How to start investing in Canada

1. Investing before 18

Let's start with the question every teen asks: can I open an account? In Canada you need to be the age of majority to open your own investment account — 18 in Quebec (and Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, PEI), 19 in the other provinces and territories.

Until then, three real options:

• An in-trust account. A parent opens an investment account "in trust" for you. The money is legally yours; the parent manages it until you're an adult. Most brokers offer this.
• Invest with a parent. Your parent buys the ETF you chose, in their account, with your money. Less formal — it works if you trust each other and write it down.
• Practise for free. Open a virtual portfolio (the same tool we use in the summer program) and learn with fake money and real prices. Meanwhile, keep your real savings in a high-interest savings account — any teen can have one.

The day you turn 18, you'll be ready. Here is what to open.

2. The accounts: TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, RESP

An account is just a box. You choose the box, then you put investments (like ETFs) inside it. In Canada, some boxes come with huge tax advantages — the government's way of rewarding people who save. Here are the four that matter:

There's also the plain non-registered account: no limits, but you pay tax on what you earn. Use it only once the others are full. For almost every teen turning 18, the answer is simple: open a TFSA first.

3. Choosing a broker

A broker is the company (today, an app) that opens the account and sends your orders to the exchange. Canada has two families: the discount brokers of the big banks, and the newer online brokers with no or very low commissions. What to compare:

• Fees. Many brokers now charge $0 to buy ETFs; some still charge $5 to $10 per trade. For small amounts, $10 a trade is a 10 % loss on a $100 purchase — avoid.
• Minimum deposit. Look for $0 or a very low minimum.
• Protection. Your broker should be regulated by CIRO (and, in Quebec, the AMF) and be a member of CIPF, which protects your account up to $1,000,000 if the broker itself goes bankrupt. Check their website footer; it's always there.
• The app. Clear, in English or French, with the account types you need (TFSA, FHSA, in-trust).

4. Your first ETF in five steps

1. Open the right box. A TFSA (or an in-trust account through a parent if you're under 18).
2. Deposit a small amount. $50 or $100 is perfect. You're learning the mechanics, not getting rich this month.
3. Choose one broad, low-fee index ETF. An "all-in-one" ETF, or one that tracks the S&P 500 or the S&P/TSX. Look for a fee (MER) under 0.25 % and thousands of companies inside. One ETF is enough to start.
4. Buy it. Search the ticker, choose "buy", enter the number of shares, pick a market order, confirm — during market hours (9:30 am to 4 pm Montreal time). Done: you're an investor.
5. Automate, then ignore. Set up an automatic monthly deposit and buy the same ETF each time (that's dollar-cost averaging — you buy more when it's cheap, less when it's expensive). Then stop checking the app every day.

5. Five beginner mistakes

1. Chasing the hype. By the time a stock is all over TikTok, the easy money was made by the people posting the videos.
2. Checking every day — and panic-selling. Prices fall 10 % every year or so. Selling then is how beginners turn a temporary dip into a permanent loss.
3. Paying high fees. A fund that charges 2 % a year instead of 0.1 % sounds harmless. On $10,000 invested for 30 years at 7 %, the 2 % fee eats away about 43 % of what you would have had.
4. Buying what you don't understand. If you can't explain in one sentence how the thing makes money, don't buy it.
5. Investing money you need soon — or borrowed money. Investing is for money you can leave alone for years. Never invest the rent, and never borrow to invest.

6. Scams to avoid

Young investors are the number one target of financial scams, because scammers know you learn about money on social media. The red flags are always the same:

• "Guaranteed" returns. 10 % a month, 100 % a year, "no risk". Nothing legitimate works like that. The real stock market averages about 10 % a year, with no guarantee.
• Finfluencers selling signals, courses or "VIP groups". If their strategy worked, they wouldn't need your $49 a month.
• Pump-and-dump. A group hypes a tiny stock or a new crypto coin, the price jumps, the organisers sell — and everyone else is left holding the bag.
• Fake trading platforms. A stranger online helps you "invest"; the app shows amazing profits; then you can't withdraw. Often it starts as a friendly chat.
• Urgency. "Only today", "last chance", "act now". Real investments will still be there next week.