Sep 11, 2026
For years, Canadians who wanted to buy and sell stocks or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on their own expected to pay a commission for the privilege, often several dollars a trade no matter how small the transaction. That’s about to change at one of the country’s biggest banks.
BMO InvestorLine will eliminate commissions on all stock and ETF trades starting September 14, 2026, according to The Canadian Press. The bank is also scrapping brokerage account administration fees and cutting the cost of trading options.
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It’s a notable shift: BMO InvestorLine becomes the first bank-owned direct investing brokerage among Canada’s five biggest banks to eliminate trading commissions entirely, matching what Wealthsimple, Questrade and U.S. entrant Robinhood already offer Canadians.
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For younger and newer investors especially, the move removes a real barrier to entry. But zero-commission trading isn’t the same as zero-risk investing, and how you use these platforms matters more than ever.
What’s actually changing at BMO InvestorLine
Effective September 14, BMO InvestorLine customers will no longer pay commissions to buy or sell stocks or ETFs. The bank is also eliminating account administration fees and lowering options trading costs by reducing per-contract fees and removing commissions on those trades too, per CP.
BMO framed the change as part of a push to expand access to digital, self-directed investing for all Canadians, particularly as more people manage their money online. The bank said the pricing changes won’t come at the expense of tools such as research and AI-generated market summaries already available on the platform.
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Why fees hit younger investors hardest
A commission of a few dollars a trade might seem minor if you’re investing tens of thousands of dollars at once. But for someone building a portfolio $50 or $100 at a time, that fee can eat up a meaningful chunk of every contribution — exactly the friction Silvio Stroescu, president and CEO of BMO InvestorLine, pointed to in describing the change.
“Especially younger investors, they see pricing as a friction — whether it’s pricing in terms of the commission they pay for their trades … or having a minimum balance,” Stroescu said in a statement.
Stroescu also noted how BMO is betting its size and breadth of tools will still set it apart from smaller, fee-free rivals, pointing to active-trader features for experienced investors and built-in education for people just starting out.
The catch: Lower fees can mean more risk, not less
Removing the cost of trading can also change investor behaviour, and not always for the better, cautioned Claire Célérier, Canada Research Chair in household finance at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, in comments to CP.
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Célérier said zero-commission trading tends to encourage people to trade more often and more actively, a pattern that tends to hurt inexperienced investors the most. She noted that some commission-free platforms lean on riskier products, including leveraged trades, options and prediction markets, to make money once trading itself is free.
Big banks tend to be more conservative, she said, offering a narrower set of products out of concern for investor protection. Still, not every bank is expected to follow BMO’s lead: some may decide their clients are better served by keeping trading costs in place rather than encouraging more frequent trading.
What Canadian investors should do before trading commission-free
Before treating zero-commission trading as a green light to trade more, a few ground rules can help:
- Set a plan before you trade, not after — decide what you’re buying and why, rather than reacting to short-term price moves now that the cost of acting on impulse has dropped
- Watch for other fees — currency conversion charges, account transfer fees and costs on leveraged or options products can still add up even without a per-trade commission
- Use the free tools you’re already paying for — research, portfolio tracking and investor education are worth using before assuming more trades equals more money
- Compare platforms on more than price — investor protection, product selection and customer support still vary between banks and independent brokerages
Commission-free trading is a genuine win for Canadians who felt priced out of investing. But the real cost of trading was never just the commission, it’s the decisions made with every trade. As more of Canada’s biggest banks likely follow BMO’s lead, the investors who benefit most will be the ones who treat lower fees as an invitation to invest with a plan, not to trade more.
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Writer and editor based in Toronto with experience in personal finance, insurance, arts and culture and branded content.
