Best online brokers in Canada: 2026 ranking revealed

MoneySense and Surviscor released their 14th annual ranking of Canadian online brokers. The survey measures client experience across account opening, platform usability, research offerings, and ongoing support.

Questrade took the top spot for 2026, displacing last year's leader, Wealthsimple. The gap came down to stability and execution. Questrade scored higher on reliability during high-volume trading hours and on conditional order types that active traders lean on. Wealthsimple led in account-opening speed and interface design but lost ground on advanced order routing.

TD Direct Investing ranked third, holding its position from 2025. The bank-owned broker benefits from TD's research ecosystem but trails independent firms on mobile-app functionality. National Bank Direct Brokerage and CIBC Investor's Edge rounded out the top five.

The ranking uses 200 weighted criteria across six categories. Surviscor said the biggest differentiator in 2026 was the quality of customer support during live trade disputes – a domain where Questrade and TD Direct Investing both scored above 90%.

For a trader deciding between platforms, the choice comes down to how they trade. Active swing traders who place multiple conditional orders per week will find Questrade's toolkit more complete. Buy-and-hold investors who rarely adjust positions may prefer Wealthsimple's cleaner interface and lower fees.

The full ranking is available on MoneySense's website. No single broker leads every category. The question is which trade-offs fit your strategy.