Is it worth having both a Qtrade account and a trading account with a different institution?

It can be worth opening a Qtrade account alongside another brokerage account to potentially benefit from different features or fee structures across multiple platforms. It also lets you take advantage of multiple brokerage account bonuses. A potential downside, however, is that it can be difficult to keep track of investments spread out over multiple platforms.

Do I have to pay taxes when transferring funds to Qtrade from other financial institutions?

It's possible that funds transferred to Qtrade may be subject to certain tax laws. For example, transfers from cash accounts at other financial institutions to Qtrade may be subject to capital gains tax or provide capital losses when liquidated. That said, registered accounts like TFSAs and RRSPs aren't taxable when transferred in kind between institutions. For more information about how taxes work when stock trading, visit our full guide to the topic here.