How to buy stocks in Canada in 2026, step by step

Buying a stock in Canada is simpler and cheaper than it used to be. Several brokerages now charge no commission on Canadian and US stocks, many sell fractional shares, and the whole process happens in an app. What still trips people up is everything around the trade: which account the shares go into, what currency conversion costs on US stocks, how order types work and how gains are taxed.

This guide walks through each step in order. It explains how the pieces work and compares costs using each firm’s published pricing; it does not recommend any stock, and it is education, not financial advice. Brokerages change fees often, so check the current pricing page before you open an account.

What do you need before you buy stocks in Canada?

Every Canadian brokerage asks for the same basics to open an account online:

• Age of majority in your province or territory, and Canadian residency to open a TFSA or FHSA.
• A valid Social Insurance Number (SIN), because the brokerage reports investment income to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
• Government photo ID and your address, to verify your identity.
• A Canadian bank account to deposit from, or an existing investment account to transfer in.
• Your contribution room if you plan to use a registered account. CRA My Account shows TFSA, RRSP and FHSA room.

It also helps to decide the purpose of the money before buying anything. Money needed for a home in two years and money for retirement in thirty years usually end up in different accounts and different investments.

Step 1: Which account type will hold your stocks?

The account is a tax wrapper around your investments, and it matters more than most people expect. The same stock can be tax-free in one account and taxable in another. Most Canadian brokerages offer all four of these, and you can hold the same shares in any of them.

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A few points the table can’t show:

• TFSA growth and withdrawals are tax-free, but an overcontribution is taxed every month it stays in the account, and CRA can tax a TFSA that is used for frequent day trading as a business. The TFSA guide covers room and withdrawals.
• RRSP deductions are worth the most at a high marginal tax rate, and the money is meant to stay in until retirement. The RRSP guide explains room, deductions and withdrawals.
• FHSA combines a deduction on the way in with a tax-free withdrawal for a first home, a combination neither the TFSA nor the RRSP offers on its own. See the FHSA guide for the qualifying-home rules.
• Non-registered accounts are the only place where gains are taxed along the way, so record-keeping matters (more on this in the tax section below).

Step 2: How do you choose a brokerage in Canada?

A brokerage is the firm that holds your account and sends your orders to the stock exchange. For buying individual stocks, you need a self-directed account, where you choose each investment. A robo-advisor or managed account picks a portfolio of ETFs for you and does not let you buy single stocks.

Canadian brokerages fall into two groups. App-first brokerages such as Wealthsimple and Questrade charge no commission on stocks and ETFs. Bank-owned brokerages keep your investing next to your chequing account; some now charge $0 online (National Bank Direct Brokerage and BMO InvestorLine) and others still charge a commission on every stock trade.

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The commission column is not the whole price. The bank-owned brokerages waive commissions on a list of ETFs: 108 at TD Direct Investing, 50+ at RBC Direct Investing, 200+ at CIBC Investor’s Edge and 200+ at Scotia iTRADE. Some also charge small accounts a fee: CIBC Investor’s Edge charges $100 a year when the total market balance of all your Investor's Edge accounts is $10,000 or less, TD Direct Investing charges $25 a quarter when your household's TD Direct Investing accounts total less than $15,000, unless you qualify for a waiver, Scotia iTRADE charges $25 a quarter per non-registered account, unless a waiver applies, and National Bank Direct Brokerage charges a $100 annual administration fee when eligible assets are below $20,000, unless another exemption applies. Each firm lists its waivers on its pricing page.

Beyond price, four things separate brokerages for someone buying stocks:

1. Regulation and protection. Check that the firm is regulated by the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) and is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). Questrade is a registered investment dealer and a member of both the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) and the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). Wealthsimple describes its coverage as securities eligible for CIPF coverage up to $1M per defined account.
2. Fractional shares. Wealthsimple: yes — thousands of Canadian and US stocks and ETFs. Questrade: hundreds of eligible Canadian and US stocks and ETFs, from $1, commission-free, in any self-directed account. Fractional shares let a small deposit buy part of an expensive stock.
3. US-dollar accounts. If you plan to buy US stocks regularly, the ability to hold US dollars (especially inside a TFSA or RRSP) can matter more than the commission.
4. Account types. Not every brokerage offers every account in US dollars, and not every one offers an FHSA or RESP.

