Questrade Cuts Trading Fees for Canadian Investors

Questrade announced during a TV spot aired in the 2025 Super Bowl (February 9) that it will now offer commission-free trades for Canadian and U.S. stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This change brings the number of brokers offering 0% commission trading in Canada to three, joining Wealthsimple Trade and National Bank Direct Brokerage.

Questrade fees

The shift to zero-commission trading reflects customer demand. Praneil Ladwa, Questrade’s journey leader for the Grow my Wealth initiative, says the company listened closely to client feedback and adjusted its pricing without removing features that investors expect from a modern brokerage.

“We’ve been getting customer feedback. We’ve been looking at what customers are asking for,” Ladwa notes. “We took deliberate steps to introduce zero commissions when the time was right”—ensuring clients retain the functionality and market access they rely on.

Which online brokerages offer free trades?

Several Canadian brokerages have offered temporary promotions granting 0% or free trades on specific ETFs or only on buy orders. However, only a few firms have adopted the unlimited, commission-free trading model popularized by some U.S. platforms. The Canadian market differs from the U.S. in regulatory and market-structure details that affect how brokers monetize trades.

Part of the difference is regulatory: Canadian rules restrict brokers from routing orders to large market makers that pay for order flow. That practice, more common in the U.S., has been linked to worse bid-ask execution for some investors compared with posting orders directly on an exchange.

Questrade ETF fees

Questrade’s new policy eliminates commissions on Canadian and U.S. stocks and ETFs across all account types. The change replaces the firm’s earlier Advantage program, introduced in 2014, which offered deeply discounted per-trade pricing for frequent traders. At the same time, Questrade lowered its options pricing to $0.99 per contract, with an additional reduced rate of $0.75 per contract for clients who participate in a frequent-trader program; other parties may charge separate options contract fees.

How will Questrade profit from 0% commission trades?

Even without trading commissions on stocks and ETFs, Questrade retains several revenue streams. The company still charges for services such as international stock trades, securities-lending activity, currency conversion, and margin interest. It also earns interest on uninvested cash balances held in clients’ accounts. For Canadian accounts, Questrade routes orders only through public Canadian exchanges; this direct market participation is an important part of its trading model.

“There’s a variety of income streams that we have access to,” Ladwa explains. “We are a direct market participant in Canada. All of our order flow in Canada touches a Canadian exchange.” The firm reported having more than $50 billion in assets under administration, and the company positions this pricing move as a way to attract and retain investors while preserving product quality.

MoneySense ranked Questrade as Canada’s best overall online brokerage in 2024. According to Questrade leadership, offering zero-commission trading further strengthens the company’s proposition: full access to advanced trading platforms, comprehensive market data, no minimum account size and no annual fees for basic accounts.

Should the new fee structure change how you invest?

Zero-commission trading lowers the cost barrier for frequent trading and intraday strategies, but it doesn’t change fundamental investment principles. Regulators and advisers caution that frequent trading often produces worse long-term returns than a disciplined buy-and-hold approach. Investors should evaluate their objectives, risk tolerance and time horizon before increasing trading activity simply because commissions are zero.

Basic, time-tested practices remain essential: diversify holdings, manage costs beyond commissions (such as currency conversion and spreads), and maintain a plan that fits your financial goals. Zero commissions can make trading cheaper, but they are only one factor in overall investment performance.

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• The best TFSAs in Canada
• The best RRSP investments