Online stock trading courses in Canada

There are many ways to learn about the stock market, and using an online stock trading course or class to educate yourself before trading could save you money down the line. There are many online sources that offer expert advice and training, ranging from free online stock trading courses on YouTube to full courses capable of setting you on the path to becoming a stockbroker. In no particular order, let’s take a look at 8 popular courses for online stock trading in Canada.

Top online stock trading courses

1. Canadian Securities Course for Investors – Canadian Securities Institute

• Location: Online
• Format: Online study
• Cost: $550 CAD
• Duration: Study at your own pace
• Certification: No certification

Course description: This online stock trading course is a good fit for beginner and experienced investors alike. It’s designed to help you learn the nuances of the investing world so you can be actively involved in managing your finances. This includes everything from understanding the portfolio management process and the way your investments will be taxed to delving into market analysis and the difference between various financial instruments. It’s one of the most comprehensive online stock trading courses available in Canada and it’s offered by the Canadian Securities Institute, which is the federal institution responsible for certifying financial planners across the country.

2. Investing in Stocks: The Complete Course! – Udemy

• Location: Online
• Format: Online lectures
• Cost: $210.99 CAD but usually goes on sale from time to time for much cheaper
• Duration: 17+ hours
• Certification: Certificate of Completion

Course description: This online stock trading course provides a thorough overview of everything you need to know to start investing with confidence. It covers key stock-investing strategies and helps you figure out how to pick stocks and place actual orders. It also breaks down the different research tools that may be available to help you make better stock choices. With this information, you should also be able to determine what type of broker you should trade with, whether that’s a self-directed online platform, a robo-advisor or a dedicated financial planner.

3. Master Class Money – Money After Graduation

• Location: Online
• Format: Online lectures
• Cost: $429 USD
• Duration: 60+ hours
• Certification: Certificate of Completion

Course description: The Master Class Money investing course is a 12-module program that teaches you how to build the self-directed investment portfolio that works best for you. It starts by providing some general information about the stock market. From there, it helps you to set investment goals, develop a trading plan and find/evaluate stocks to build your portfolio. This online stock trading course also covers various risk management strategies and jumps into the research tools available to help you map out your investments.

4. Stocks and Bonds – Khan Academy

• Location: Online
• Format: Online lectures
• Cost: Free
• Duration: At your own pace
• Certification: No

Course description: The Stocks and Bonds course with Khan Academy delves into the technical details of the stock market. It covers topics such as understanding company statements and capital structure, interpreting corporate metrics and valuation, evaluating mergers and acquisitions and understanding stock dilution and leveraged buy-outs. This course focuses more on the functionality of the market rather than teaching you how to trade and is best suited for intermediate to expert investors.

5. Stock Market Investing for Beginners – Udemy

• Location: Study at home
• Format: Online lectures
• Cost: $46.99 CAD but usually goes on sale often
• Duration: Around 1-2 hours
• Certification: No

Course description: This online stock trading course covers the basics of investing in the stock market. It examines the types of stocks available and goes deeper into the way the stock exchange works. It then looks at various investing strategies and breaks down how each one helps you earn money. It also includes modules on legendary investors – such as Warren Buffett, Philip Fisher and Peter Lynch – who have helped to shape the most common approaches to investing.

6. TD Direct Investing Education – TD Bank

• Location: Study online
• Format: Mixed learning resources, including webinars and tutorial videos
• Cost: Free but requires account sign-up
• Duration: Study at your own pace
• Certification: No

Course description: The TD Direct Investing Learning Centre offers extensive online resources to help you build your confidence with self-directed investing. It offers a number of curated videos and learning tools as well as straightforward tutorials on everything from investing basics to advanced techniques. You can also take advantage of TD’s live interactive webinars and master classes to help you get started with TD Direct Investing.

7. Questrade Webinars – Questrade

• Location: Study at home
• Format: Nine online modules
• Cost: Free when you register with personal details
• Duration: Study at your own pace
• Certification: No

Course description: This series of webinars is broken down into nine modules that let you explore the topics you’re most interested in. You can choose to watch the entire series, or you can get more insight about specific issues such as dividend investing, index investing, exchange-traded funds (ETF) investing, technical analysis and refining your investment strategy. There are also tutorials on how to use Questrade’s popular trading platform more effectively.

8. Investment and Portfolio Management Specialization – Coursera (Rice University)

• Location: Online
• Format: Online study
• Cost: Free (or pay to be certified)
• Duration: Study at your own pace
• Certification: Not unless you pay a course fee

Course description: This online stock trading course gives you the tools you need to build and manage your own portfolio. It covers the basics of investing, including the language and terminology you need to become an informed practitioner. Beyond that, it helps you to learn more about areas such as portfolio performance evaluation, identifying biases in portfolio selection and selecting stocks for the optimal portfolio.

