The Canadian trading landscape is dynamic and evolving. More and more international brokers are looking to expand their operations there, but not everyone is authorized to serve local clients. And even fewer forex brokers are licensed and regulated by the country’s national regulator – the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO).
We also understand that choosing a reliable forex broker can be daunting, requiring extensive research and head-scratching. That’s why we’ve cut out your work for you by scanning all the forex brokers serving clients in Canada and cataloging only the best of the best across several major categories.
*AvaTrade doesn’t allow CFD trading in Spain; only Futures are available.
Our team of experts has identified brokers’ strengths and weaknesses using FXEmpire’s comprehensive methodology.
Now let’s dive into the selected brokers.
Right off the bat, we start with one of the better-known names in international trading. MultiBank holds multiple licenses from global regulators and stands out with its adherence to client safety. From my research, I learned that the broker entity serving traders in Canada provides $1 million in fund coverage under a Civil Liability Insurance policy.
Regional Features:
Canadian clients of MultiBank can enjoy one of the largest selections of instruments in the industry. The broker offers more than 14,200 assets across currency pairs, commodities, stocks, indices, and cryptocurrencies. The bulk of the offering is comprised of 14,100 stocks, making MultiBank an excellent choice for stock traders in Canada.
Stock traders will also enjoy MultiBank’s favorable prices. I captured a 12-cent spread on Apple shares and a 35-cent spread on Tesla shares, both beating the industry average. My live tests also showed that MultiBank offers low costs on FX Crosses, like the GBPJPY, and indices. Commodity prices are also kept low, but FX Majors and cryptocurrencies are a different story. I captured a $40 BTCUSD spread, shooting above the industry average of $35.
MultiBank’s trading platforms and tools offering is another strong point of the broker. I gave the MultiBank App web trader a spin and appreciated its advanced charting, a clean interface, and integrated market research.
FXCC breaks the mold of low-cost trading by offering some of the most competitive spreads in the industry. My research of the Cyprus-based forex broker, which was established in 2010, shows that FXCC beats the industry average across most instruments it offers.
Regional Features:
Using FXCC’s universal trading account, I captured the broker’s spreads on popular instruments during the London and New York market openings. The first thing that stood out to me about the ECN XL account by FXCC was its unique pricing mechanism. It features raw spreads from 0.0 pips and zero commissions.
The highlights of my testing were the 0.0-pip EURUSD and 1.0-pip GBPJPY spreads I captured on FXCC’s MT5 platform. These impressive numbers make FXCC one of the premier options for forex trading. I also observed below-average costs on commodities and indices. The only outlier of my testing was the $60 BTCUSD spread I recorded.
FXCC integrates the standard suites of the MT4 and MT5 platforms, which can be enhanced using the broker’s free Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting for low-latency trading. Canadian traders can use it to speed up their execution. The tool allows you to achieve average execution speeds of around 5-10ms.
PU Prime delivers enhanced copy trading solutions to Canadian traders via its versatile PU Trading App. I downloaded the app from the Google store and had it up and running in a couple of minutes. It connects signal providers and signal followers seamlessly and enables cost-free copy trading.
Regional Features:
I used the PU Trading App to access the broker’s leaderboard of signal providers. It was very easy to use the filters to screen the available strategies by their performance. You too can sift through all trading systems by their average returns, maximum drawdown, trade frequency, and more.
Signal followers who replicate other traders’ strategies do not have to pay any servicing fee to PU Prime. However, they may encounter a subscription fee set by the signal provider, and also have to pay the spreads and commissions arising from the trading activity. In turn, signal providers are allowed to choose their own subscription fee rates.
I also learned that PU Prime offers content by Autochartist – one of the biggest and most trusted signal providers in the industry. It features actionable trading signals that can be replicated in just a few clicks.
If you want to be active on the market but can’t be bothered staying in front of the desktop all day, then VT Markets has you covered with its versatile VT Markets App. The all–in-one app combines a pleasant design with high functionality. I used it to manage my account with VT Markets, place and manage trading orders on the go, and access on-hand market research.
Regional Features:
I am generally highly skeptical of mobile apps because I do not think they are well-suited for conducting probing technical analysis on low-resolution devices. Still, I gave credit to the VT Markets App for its high responsiveness. I scaled price action up and down on my Android device and was able to spot even minor price fluctuations.
Clients of VT Markets from Canada will also appreciate that the VT Markets App is integrated with actionable signals from Trading Central. They can use this functionality to stay on top of the latest trading opportunities and enter the market with just a few taps on the screen.
VT Markets also performed well on the fees front. My live testing showed that the broker’s forex and commodity spreads were aligned with the industry benchmarks, while its stocks, indices, and crypto spreads were positioned in the lower range.
AvaTrade is my pick as the best beginner-friendly broker in Canada thanks to its low-deposit accounts starting from $100, reliable customer support, favorable prices, and intuitive platforms. But what really takes the cake is AvaTrade’s extensive offering of learning materials for first-time traders wanting to learn the ropes.
