Best Canadian forex brokers – list of brokers regulated by IIROC

Broker	Country	Rating	Min. Deposit	Website
	US, UK, CA, SG, AU, JP	4/5	$1	Read the review
	UK	4/5	n/a	Read the review
	UK, Australia	3.85/5	$50	Read the review

The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) is a self-regulatory organization that oversees all forex brokers (officially referred to as investment dealers) and trading activity on debt and equity markets in the country. The financial regulator was established in June 2008 through the merger of the Investment Dealers Association of Canada (IDA) and Market Regulation Services Inc.

All Canadian forex brokers have to be registered with the IIROC. However, Canadian citizens are not obliged to trade with nationally-licensed brokers and, unlike US ones, are able to do that with nearly any brokerage of their choosing as long as this broker conforms to IIROC guidelines. Still, some recent changes in Canada’s legal framework have stopped several brokers from offering their services to Canadian citizens.

Canada is not a particularly popular destination for forex brokers – the reason for that is most probably rooted in the high capital adequacy requirements, and the complicated regulatory environment in the country. Brokers in Canada need to be regulated by different regulatory agencies depending on the province where they are registered and have to comply with different regulations. Quebec and Ontario, for example, impose additional requirements on forex and CFD brokers. This complicated system is one of the reasons why very few companies have chosen Canada as the base for their operations.

Nonetheless, IIROC sets high-quality regulatory and investment industry standards for protecting investors and strengthening market integrity while maintaining efficient and competitive capital markets. The regulator regularly reviews the activities of brokers under its supervision to make sure they follow all regulatory guidelines and procedures, maintain a high standard, and only hire employees that are well-trained and after a background check. It is IIROC that investigates allegations of misconduct.

Unlike the situation in the United States, Canada has not banned hedging, nor has imposed restrictions on leverage.

What is probably the biggest advantage of trading with a Canadian forex broker is that all of them are members of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). The latter ensures all client accounts for up to $1 million against suffering losses due to broker insolvency.

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