CIRO-Regulated Forex Brokers in Canada: the 8 Dealer Members Behind the 9 Brands We Rate

The 9 brands on our list and the dealer member behind each

Ordered by score, highest first, both kinds together: seven scores come from our global testing; two were scored from each firm's published Canadian information through the same eight categories. Each line names the Canadian company that offers the brand; its place in the list comes from its score.

1. OANDA - offered by OANDA (Canada) Corporation ULC
2. FXCM - offered through Friedberg Mercantile Group Ltd.
3. FOREX.com - offered by GAIN Capital - FOREX.com Canada Ltd.
4. CMC Markets - offered by CMC Markets Canada Inc.
5. AvaTrade - offered through Friedberg Mercantile Group Ltd.
6. Interactive Brokers - offered by Interactive Brokers Canada Inc.
7. Plus500 - offered by Plus500CA Ltd.
8. Questrade - offered by Questrade Inc.
9. Fortrade - offered by Fortrade Canada Limited

The CIRO register: 8 dealer members on our list

Each row of this table shows you a dealer member: the brands it offers on our list, its CIRO category, its CIPF membership, and where the firm says it is registered. The column headed “Where it is registered, as the firm states it” quotes the firm’s own words, and your province is the one to check against them. OANDA (Canada) Corporation ULC states registration in each province and territory, while Plus500CA Ltd. and Fortrade Canada Limited state registration in every province and territory except Quebec. For Interactive Brokers Canada Inc. and Questrade Inc., we found no province-by-province statement on the Canadian pages we read, so the table prints “Not stated”.

Every one of the eight appears in the CIRO dealer directory as an Investment Dealer and on the CIPF current members list, both read September 26, 2026. A directory entry shows the name, address, and category, with no status field, so I read a listing as current membership. The brands themselves are not members, only the legal entities named here.

Search it yourself: the CIRO dealer directory and the CIPF member list.

CIRO actions naming a dealer on our list

The IIROC Temporary Order of November 9, 2022 restricts Fortrade Canada Limited: no new client accounts, no recommendations, no seeking additional deposits into existing accounts. The settlement in Re Fortrade Canada Ltd., 2024 CIRO 36 keeps the order in effect until the $2,000,000 fine, the $100,000 costs, and the US$703,478.91 client payment are satisfied and eligible clients have been told of their claim on the US$6,000,000 fund. Our search of ciro.ca on September 26, 2026 found no notice lifting the order; that search is yours to repeat. None of the eight dealer members appears on CIRO’s list of dealers under membership or compliance terms and conditions (read September 26, 2026).

Fortrade Canada Limited (Fortrade)

How to check a dealer in the CIRO directory

Start with the legal name, which you take from the firm’s own Canadian site or account agreement. For FXCM and AvaTrade, that name is Friedberg Mercantile Group Ltd., not the brand. Search that name in the CIRO dealer directory at ciro.ca, where the entry gives the legal name, the address, and the category. Then find the same name on the CIPF member list. The directory page also names the CSA National Registration Search as the place to check terms a securities regulator has imposed on a registration; we could not read that search because it sits behind a reCAPTCHA we did not bypass. I would run both checks before you send any money, and the search links print below this block.

Search the CIRO dealer directory · Search the CIPF member list

What CIPF covers at a CIRO dealer member

CIPF covers property a member firm holds for you that is not returned after the firm’s insolvency: securities, commodity and futures contracts, cash, cash equivalents, and segregated funds. The limit is $1 million for all general accounts combined, with separate $1 million limits for all registered retirement accounts combined and for all RESPs combined. CIPF does not cover losses from a drop in value, unsuitable investments, poor advice, or crypto assets, and it does not guarantee the value of the property. A claim has to reach CIPF within 180 days of the date of the member firm’s insolvency. One gap matters to you as a forex trader: CIPF’s policy does not name OTC CFDs or spot forex contracts as covered property, so I would read the coverage policy before you rely on it. All eight dealer members are on the current CIPF list.

What CIRO rules require of a forex dealer

Sections 5460 to 5469 of CIRO’s Investment Dealer and Partially Consolidated Rules, dated August 11, 2026, set minimum margin for foreign exchange positions by currency group. CIRO’s foreign currency groups page says an Investment Dealer Member is to use its currency group list, sections 5460 to 5469, and the list of FX spot risk margin rates, and Rules Bulletin 25-0232, effective August 13, 2025, lists the euro at 3.00% and the U.S. dollar at 2.00% for a CAD-base account. CIRO sets minimums, and a dealer may ask for more. None of the nine brands’ documents cites a CIRO rule number for its margin. Outside margin, Rule 3202 has the dealer establish your identity and complete an account application for each new client, and the collection of your financial circumstances, investment needs and objectives, investment knowledge, risk profile, and investment time horizon does not apply to an order execution only account (s.3208(1)).

The rule: CIRO's Investment Dealer and Partially Consolidated Rules, sections 5460 to 5469, and its foreign exchange spot risk margin list.

What the CIRO dealer categories mean

The CIRO dealer directory sorts firms into three categories: Mutual Fund Dealer, Investment Dealer, and Investment Dealer & Mutual Fund Dealer. CIRO oversees both investment and mutual fund dealers. All eight on our list are Investment Dealers. CIRO’s peer-group list tells you more: Friedberg Mercantile Group Ltd. sits in the Retail group, which CIRO describes as “predominately servicing individual retail clients”, while OANDA (Canada) Corporation ULC, GAIN Capital - FOREX.com Canada Ltd., CMC Markets Canada Inc., Interactive Brokers Canada Inc., Plus500CA Ltd., Questrade, Inc., and Fortrade Canada Limited sit in Order Execution Only. The list marks Friedberg Mercantile Group Ltd., Interactive Brokers Canada Inc., and Questrade, Inc. as Participants, which CIRO defines as a registered dealer that is a member of an exchange, a user of a QTRS, or a subscriber of an ATS. When I check a firm, I use the category and peer group together to confirm the right entity, and I suggest you do the same before you pick a dealer.

Is forex trading legal in Canada?

Yes, and the CSA forex page sets out how: forex is generally regulated as trading in either a security or a derivative, with rules that vary by provincial legislation, and a firm offering forex must be registered in the province where it intends to work and must also be a CIRO member. The provincial and territorial regulators recognized the New Self-Regulatory Organization of Canada effective January 1, 2023, and it took the name Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization on June 1, 2023, consolidating the functions of IIROC and the MFDA. The CSA’s own words on the risk: “Forex trading is very complicated, high risk, and typically not for the average investor.” I would weigh that line honestly against your own experience before you fund an account.