The world’s second largest country by area is home to just 33.4 million people. Despite its significant under-population and often extreme weather conditions, Canada ranks as one of the best countries in which to live in terms of quality of life, earnings potential and business opportunities.
Canadians often take a long term approach to their investments and trading, with retirement as a significant focus of retail investors.
According to a survey conducted by The Gandalf Group,those with more to invest are more likely to be of retirement age but even those who are of working age consider saving for retirement to be a top goal and many have reshaped their investments in recent times to focus more on retirement.
When it comes to what they consider most when they trade, most retail investors often overlook governance, ethical, corporate citizenship issues, and foreign ownership concerns if the earnings are there. Possible gain over five years is the most important consideration for retail investors.
Financial Infrastructure
Toronto is just 550 kilometers from New York City, and has a developed financial markets infrastructure. As a result, the vast majority of Canadians who trade the markets live and operate in this city.
Toronto, Ontario
North America's Third Largest Financial Center
Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) was established on October 25, 1861 at the Masonic Hall. Subsequently, due to Canada’s conservative approach to trading throughout its history, Canadian traders are very much focused on traditional stock trading.
Regulatory Structure
Around 2011, Canada’s regulators began to assess methods of regulating the Forex industry on a domestic basis. This is administered on a provincial level, and currently there are two regulators in Canada: The OSC and the Financial Institutions Commission (FICOM) of British Columbia.
At present, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia are the only provinces which regulate Online Trading , all three of which have slightly different criteria. In British Columbia it is illegal to operate unless regulated by FICOM. Any forex company or representative of a forex company soliciting for business in British Columbia without FICOM regulations risks prosecution.
In British Columbia it is entirely possible to be arrested by police officers for simply holding a forex training event hosted by an independent trainer, if not licensed by FICOM.
The OSC is a little less draconian in its approach, allowing companies regulated by other jurisdictions to solicit for clients in Ontario, but insisting that forex companies located in Ontario are regulated by the Ontario Securities Commission.
This is an excerpt from full and detailed research made by Forex Magnates on the FX industry in Canada which is published in the recently released Forex Magnates Quarterly Report for Q2 , and includes full data on brokerages, technology providers, and a concise overview relating to factors to bear in mind when doing business in Canada.