Wealthsimple has no account minimum, charges $0 on listed Canadian and US stocks and ETFs, and sells fractional shares. The trade-off is currency: US stocks bought from a Canadian-dollar account are converted at 1.5% each way, and a USD account costs $10 a month on the Core plan. If that fits how you plan to invest, opening a Wealthsimple self-directed account is one option to compare. Questrade, by contrast, lets you hold US dollars directly in registered accounts; the Wealthsimple vs Questrade comparison sets the two side by side.

Step 3: How do you fund a brokerage account?

Once the account is open, you link a Canadian bank account and move money in. The usual options are:

• Electronic funds transfer (EFT) from a linked bank account, set up once and then used for one-time or recurring deposits.
• Interac e-Transfer or bill payment, which some brokerages accept and which can arrive faster than an EFT.
• An account transfer from another brokerage or bank, which moves the existing TFSA, RRSP or FHSA directly so the money never counts as a withdrawal. The sending firm often charges a transfer-out fee; at Wealthsimple, transfer fees are reimbursed on transfers of $25,000 or more, up to $150 per account.

Two things to watch. First, a deposit into a TFSA, RRSP or FHSA is a contribution, so it uses your room even if the cash sits uninvested. Second, a transfer between registered accounts at two institutions must be done as a direct transfer by the institutions; withdrawing and re-depositing a TFSA in the same year can create an overcontribution.

Deposited money usually sits as cash in the account until you place an order. Some brokerages hold new deposits for a few business days before they can be withdrawn again, even if you can trade with them sooner.

Step 4: How do you place an order to buy a stock?

Every brokerage uses a similar order ticket. On the stock’s page you choose Buy, then fill in:

• Ticker and exchange. Each company has a ticker symbol. Some trade on both the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and a US exchange under the same name, so confirm the exchange and currency before you buy.
• Quantity. A number of shares, or a dollar amount if the brokerage offers fractional shares.
• Order type. Market, limit or stop (see the table below).
• Time in force. A day order expires at the close if it hasn’t filled; a good ‘til cancelled order stays open for a period the brokerage sets.

Then review the estimated total, including any commission or currency conversion, and submit. For a screen-by-screen walkthrough in one app, see how to buy stocks on Wealthsimple.

Worked example. Buying 10 shares of a stock with a limit price of $50 costs $500 if the order fills at the limit. At a brokerage charging $0, the total is $500; at TD Direct Investing’s standard $9.99 commission, it is $509.99, and selling later costs another commission. On a purchase this size, one commission is about 2% of the money invested, which is why commissions matter most for small, frequent purchases.

After the order fills, the shares show in your holdings. The trade settles (ownership formally changes hands) shortly after, which is why cash from a sale may take a business day or so before it can be withdrawn.

How do you buy US stocks from Canada, and what does currency conversion cost?

US stocks trade in US dollars, so buying them from a Canadian-dollar account means converting currency. The conversion fee is usually built into the exchange rate, and at many brokerages it costs more than the commission.

Worked example. Converting $2,000 to buy US shares at Wealthsimple’s 1.5% conversion fee from a Canadian-dollar account costs about $30. Selling later and converting back costs roughly the same again, so the round trip is about $60, before any change in the exchange rate.

There are four ways to lower that cost:

• Hold US dollars in the account. Convert once, keep the US dollars, and reuse them for later purchases and dividends. At Wealthsimple, conversions into and out of a USD account cost 1.5% under $10,000; 1.0% from $10,000; 0.5% from $25,000; 0% from $100,000.
• Norbert’s gambit. Buy a Canadian-listed security that also trades in US dollars, have the brokerage journal it to the US side, then sell it in US dollars. It usually costs far less than a standard conversion on larger amounts. The Norbert’s gambit calculator compares the two.
• Canadian Depositary Receipts (CDRs). CDRs represent part of a US share, trade in Canadian dollars on a Canadian exchange and include a currency hedge, so no conversion is needed.
• Canadian-listed ETFs that hold US stocks. They trade in Canadian dollars; the fund handles the currency internally.

US dividends can also face US withholding tax, and the account type matters. The Canada–US tax treaty exempts US dividends earned by tax-exempt plans operated exclusively to provide pension, retirement or employee benefits, and the US Treasury’s technical explanation of the 1995 treaty protocol names RRSPs and RRIFs as covered. Those treaty sources don’t name TFSAs or FHSAs, and the CRA says foreign dividends paid to either account could be subject to foreign withholding tax. The full breakdown, with an FX fee calculator, is in the guide to buying US stocks in Canada.