Regional Features:
I gave AvaTrade’s educational offering top scoring for its breadth and diversity. The standout feature of the learning academy was the 400+ past webinar episodes that zoom in on essential trading concepts. You can use them to learn in depth about technical analysis, fundamental analysis, risk management, and trading psychology.
I also scanned AvaTrade’s educational courses, which will keep you busy for days. The content spans 27 individual lectures and has a total runtime of more than 200 minutes. Learn how to read price action behavior, how to protect your market exposure using stop-loss orders, how to interpret major economic trends, how to adopt the proper trading attitude, and much more.
But AvaTrade does not stop there. It delivers a strong lineup of trading platforms serving novices, including its intuitive Ava Web Trader, AvaSocial, and DupliTrade. The last two accommodate social and copy trading.
FP Markets caters to professional traders with its specialized accounts and range of sophisticated platforms. The broker also passed my tradable instruments testing with flying colors. I learned that it offers more than 10,000 assets across different markets via the advanced-grade Iress platform.
Regional Features:
I checked FP Markets’ professional account conditions and learned that traders from Canada have to meet at least two of the following three criteria to qualify. They must have an investment portfolio of at least EUR 500,000, have at least one year of professional experience in the financial industry, or have executed at least 20 trades per quarter of sufficient volume over the past 4 quarters.
I also reviewed FP Markets’ execution performance reports and discovered that the broker averages order execution speeds of around 40ms globally. This outpaces the industry benchmark of 60ms and accommodates the needs of high-frequency traders.
From FP Markets’ impressive stack of trading platforms, I can recommend cTrader as the best option for professionals. Its greatest perk is the built-in coding environment, which experienced traders can use to program their own algorithms.
OANDA is the only broker on our list to be licensed by Canada’s national regulator, CIRO. Under its regulatory framework, OANDA is required to keep client funds in segregated accounts and guarantee negative balance protection. I also learned that the retail leverage is capped at 1:50, while OANDA clients are ensured by up to CAD 1 million under CIPF.
Regional Features:
Using a Canadian VPN, I checked OANDA’s website and its available trading instruments. I counted 68 major, minor, and exotic currency pairs, 34 commodities and indices (available as CFDs and futures), and 21 metals contracts. I also learned that the broker provides gold and silver contracts denominated in CAD, so that local traders can trade the precious metals without incurring a conversion fee.
I also gave the OANDA Trade Web Platform a spin and enjoyed its high-definition charts. Its chart visuals are powered by TradingView, which means easy scalability and great detail.
I then reviewed the parameters of OANDA’s universal trading account. It has no minimum deposit requirement and features an all-inclusive spread. It includes the full stack of trading platforms offered by OANDA and offers FIX APIs for Direct-Market-Access (DMA) trading. In layman’s terms, DMA trading allows you to obtain raw spreads and achieve faster execution on average.
The forex and CFD analysts and editors at FXEmpire bring together seasoned trading professionals and experienced financial journalists. Many of our experts have been featured in leading publications such as Investopedia and Forbes, and all of them combine strong industry credentials with hands-on trading experience.
Dan Blystone began his career in the trading industry in 1998 on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Later, Dan gained insight into the forex industry during his time as a Series 3 licensed futures and forex broker. He also traded at a couple of different prop trading firms in Chicago. Dan is well-equipped to recommend the best forex brokers due to his extensive experience and understanding of the brokerage industry.
Jitan Solanki is a professional trader, market analyst, and educator. He day trades major currency and index markets and focuses on swing trading US equities and commodities. A qualified Market Technician, Jitan also works with trader education and brokerage companies on various projects. These include market analysis, live trading events, and broker reviews. As an experienced trader and educator, Jitan brings all his qualities in action when reviewing and recommending brokers.
Having been a retail trader since 2013, Plamen has gained an in-depth understanding of the challenges that novice traders face today. His expertise is swing trading and day trading with a heavy emphasis on psychological and fundamental analysis. Plamen’s favourite trading instruments include FX majors and gold. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Economics and International Relations. Plamen's broad experience has equipped him with the expertise to recommend the best forex brokers.
In more than 15 years of trading in the financial markets, Vladimir dealt with a wide range of brokers and financial instruments. His career as a day-trader at a proprietary trading firm goes back to 2007. Later, Vladimir turned to longer time frames and became an independent trader and analyst managing his own portfolio. Using his experience, he helps traders find the best broker in his reviews.
Having been a retail trader since 2013, Plamen has gained an in-depth understanding of the challenges that novice traders face today. His expertise is swing trading and day trading with a heavy emphasis on psychological and fundamental analysis. Plamen’s favourite trading instruments include FX majors and gold. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Economics and International Relations. Plamen's broad experience has equipped him with the expertise to recommend the best forex brokers.
At FXEmpire, we strive to provide unbiased, thorough and accurate broker reviews by industry experts to help our users make smarter financial decisions.