• The Australian Securities and Investments Commission
• The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission
• National Bank of the Republic of Belarus

The platform also uses your trading behavior to make suggestions and inform you of what might improve your results. The AI technology steps in to help, in much the same way an online retailer makes product suggestions. You can check your account at any time, review educational information, check the news once again and invest in as many CFDs you like.

5. Best for Sophisticated Investors: Interactive Brokers Canada

You can operate in an unusually large number of global financial markets under the Canadian branch of Interactive Brokers. Interactive Brokers’ Trader WorkStation (TWS) platform is also one of the best-rated platforms for CFD trading. 

Interactive Brokers makes CFDs on forex, indices, cryptocurrencies, commodities and treasuries available to its trading clients. Review Interactive Brokers’ CFD Product Listings for a full listing of the stocks you can trade, which include large- and medium-cap stocks from the U.S., Japan, Western Europe and Nordic countries.

Some of the more liquid small-cap stocks are also available in many markets.  

Interactive Brokers’ commission schedule is a bit complicated, although its fees remain among the industry’s most competitive. The broker also makes its extensive educational material and research available to clients. Interactive Brokers charges an inactivity fee if you leave your account idle and also requires you to make a $10,000 initial deposit to open an account.  

Overview: CFD Trading in Canada

Trading CFDs has become notably popular among retail traders in Canada as a result of the rise of online brokers over the past few decades. Online brokers who operate in Canada do so under some of the strictest local regulations. This gives Canadian CFD traders an especially safe operating environment, although they may not be able to take advantage of the high leverage ratios available to traders from other countries. 

Any CFD broker that operates in Canada and solicits accounts from Canadian clients needs to do so under the financial regulations laid out by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC). The Financial Institutions Supervisory Committee (FISC) oversees the IIROC. It also coordinates financial regulatory activities and sets regulatory policy for financial institutions in Canada.

You can visit the IIROC’s web page entitled Dealers We Regulate if you would like to check whether a CFD broker properly submits to regulatory oversight by the IIROC. You can also look for the IIROC’s required risk disclosure text that should appear on the broker’s official homepage, usually near the bottom. 

In addition to IIROC financial regulation, Canada also has 3 provincial agencies that regulate local financial market participants like CFD brokers. They are:

• The Ontario Securities Commission
• The British Columbia Securities Commission
• The Autorité des Marchés Financiers.

The IIROC has established margin rates for various financial products in its Rule 100 document that remain subject to change. Margin requirements can also differ based on the currency of your account. For a sample list of current IIROC margin rates that includes CFDs, visit OANDA Canada’s website. 

When you open an account with a CFD broker in Canada, you will need to provide information that complies with the Know Your Client rule that the IIROC requires. This will involve verifying your identity, address and Social Insurance Number (SIN), as well as other personal information including your age, occupation, marital status, number of dependents, income and net worth.

You will also need to answer questions about your investment objectives, investment knowledge, risk tolerance and trading experience. 

Canadian CFD brokers will also ask if you or a member of your family have held a foreign government position that qualifies them as politically exposed persons. You will also need to disclose the source of funds you open your account with, your intentions in doing so and the name of any third party that has a financial interest in your account to prevent money laundering. 

Canadian CFD brokers regulated by the IIROC are also Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF) members. This fund provides impressive protection of up to C$1 million for traders’ cash and securities in case their broker becomes insolvent. 

Other Investment Options in Canada

If you want to try other types of investments in Canada, you can turn to a traditional broker like those listed above, or you can look at the National Bank of Canada. At NBC, you can invest in NBI funds and portfolios, guaranteed investment certificates, savings accounts, retirement plans and much more.

What to Look for in a Canadian CFD Broker

Any acceptable CFD broker operating in Canada will be regulated by the IIROC, as well as potentially by a local regulator in the province they are based in. The broker may also submit to regulatory oversight in other well-regulated countries or regions such as the U.S., Great Britain and the European Union. 

Online CFD brokers in Canada also provide a different set of services and assets you can trade, so choose one that has the best features and supports the CFD markets you want to operate in. The following list covers additional things that the best CFD brokers typically offer. 

Good Trading Platform

All decent online CFD brokers should offer easy-to-use trading software free of charge. Many online brokers like FOREX.com have a proprietary platform, although you can trade CFDs through the popular MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5 platforms you can download for free from MetaQuotes’ website.

You can enter orders, draw charts, perform fundamental and technical analysis, test strategies over historical data, create your own indicators and automate your trading plans on these similar platforms.

Customer Service

You’ll want your CFD broker to have a responsive customer service department if you encounter a trading error or have an important question to ask. You should be able to contact your broker via phone, live chat, email and fax. Your broker should also provide a FAQ with detailed answers to questions clients often ask.

Low Dealing Spreads, Commissions and Fees

Most CFD brokers make their money from the dealing spread, but some may also charge trading fees or commissions. These transaction costs should be as low as possible, although longer-term CFD traders may not be as sensitive to this. 

Research and Educational Materials

Most top CFD brokers have a research department that provides fundamental and/or technical analysis for their clients. They may also offer trade ideas and educational materials that those newer to CFD trading may appreciate. 

Take Your Pick of CFD Forex Brokers in Canada

CFD trading on a variety of underlying assets and asset types is available in Canada through a wide range of online brokers, including the especially reputable brokers listed above. 

Canadian CFD traders benefit from the relatively high security of their local regulatory environment and an impressive protected deposit amount of CAD $1 million, in addition to wide options when CFD trading. 
While safer, this strict regulation can make CFD trading more challenging if you use high leverage ratios as part of your trading strategy.

Several provincial financial regulators in Canada can also complicate regulatory matters for traders who live in the affected provinces of Ontario, Québec and British Columbia. 

Frequently Asked Questions