I live in Canada. I’ve looked through the following brokers:
TradeFreedom - No way.
Questrade - Maybe.
I like Questrade so far. But I’m having problems learning the platform. QuestradeFX. Its a little hard to use. I’ve had success with a trial of the MetaTrader platform.
I also found FXCast which apparently is in Canada and uses MT4… but they don’t accept canadian customers so they don’t have to comply to certain regulations. :rolleyes:
I’ve decided to go with FXCM, but still looking anyways. FXCM has a connection with HSBC to deposit funds through here in Vancouver, and they’re regulated in Canada, and well funded, so it sounds good.
I’m from Canada as well. I just signed up with forex.com and it was really straighforward. I funded with my credit card. And I think you can use metatrader.
I know it’s not a Canadian broker though. I’m new to trading and I’m not that picky yet so this looks okay to me so far. Hope that helps.
If you really want a Canadian broker I would use Questrade. You can use IBFX free demo MT4 for your charting and what not and simply enter them through quest.
I would definately not use FXCM unless you are a gold high volume member. I can’t believe what they do with the spread, nothing short of hwy robbery.
Depending how much your going to invest, if you are looking for a Micro account you may be forced to use FXCM if your from BC, if your outside of BC, than IBFX would be the one to use. IBFX does not want to register with the BCSEC.
I personally use ODL in england (heck its almost Canada) but thats for a standard account.
I’m with FXCM for their live mini account…from what I see, they have waaay better spreads than IBFX! (which is what I’m using for my mt4 charting)…but if you’re referring to the constant fluxuation of the spread, no it’s definately not fixed.
Nope, can’t even get a micro account with FXCM if in Canada (or at least in BC)…BC seems to be somewhere between “a rock and a hard place” when it comes to finding a broker that will accept us!
we appreciate the participants who talked about FXcast, and we appreciate their good opinion about us.
[B]We do NOT appreciate the idea that FXcast does not accept Canadian customers![/B] Who has brought up this rumor? Indeed about 15% of our customers are from Canada. We currently do not accept US customers (this will also change later) and if a Canadian customer uses an US-ISP with US IP he will not be able to open an account from his computer. But a short email to <[email protected]> together with the personal data we need will solve this problem. We will open his account.
Please feel free to check this and see our latest activities. FXcast - Your Prime Online Forex Broker.
Your FXcast Team (we are not from Canada but we love Canadians )
I’m with FXCM for their live mini account…from what I see, they have waaay better spreads than IBFX! (which is what I’m using for my mt4 charting)…but if you’re referring to the constant fluxuation of the spread, no it’s definately not fixed.
Good to hear your are pleased with them.
I mostly trade GBP/JPY, and I have experienced huge spread manipulation with them, when Asia closes the spread seemed to jump from 6-7 to somewhere around 15-18 and it did that daily when i was with them and as high as 40 during news events…
After that, I closed my account and switched to ODL, I have yet to see the spread with them go above 10 (typically 6).
Just sharing my experiences with FXCM, but if they are good for you, thats great.
I’m in Canada also. I’ve been demo-ing with Oanda, but I’ve decided to go with a Canadian broker when I’m ready to go live.
So far my top choices are Questrade and MF Global Canada.
If I were to go with either of these brokers I would probably continue to use Oanda for my charting.
Questrade is quite slow, and MF Global doesn’t seem to have integrated charting (at least in their demo platform). Questrade also don’t offer Ichimoku charts, which I’m using for some of my systems.
It really seems like we have limited options here, unfortunately.
Another, very frustrated, person from BC here. I’ve been searching for a reputable metatrader enabled broker for ages. IBFX.com looked perfect, until I saw the no BC sign.
So, from what i’m reading, it seems FXCM with a mini account ($2000 min deposit) is the only thing on offer for those who live in BC and want to use MT. Boo.
I have to say I’m disappointed. I did find others who would take BC residents, but the reports are a touch spotty to say the least.
Thank you for contacting the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC).
Forex trading, whether automated or not, requires registration in British Columbia. Forex dealers that are registered in jurisdictions outside of Canada are also required to register in British Columbia if they serve British Columbia residents.
British Columbia is the only jurisdition in Canada that currently regards trading in forex contracts as trading in securities under the British Columbia Securities Act.
Prior to January, 2008, we required forex dealers to registered with us as ‘exchange contract dealers’. British Columbia Policy 31-601, Registration Requirements, as amended in January 2008, currently requires forex dealers to register as ‘investment dealers’ and become members of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (“IIROC”, formerly: the Investment Dealers Association of Canada). Link to 31-601, URL: <Page Not Found>.
Many forex dealers shy away from registering in British Columbia because of IIROC’s stringent margin requirements.
You can also conduct a search on our main web site to locate information on enforcement actions we have pursued that relate to forex trading, simply enter ‘forex’ in search bar, URL: <http://www.bcsc.bc.ca/>.
The following dealers offer FOREX:
FXCM Canada Ltd.
Interactive Brokers Canada Inc.
MF Global Canada Co.
Questrade, Inc.
TradeFreedom Securities Inc.
I’m a newbie to Forex and looking for a good MT4 broker as well, from the looks of it, we don’t have many choices as far as number of Canadian brokers.
My question is how can we tell if the broker is going straight to ECN as I don’t want to deal with a dealer-desk type brokerage where they take an opposite position.
Has anyone had any experience with InvesttechFX? They are a Canadian broker located in Toronto. They are also the only Canadian broker that I have found that uses the MT4 platform. Deposits to an account can be made via credit card or paypal and withdrawals can be made via bank wire or paypal.
They are not on that list of BC approved brokers though.
Are there any other Canadian brokers that use MT4? I’m getting really well acquainted with MT4 and have grown to like it quite a lot.
I would be wary of InvesttechFX, as they charge a “scalping fee” of $10. Their site doesn’t even make clear how long you must hold a trade to avoid this fee. They supposedly review your account monthly to determine if you’re a scalping, and then charge your account accordingly. You could end up with a rather big and nasty surprise.
Hmm. That does look pretty sketchy. I think I’m going to fire an email off to them for clarification. I’d hate to make some money just to have them tell me that I was scalping and have to pay it all back in “fees”.
I definitely would not use Questrade. I just got confimration of my account and I applied on Feb 10th. I got the runaround on the phone dozens of times due to miscommunication between their seperate departments. Their platform is very hard on the eyes and theri 4 sperate websies are very hard to navigate
I have recently opened an account with MFGlobal.ca and am VERY happy with their service so far. I got a reply to my account application within 24 hours. Ihad a small issue with them not being able to see my place of residence on my photocopy of my power bill. Not a big deal since I have now resubmitted it and the process is in motion again. If it was Questrade I would be back to square one…