CIPF vs CDIC: How Your Investments and Deposits Are Protected

1. Investor Protection in Canada: What CDIC, CIPF and CIRO Do

CDIC insures deposits. The Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation insures eligible deposits held at its member institutions. Its members include the big banks, such as Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Montreal, Bank of Nova Scotia, CIBC and National Bank of Canada, online banks such as Equitable Bank (EQ Bank) and Tangerine Bank, and trust companies such as Home Trust Company and Peoples Trust Company. If a member fails, CDIC protects eligible deposits up to $100,000 in each insured category.

CIPF protects what a dealer holds for you. The Canadian Investor Protection Fund protects the clients of its member firms, which are investment dealers. If a member firm becomes insolvent and client property is missing, CIPF covers the missing cash, securities, futures and segregated funds, up to $1,000,000 in each of three account groups.

CIRO oversees the dealers. The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) is the pan-Canadian self-regulatory organization that oversees all investment dealers, mutual fund dealers and trading on Canada’s debt and equity marketplaces. Every CIPF member firm is a CIRO member. CIRO is the regulator; CIPF is the protection fund for the clients of its own member firms.

Provinces cover credit unions. Provincially regulated credit unions and caisses are not CDIC members. According to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, their deposits are covered by provincial deposit insurance plans instead. Section 12 explains what that means for you.

The key difference. CDIC protects you if the institution that owes you your deposit fails. CIPF protects you if the dealer that holds your investments fails and some of your property cannot be found. Neither one protects you from your investments losing value.

Why most people need both. Many Canadians hold a chequing account and GICs at a bank and a TFSA or RRSP full of ETFs at a broker. The same account label, such as TFSA, can sit under either plan depending on what is inside it and which firm holds it. If you are just starting out, our guide on how to invest in Canada covers the order of steps, and this page shows how each step is protected.

2. CIPF vs CDIC Side by Side

The full comparison. The table compares the two plans feature by feature, using the limits in force as of October 22, 2026.

Same brand, different plans. A bank brand can sit on both sides of the table. Royal Bank of Canada is a CDIC member, while RBC Direct Investing Inc. is a member of CIRO and CIPF. Your savings and GICs at the bank fall under CDIC, and your stocks and ETFs at the brokerage fall under CIPF. The same split applies at TD, BMO, Scotiabank, CIBC and National Bank: the bank is the CDIC member, while a related dealer, such as BMO InvestorLine Inc. or Scotia Capital Inc., is on CIPF’s member list, as section 13 shows.

Different scale. A CIPF group limit is ten times a CDIC category limit ($1,000,000 / $100,000 = 10). The higher number is not a stronger promise about value: CDIC protects a dollar amount of deposits, while CIPF protects property, and property can still fall in price.

3. What CDIC Covers and What It Does Not Cover

Covered deposits. CDIC covers eligible deposits at its members: savings accounts, chequing accounts, GICs and other term deposits, in Canadian or foreign currency. That includes eligible US dollar deposits at a member bank, but not every US dollar product states which plan covers it, so confirm the insurer before you compare rates on our USD savings accounts page. Principal and interest together count toward the $100,000 limit in each category.

Not covered. CDIC does not cover mutual funds, stocks, bonds, ETFs or crypto assets. That holds even when you buy them at a bank branch or through a bank’s online banking, because they are investments, not deposits. An ETF that itself holds cash is still an ETF, so it is outside CDIC for you as an investor.

Only at member institutions. CDIC covers deposits at its members, and each member has its own coverage. Deposits at two different members are insured separately, but deposits at two brands of one member share one limit. Simplii Financial is a trade name of CIBC, so Simplii and CIBC deposits count together under CIBC’s membership. EQ Bank is the trade name of Equitable Bank, which our EQ Bank review covers in detail. Oaken Financial deposits are held at Home Bank or Home Trust Company, both CDIC members. Tangerine Bank is a CDIC member in its own right.

Coverage through trust deposits. A firm that is not a CDIC member can still give you CDIC coverage by placing your money in trust deposits at member institutions. Wealthsimple is not a CDIC member, but its chequing cash is held in trust at CDIC members for up to $1,000,000 of combined coverage. KOHO is not a member either; balances of up to $100,000 are eligible for CDIC coverage through trust deposits at member institutions when you opt in to its interest feature. Neo Financial is not a member; it states that Neo Chequing funds are eligible for CDIC insurance up to $100,000 through a member institution it does not name. Our Wealthsimple Chequing review walks through one of these setups.