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9 of 9 results

Finder Score	Available Asset Types	Account Types	Stock Trading Fee	Monthly Account Fee
9.6 Excellent Questrade	9.6 Excellent	Stocks, Bonds, Options, Mutual Funds, Index Funds, ETFs, Forex, GICs, Precious Metals, IPOs	RRSP, RESP, RRIF, TFSA, Personal, Joint, FHSA, Margin	$0	$0	Get $50 cash back when you open a Questrade self-directed investing account through Finder. T&Cs apply.	Go to site View details Compare product selection Compare	loading
7.9 Great CIBC Investor's Edge	7.9 Great	Stocks, Bonds, Options, Mutual Funds, ETFs, GICs, Precious Metals, IPOs	RRSP, RESP, RRIF, TFSA, Personal, Joint, Business, FHSA, Margin	$6.95	$0 if conditions are met, or $100	Get 200 free trades for 2 years, using promo code EDGE2026. Valid until September 30, 2026. T&Cs apply.	Go to site View details Compare product selection Compare	loading
8.6 Great Wealthsimple Investing	8.6 Great	Stocks, Options, ETFs, Cryptocurrency	RRSP, RESP, RRIF, TFSA, Personal, FHSA, Margin	$0	$0	Get a 1% match cash bonus on eligible $25,000+ transfers from other financial institutions to your Wealthsimple Self-directed Investing and Managed Investing accounts. T&Cs apply.	Go to site View details Compare product selection Compare	loading
8.2 Great BMO InvestorLine Self-Directed	8.2 Great	Stocks, Bonds, Options, Mutual Funds, ETFs, GICs, Precious Metals, IPOs	RRSP, RESP, RRIF, TFSA, Personal, Joint, FHSA, Margin	$0	$0	Go to site View details Compare product selection Compare	loading
6.2 Standard GoSmart by RBC Direct Investing	6.2 Standard	Stocks, ETFs	RRSP, TFSA, FHSA	$0 - $9.95	$0	Open your first GoSmart account and get $100 when you deposit $2,000. Valid until November 2, 2026. T&Cs apply.	Go to site View details Compare product selection Compare	loading
9.1 Excellent Qtrade Direct Investing	9.1 Excellent	Stocks, Bonds, Options, Mutual Funds, ETFs, GICs, IPOs	RRSP, RESP, RRIF, TFSA, Personal, Joint, FHSA, Margin	$0	$0	Earn up to $5,000 in cashback (+$100 quick-pay bonus) when you open and fund a new Qtrade account. Valid until January 5, 2027. T&Cs apply.	Go to site View details Compare product selection Compare	loading
9.4 Excellent Interactive Brokers	9.4 Excellent	Stocks, Bonds, Options, Index Funds, ETFs, Forex, Currencies, Futures	RRSP, TFSA, Personal, Joint, Business, FHSA, Margin	Min $1.00, Max 0.5%	$0	View details Compare product selection Compare	loading
8.6 Great Moomoo	8.6 Great	Stocks, Options, ETFs	RRSP, TFSA, Personal, Margin	$1.49/stock	$0	View details Compare product selection Compare	loading
8 Great Webull	8 Great	Stocks, ETFs	RRSP, TFSA, Personal, Margin	$0	$10/year	View details Compare product selection Compare	loading

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Finder Score for stock trading platforms

To make comparing even easier we came up with the Finder Score. Trading costs, account fees and features across 10+ stock trading platforms and apps are all weighted and scaled to produce a score out of 10. The higher the score, the better the platform—it's that simple.

Read the full methodology

Frequently asked questions about stock trading platforms

• Do I need to take a course before I start trading stocks?

  No, you don't need to take a course before trading stocks, but learning the basics can help you make informed decisions and understand the risks involved.

• Are free stock trading courses as good as paid ones?

  Free stock trading courses are usually good for beginners as they cover the same basic concepts as paid courses, like investing terms, market fundamentals and risk management. However, if you want more advanced knowledge, paid courses may be a better option. Review the course content before registering to see whether it matches your investing goals.

Bottom line

There are a number of free and certified online stock trading courses that you can take to learn more about the stock market in Canada. These courses have been researched but not tested by Finder Canada. For this reason, you should be sure to read customer reviews for any course you’re interested in to make sure it will meet your expectations. This is especially important if you plan to spend a significant amount of money to get started. And when you’re ready to learn more, check out Finder’s Guide to Stock Trading here.

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Claire Horwood

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Claire Horwood was a writer at Finder, specializing in credit cards, loans and other financial products. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Gender Studies from the University of Victoria, and an Associate’s Degree in Science from Camosun College. Much of Claire’s coursework has focused on writing and statistics, with a healthy dose of social and cultural analysis mixed in for good measure. In her spare time, Claire enjoys rock climbing, travelling and drinking inordinate amounts of coffee. See full bio

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