Best Forex Brokers in Canada with High Leverage
If you're a Canadian trader looking for a high leverage Forex broker, you'll need to look offshore as CIRO limits the leverage that Canadian-regulated brokers can offer. Here's your guide to the best high-leverage brokers for Canadian traders.
Brokers we recommend
- Min. deposit: $100
- Platforms: MT4, MT5, TradingView, cTrader, Copy trading
- Regulators: Australia, Cyprus (EU), Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa, St. Vincent & the Grenadines
Trade Forex and precious metals with flexible leverage up to 1:500 with FP Markets, an Australian broker with an offshore entity. FP Markets welcomes Canadian traders, but cannot offer services to residents of Ontario and British Columbia.
- Min. deposit: $50
- Platforms: MT4, MT5, Copy trading
- Regulators: Cook Islands
4XC is an offshore broker created by Forex traders for traders, with high leverage up to 1:500 across Forex and precious metals. It accepts Canadian traders from all provinces.
Comparison table
We rate brokers across 5 categories and 18 criteria, following a standardised methodology. Here are our overall and category-specific ratings:
| FP Markets | 4XC | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | 4.8 | 4.1 |
| Markets | 5.0 | 3.8 |
| Trading environment | 4.9 | 4.4 |
| Deposits and withdrawals | 5.0 | 4.5 |
| Investor protection | 4.0 | 3.0 |
| Customer service | 5.0 | 4.7 |
| FP Markets | 4XC | |
|---|---|---|
| Forex (CFD) | ||
| Cryptos (CFD)* | ||
| Stocks (CFD) | ||
| Indices (CFD) | ||
| ETFs (CFD) | ||
| Metals (CFD) | ||
| Energy (CFD) | ||
| Commodities (CFD) | ||
| Bonds (CFD) |
* Availability is subject to local laws and regulations.
| FP Markets | 4XC | |
|---|---|---|
| MT4 | ||
| MT5 | ||
| TradingView | ||
| cTrader | ||
| Copy trading |
| FP Markets | 4XC | |
|---|---|---|
| Bank transfer | ||
| Broker to broker transfer | ||
| Credit card | ||
| Debit card | ||
| BTC (Bitcoin) | ||
| USDT (Tether) | ||
| NETELLER * | ||
| Skrill * |
* Availability is subject to local laws and regulations.
| FP Markets | 4XC | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | ||
| Cook Islands | ||
| Cyprus (EU) | ||
| Kenya | ||
| Mauritius | ||
| South Africa | ||
| St. Vincent & the Grenadines |
Investor protections in Canada
The Canadian forex market is highly regulated, with a strong emphasis on investor protection. The primary regulatory body is the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), created in June 2023 from the merger of two prior regulators.
To protect retail traders, CIRO mandates the following measures:
- Leverage Limits: CIRO imposes strict limits on the maximum leverage available to clients. Leverage is capped at 1:50 for major currency pairs and at 1:20 for all others.
- Segregated Accounts: Brokers must keep client funds separate from their own funds. This makes it less likely that you could lose money should your broker become insolvent or go bankrupt. It also prevents brokers from misusing client funds.
- Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF): Client accounts opened with investment firms regulated by CIRO are safeguarded by the CIPF, which provides cover up to CAD$1 million per account in the event of a firm's insolvency(1).
Why choose an offshore broker
However, you aren’t limited to CIRO-regulated brokers, and may open an account with an international broker that accepts Canadian clients. Here are a few reasons to consider trading through an offshore broker:
- Higher Leverage: FPMarkets.com, FXCC.com and others offer flexible leverage up to 1:500 across a wide range of markets.This will make it easier for you to open a large position with a small deposit.
- Lower Costs: Offshore brokers often pass lower regulatory costs onto their customers, which explains why raw-spread accounts can be cheaper than their Canadian counterparts.
- More Instruments: Offshore brokers face no restrictions on cryptocurrency or single-stock CFDs. In particular, FP Markets stands ahead of the competition with a selection of CFDs on 12 crypto-currencies and 1,000 international stocks.
On the downside, brokers with an offshore licence usually provide fewer avenues for dispute resolution, little to no deposit insurance, and no access to investor compensation schemes.
How to pick the right offshore broker
First, check where your preferred broker is regulated and how long it has held its licence for. You may be surprised to learn that some international brokers with offshore entities, like FP Markets and 4XC, are overseen by tier-1 regulators like ASIC or CySEC in their home markets. This should provide peace of mind, and the assurance that your funds are safe.
Next, compare pricing by adding spread and commissions together across the instruments you plan to trade. Raw accounts with ultra-tight spreads could ultimately cost more if the commission is high. Specifically, we recommend FP Markets' Raw Account with spreads from 0 pips and a low $3/lot commission per side.
Make sure that your preferred broker offers a platform you genuinely enjoy using - whether that's MT4 for its vast library of indicators, MT5 for its speed, cTrader for its depth-of-market tools, or TradingView for its community and charting tools.
Funding methods matter too. If you live in Canada, look for brokers that allow you to open a trading account in Canadian dollars to avoid hidden currency conversion fees on deposits and withdrawals. FP Markets is the only broker in our panel with a CAD account.
And finally, test customer service via live chat before funding your account. Fast, and genuinely helpful answers will make a meaningful difference to your experience.
Risk management best practices
High leverage can turbo-charge your returns, and punish sloppy risk management just as fast. To protect your capital, limit each trade to one or two per cent of your equity and remember to set a stop-loss as soon as you open a position. Higher leverage can also amplify your emotions, so set clear daily and weekly loss limits and try to stick to them.
Conclusion
If you're a Canadian trader looking for a high leverage trading account, you'll need to turn to an offshore broker like FPMarkets.com, FXCC.com or 4xc.com. Offshore trading is perfectly legal, but the lack of CIPF cover means you must vet each broker. If you're ready to move forward, why not open a free account with any of these brokers today.
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About the author
I'm Stefan, a trader and an entrepreneur. My mission with TrustedBrokers is to help you find the right broker for you, whether you're a beginner or a pro. I've personally used and tested the brokers mentioned in this article. I started my career in investment banking in London as an FCA-approved person.