Why Invest in Canada

Canada offers a unique value proposition for foreign investors. Internationally recognized with an AAA credit rating by Moody's and Standard & Poor's, Canada is a resource-rich nation with an educated workforce and continues to attract Foreign Direct Investment ('FDI') from around the world. Inbound FDI to Canada reached $446 billion in 2006. Canada ranks #1 among G7 economies for GDP growth over 1997-2006 and for forecasted GDP growth over 2008-2009 (source). Other reasons foreign investors can have confidence in Canada include:

Stability - Canada maintains a stable political environment. We share the longest peaceful border in history with the United States of America. Our rule of law is based on the British legal system and our governing structure strikes a balance between national government and provincial jurisdictions.

Strong Fiscal Policies and Currency - Canada is the only G7 country that ran surplus budgets from 1998 to 2008 - the year of 2008 marked the nation's 11th straight surplus (source). The stability of the Canadian dollar has continued to provide foreign investors with the confidence that their absolute investment returns should not be highly skewed by foreign currency risk (Note: This historical pattern does not guarantee that the Canadian dollar will continue with similar performance in the future).

Sound Banking - Canadian banks engage in conservative lending practices and did not require any government assistance in 2008. In 2009, the World Economic Forum ranked Canadian banks as the world's soundest banks in their Global Competitiveness Report (source).

Favourable Taxation - We offer both Canadian and US denominated accounts. The Canadian tax structure only requires that we withhold tax on interest and dividend income and not on capital gains.

Efficient Market Environment - Canadian equities trade on the TSX and TSX Ventures exchanges. Our primary exchange, the TSX, offers investors:

  • Fast, low-cost and liquid trading

  • A range of innovative trading products

  • More oil and gas issuers than any exchange group in the world

  • The single largest source in the world of equity financing for mining issuers

  • The second largest exchange group in the world for technology companies

Of particular interest, the S&P/TSX Composite Index has risen over 56% since the initial opening on February 1 1999, while the S&P 500 has declined 26% over the same time frame (as of June 1, 2009 - source).

The Canadian National Stock Exchange (CNSX) is an alternative stock exchange in Canada and investors can also participate in the options market through the Montreal Exchange (MX).