What to look for. When you compare high-interest savings accounts or chequing accounts, the deposit insurance line matters as much as the rate. A big bank, an online bank such as EQ Bank and a fintech such as KOHO can all advertise CDIC coverage, but only the first two are members themselves. With a fintech, the cover depends on how it places your money with member institutions, so please read the deposit insurance section of the account terms before you move a large balance.

4. CDIC Coverage Limit: $100,000 in Each of Nine Categories

The limit. The CDIC coverage limit is $100,000 per category at each member institution, including principal and interest. Each category is insured separately, so the limit is not $100,000 per person: it is $100,000 for each category you use at each member.

Use the CDIC calculator below to enter your deposits by category at one member institution: it shows how much is covered in each category and how much sits above the limit.

How the categories add up. Someone with savings in their own name, a TFSA GIC and an RRSP GIC at one bank can have up to $300,000 covered there ($100,000 x 3 = $300,000), because those are three categories. Adding a joint account with a spouse adds a fourth category.

Registered plans are kept apart. Under CDIC, RRSP and RRIF deposits are two separate categories, and TFSA and FHSA deposits are two more. This is the opposite of CIPF, where RRSPs and RRIFs share one retirement group and TFSAs and FHSAs share the general group. Section 9 sets the two systems side by side for each account.

Interest counts toward the limit. A GIC that starts under $100,000 can end above it once interest is added, because CDIC counts principal and interest together.

5. CIPF Protection: What Happens When a Dealer Fails

What CIPF covers. CIPF protection applies to client property held by a member firm that becomes insolvent. If cash, securities, futures or segregated funds that the dealer held for you are missing, CIPF covers the missing property up to its limits. It is a backstop for the failure of the firm, not for the performance of what you own.

Property, not value. CIPF is about whether your holdings are there, not what they are worth. If a dealer fails and your 200 units of an ETF are all accounted for, nothing is missing, even if the price fell the week before. If 50 of those units cannot be found, those 50 units are what a CIPF claim is about.

What CIPF excludes. CIPF does not cover drops in market value, losses from unsuitable advice, the insolvency of the company or fund that issued a security you own, or crypto assets. Section 7 looks at each of these gaps and what you can do about them.

Members are investment dealers. CIPF’s members are dealers, and every member is a CIRO member. For 10 of the 13 online brokers WealthScale tracks, from Wealthsimple and Questrade to RBC Direct Investing, the broker’s own legal entity is on CIPF’s member list. For the other three, all bank-owned, a related entity is on the list. Section 13 lists the entity for each one, which is the name that matters. When you compare platforms on our best online brokers or best robo-advisors pages, every broker listed on CIPF’s member list carries the same three limits.

Firms outside CIPF. Not every firm that holds your money is a CIPF member. Several crypto trading platforms are not on CIPF’s list, including Kraken (Payward Canada Inc.), Coinbase Canada Inc. and Crypto.com (Foris DAX CAN ULC), which are registered as restricted dealers, and Netcoins Inc. Money held at these firms has no CIPF protection.

Mutual fund and robo accounts. CIRO oversees mutual fund dealers as well as investment dealers, but CIPF’s limits apply to accounts held at a CIPF member firm. If you hold funds or a managed portfolio, confirm the legal name of the firm that holds your account and check that name against CIPF’s list, as section 13 explains.

6. CIPF Coverage Limit: Three Account Groups of $1,000,000

The limit. The CIPF coverage limit is $1,000,000 for each of three account groups at each member firm. Within a group, all your accounts are added together and share the one limit.

Use the CIPF calculator below to enter your accounts at one investment dealer: it adds them into the three groups and shows how much of each group falls inside the $1,000,000 limit.

One firm, up to $3,000,000. A client who uses all three groups at one member firm can have up to ($1,000,000 x 3 = $3,000,000) of CIPF protection there. The groups do not top each other up: unused room in your RESP group does nothing for a general group that is over the limit.

TFSA and FHSA share with taxable accounts. Your TFSA and FHSA sit in the same group as your cash and margin accounts. A large non-registered account can use most of the general limit on its own, leaving little for a TFSA at the same firm.

Each member firm is separate. The limits apply at each member firm. Holding accounts at two CIPF members gives you two sets of limits. Moving an account with a direct transfer, as our guide on how to transfer an investment account explains, keeps its registered status while it moves.