How do you invest in stocks: ETFs or individual stocks?

“How to invest in stocks” covers two very different approaches. An exchange-traded fund (ETF) holds dozens or thousands of stocks in one purchase; an individual stock is a share of one company. Both are bought the same way, with the same order ticket.

Neither is guaranteed to rise, and neither is right for everyone. Many Canadian investors hold a core of broad ETFs and a smaller number of individual stocks, while others hold only one or the other. The steps to buy an ETF are the same as for a stock; the guide on how to buy ETFs in Canada covers what to check on the fund itself.

How are stocks taxed in Canada?

Buying a stock is not taxed. Tax applies when you earn dividends or sell, and only outside a registered account. Inside a TFSA there is no tax on gains or dividends; inside an RRSP or FHSA, tax is deferred until withdrawal.

In a non-registered account:

• Capital gains. Under the Income Tax Act, 50% of a capital gain is added to your taxable income and taxed at your marginal rate. The gain is the sale price minus your adjusted cost base (ACB) and selling costs. CRA’s own worked example: shares sold for $6,500, with an ACB of $4,000 and $60 of selling costs, give a capital gain of $2,440, of which $1,220 is taxable.
• Capital losses. Half of a capital loss (the allowable capital loss) can be deducted only against taxable capital gains, not against other income. Net capital losses can be carried back 3 years or carried forward indefinitely.
• Superficial losses. If you sell at a loss and you (or an affiliated person, such as a spouse) buy the same stock within 30 days before or after the sale and still own it 30 days after, the loss is denied and added to the cost of the new shares instead.
• Dividends. Dividends from Canadian corporations are grossed up and then reduced by the dividend tax credit, which is larger for eligible dividends. Dividends from foreign companies are taxed as regular income, with a credit for foreign tax withheld.

Keep your own record of every purchase price, including commissions and the exchange rate on US trades. Brokerage tax slips don’t always include the ACB, and CRA expects you to report it. The capital gains tax calculator estimates the tax on a sale in your province.

Frequent short-term trading can change the picture: CRA may treat the profits as business income, fully taxable, rather than capital gains. In a TFSA, business income from trading can be taxed as well.

Can you buy stocks in Canada without a broker?

For a few companies, yes, but it is rarely simpler. The main routes are:

• Direct stock purchase plans and DRIPs. Some Canadian companies let registered shareholders buy more shares, or reinvest dividends, through the company’s transfer agent. Most require that you already own at least one share registered in your own name, which usually means buying it through a broker first.
• Employee share purchase plans. Many employers sell their own shares to staff through payroll, sometimes with an employer match.
• Synthetic DRIPs at a brokerage. Many brokerages will reinvest dividends into whole shares at no cost, which gives the effect of a DRIP without leaving the brokerage.

Each of these covers one company at a time and is slower to buy and sell through. For a portfolio of several stocks or ETFs, an online brokerage is the practical option.

What mistakes do first-time stock buyers make?

• Using a market order on a thinly traded stock or at the open, and paying more than expected. A limit order caps the price.
• Ignoring currency conversion on US stocks. At a conversion fee of 1.5%, frequent small US trades from a Canadian-dollar account cost far more than a $0 commission suggests.
• Overcontributing to a TFSA by counting a withdrawal as new room in the same year. Withdrawals are added back to your room only at the start of the next calendar year.
• Day trading in a TFSA, which CRA can treat as a business and tax.
• Selling at a loss and buying back within 30 days in a non-registered account, which triggers the superficial loss rule.
• Not tracking the adjusted cost base, which makes the tax return harder and can lead to overpaying tax.
• Buying a single stock with money needed soon. Stock prices can fall sharply over months or years; money for a near-term goal is often kept in a savings account or GIC instead.

Related tools and next steps

• Compare the two most-used app brokerages in Wealthsimple vs Questrade.
• Estimate the cost of converting to US dollars in the US stocks guide and FX fee calculator, or the savings from Norbert’s gambit.
• Work out the tax on a sale with the capital gains tax calculator.
• Check your room and rules in the TFSA, RRSP and FHSA guides.