7. What Neither CIPF Nor CDIC Covers

Market losses. Neither plan pays when investments fall in value. This is the largest risk most investors carry, and no public protection plan in Canada covers it. The protection lies in how you invest: spreading money across many holdings, matching risk to your time horizon, and keeping money you need soon in insured deposits rather than in the market.

Crypto assets. CIPF excludes crypto assets, and CDIC does not cover crypto. At Wealthsimple, crypto assets are covered by neither plan, though cash sitting in the crypto account is CIPF-covered. Wealthsimple says most coins are kept in offline cold storage with regulated custodians, held in trust, and that each custody partner has more than $75 million of cold storage coverage. That is the firm’s own arrangement, not a public protection plan.

Unsuitable advice. CIPF excludes losses caused by unsuitable advice, and CDIC has no role in advice at all. If you think an advisor or dealer put you in the wrong product, that is a complaint to raise with the firm and its regulator, not a claim against either fund.

Issuer failure. If a company whose shares or bonds you own goes bankrupt, the loss is an investment loss. CIPF excludes the insolvency of the issuer, and bonds are not deposits, so CDIC does not cover them either, even a bond issued by a bank.

Amounts above the limits. Deposits above $100,000 in one category at one CDIC member, and property above $1,000,000 in one CIPF group at one firm, have no public backstop. Sections 4 and 6 show how to spot an overflow, and the strategies further down show how to fix one.

Products with no published cover. Some products, including some US dollar accounts, do not say which plan applies. When a provider does not name the plan, ask, and treat the money as uncovered until it does.

Unauthorized access to your account. CIPF and CDIC respond to the failure of a member, not to someone else logging in to your account. Some firms add their own guarantee: Wealthsimple reimburses clients who use passkeys for all direct losses from unauthorized activity. Ask your own bank or broker what it offers.

8. GICs, Savings Accounts, ETFs, Stocks, Mutual Funds and Crypto: Product by Product

The quick map. The plan that applies depends on the product and on the firm that holds it. The table covers the products most Canadians hold.

GICs. A GIC is a deposit with the institution that issues it, so CDIC is the plan that matters when the issuer is a member. It counts in the category of the account it sits in: a GIC inside your TFSA uses the TFSA category, not your one-name category. For the trade-off between locking money in and keeping it liquid, see GIC vs high-interest savings.

Savings accounts. A savings account at a CDIC member is covered in the category of the account. A savings account offered by an investment dealer is a different product and can sit under CIPF instead, as section 10 shows. The name “savings” tells you nothing about the plan, so read which one the provider names.

ETFs and stocks. These are covered only by CIPF, only against missing property, and only at a member firm. The price risk is yours in every account, registered or not.

Mutual funds. Buying a fund at a bank branch does not turn it into a deposit, and CDIC never covers mutual funds, whoever sells them. For CIPF, the test from section 5 applies: the firm that holds your account must be on CIPF’s member list.

Crypto. No public plan covers crypto, at any platform. If you hold it, compare platforms on registration and custody instead, using our best crypto platforms ranking and our Wealthsimple Crypto review.

9. Is My TFSA Insured? TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, RESP and RRIF Coverage

It depends on what is inside. A TFSA is an account type, not a product. A TFSA holding savings deposits or GICs at a CDIC member is insured by CDIC up to $100,000 in the TFSA category at that member. A TFSA holding ETFs or stocks at a CIPF member is protected by CIPF if the dealer fails, sharing the $1,000,000 general limit with your cash, margin and FHSA accounts at that firm. A loss in value inside a TFSA is covered by neither. Our TFSA guide covers the account’s own rules.

RRSPs and RRIFs. CDIC treats them as two categories, while CIPF puts them in one group. When you convert an RRSP to a RRIF at a bank, the deposits move from the RRSP category to the RRIF category. At a dealer, the account stays in the same CIPF retirement group. Our RRSP guide and RRIF minimum withdrawal table cover the tax side of that change.

FHSAs. At a bank, an FHSA holding deposits is its own CDIC category, separate from your TFSA. At a dealer, the two share the general group. Our FHSA guide explains the contribution rules.

RESPs. CDIC gives RESP deposits their own category. CIPF gives RESPs their own $1,000,000 group, counting the RESPs where you are the subscriber. Our RESP guide covers grants and withdrawals.

Registered savings at a dealer. Wealthsimple offers Registered Savings Accounts, which are covered by CDIC up to $100,000 per beneficiary per category and not by CIPF. The same account types holding investments at Wealthsimple sit under CIPF instead, as our Wealthsimple TFSA review explains. When you compare providers on our best TFSA accounts page, check which version you are opening.

10. Cash and GICs at a Dealer vs at a Bank

Cash at a bank. Cash in a bank account at a CDIC member is a deposit, insured in the category of the account up to $100,000 at that member.

Cash at a dealer. Cash in a brokerage account is held by the dealer, so it is client property under CIPF, counted in the group of the account it sits in, rather than a CDIC deposit. It also often earns little. Questrade’s published formula for interest on cash works out to effectively 0%, Qtrade pays 0.00% on Canadian cash up to $2,000,000, and CIBC Investor’s Edge pays 0.00% in all account types (effective September 17, 2026).

GICs bought through a dealer. If your dealer sells GICs, each one is still a deposit with the institution that issued it. For CDIC, the issuer is what counts, so please confirm the issuer’s legal name and that it is a CDIC member before you buy. Because CDIC counts each member separately, a GIC from one bank bought through your broker can count toward the same $100,000 as deposits you hold directly at that bank in the same category. The dealer’s CIPF membership is about a different risk: the failure of the dealer itself.

Cash products at a dealer. Fintech dealers often offer several cash products, each under its own plan. Wealthsimple is the clearest case: its Canadian-dollar savings account is covered by CIPF up to $1,000,000 and not by CDIC, its chequing uses CDIC trust deposits at partner banks (section 3), and its Registered Savings Accounts fall under CDIC (section 9). Wealthsimple states that, for contractual reasons, it cannot name its partner banks. Our guide to whether Wealthsimple is safe covers each product, and Wealthsimple vs EQ Bank compares a dealer’s cash products with a CDIC member bank’s.

11. Joint, Trust and Business Accounts

Joint deposits under CDIC. Eligible deposits held in more than one name are their own category, insured separately from the deposits each person holds alone. A couple with $90,000 in each person’s own name and $90,000 in a joint account at one member has ($90,000 x 3 = $270,000) of deposits, all inside the limits, because each amount sits in a different category.

Deposits held in trust. Deposits held in trust are a separate category too. Wealthsimple, which uses trust deposits for chequing, describes its coverage per beneficiary: $100,000 per beneficiary per member institution, spread across partner banks to reach its $1,000,000 combined ceiling.

Joint chequing at Wealthsimple. Wealthsimple allows up to 8 individual and up to 8 joint chequing accounts, and it counts joint funds under the primary account holder for CDIC. A couple who expect the joint account to add a separate layer of cover on top of the primary holder’s own chequing should know this before they move large sums.

Joint and trust accounts under CIPF. CIPF’s three groups describe one client’s accounts. How joint, trust and other accounts held with or for someone else are grouped is set by CIPF’s coverage policy, and this page does not state a figure for them. Ask your dealer how CIPF groups a joint or trust account before you rely on a combined number.

RESPs with more than one subscriber. CIPF’s RESP group counts the plans where you are the subscriber. A plan with two subscribers, such as one opened by both parents together, is a shared arrangement, so ask your dealer how it is counted.

Business accounts. Coverage for business deposits depends on the account. Wealthsimple’s business chequing and Corporate Save, for example, carry CDIC coverage of up to $100,000 per business. If you run a corporation, read the coverage the account terms state rather than assuming your personal limits apply.

12. Credit Unions and Provincial Deposit Insurance

Not CDIC. Provincially regulated credit unions and caisses are not CDIC members. According to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, their deposits are covered by provincial deposit insurance plans instead. The CDIC categories and the $100,000 figure on this page do not apply to them, and the cover a provincial plan gives can be very different, as the table below shows.

Online brands backed by credit unions. Several online savings brands on our savings pages are divisions of credit unions. The table shows what each brand states about its own coverage, as of October 22, 2026.

A separate system. Provincial cover and CDIC cover are separate systems. Money at a credit union does not use any of your CDIC coverage at a bank, and money at a bank does not use any of your provincial coverage at a credit union.

Some online brands are banks. Alterna Bank’s High Interest eSavings and eTerm GICs are with CS Alterna Bank, a CDIC member, so the CDIC rules on this page apply there rather than a provincial plan.

Registered accounts at credit unions. Saven, Hubert and Outlook offer registered accounts at the same rates as their regular savings. How a provincial plan treats registered deposits is set by that plan, not by CDIC’s nine categories, so ask the credit union before you assume a TFSA or RRSP there is covered separately.

Before you move money. Read the deposit protection section of the account terms for the provincial plan and the cover it gives. That cover, not the CDIC limit, is what applies at that credit union.

13. Which Banks, Brokers and Crypto Platforms Are Members

CDIC members among the banks we track. Each of these brands is a CDIC member, or offers its deposits through one, as of October 22, 2026. Our bank account comparisons show the products behind them.

Fintechs that are not CDIC members. Wealthsimple, KOHO and Neo Financial are not CDIC members. They offer CDIC coverage through member institutions on the terms described in section 3: Wealthsimple chequing and KOHO through trust deposits, and Neo through a member institution it does not name.

CIPF members among the brokers we track. The table gives the entity name on CIPF’s member list for each of the 13 online brokers we track. That entity, not the brand, is what you look up.

Note on three bank brokers. For National Bank Direct Brokerage, CIBC Investor’s Edge and TD Direct Investing, the broker pages we checked did not name the legal entity behind the account. The names shown are the related entities on CIPF’s list, so confirm the entity printed on your own statements. Our editorial standards explain how we check these lists.

Crypto platforms. Wealthsimple Investments Inc., Newton Crypto Ltd., Shakepay Inc., Coinsquare Capital Markets Ltd. (which offers Robinhood Canada’s crypto) and NDAX Canada Inc. are on CIPF’s member list. As section 7 explains, that membership does not extend to crypto assets.

CIPF vs CDIC: Common Mistakes to Avoid

Thinking CIPF covers losses. CIPF replaces property that is missing after a member firm fails. It does nothing when the market falls, when a company you own goes bankrupt or when an investment simply does badly.

Assuming a bank brand means CDIC. Stocks and ETFs at a bank-owned broker sit under CIPF, not CDIC, and a mutual fund bought at a branch is an investment, not a deposit. Check the product and the legal entity, not the logo.

Splitting money between two brands of one bank. Spreading deposits only helps across different members. Because Simplii Financial is a trade name of CIBC, $80,000 at Simplii and $80,000 at CIBC in the same category is ($80,000 + $80,000 = $160,000) against one $100,000 limit.

Counting only the principal. CDIC counts principal and interest together, so a GIC bought just under $100,000 can mature above the limit, as the example in section 4 shows.

Assuming every savings account is CDIC insured. A savings account at an investment dealer can sit under CIPF, and a fintech account may rely on trust deposits. Go by the plan the terms name, not by the word savings.

Withdrawing instead of transferring. When you move a TFSA to another firm to stay inside a limit, use a direct transfer. Withdrawing and redepositing counts as a new contribution, and the withdrawal only comes back as room the next calendar year, which can cause an over-contribution.

Ignoring the shared general group. A taxable account, a TFSA and an FHSA at one dealer all share one $1,000,000 CIPF limit. A large non-registered portfolio can fill it before you notice.

Assuming credit unions use CDIC. Provincially regulated credit unions are covered by provincial plans with their own rules. The CDIC categories do not apply there.

What You Need to Check Your Coverage and What You Get

How to Check Your CIPF and CDIC Coverage in Six Steps

1. List every balance. Write down each account, the firm that holds it, the account type and what it holds, using your latest statements.
2. Find the legal entity. Statements and account agreements name the legal entity behind the brand, such as Equitable Bank for EQ Bank or Aviso Financial Inc. for Qtrade Direct Investing. That is the name to check.
3. Confirm membership. Look the bank’s legal name up in CDIC’s list of member institutions, and the dealer’s legal name up in CIPF’s list of current members. CIRO’s directory of the dealers it regulates is a second check. For a credit union, the account terms name the provincial plan.
4. Sort deposits into CDIC categories. Add each category at each member, using GIC maturity values, and flag anything above $100,000. The CDIC calculator in section 4 does the sums.
5. Sort investments into CIPF groups. Add the general, retirement and RESP accounts at each dealer, and flag any group above $1,000,000. The CIPF calculator in section 6 does the sums.
6. Fix any overflow and recheck. Move the excess to another member, by direct transfer for registered accounts or at maturity for GICs, then repeat the check once a year and after any large deposit.

10 Strategies to Keep Your Money Inside the CIPF and CDIC Limits

Illustrative Example: One Household at a Bank and a Broker

Meet the Experts Behind WealthScale

Sharad Gondaliya, CPAWriter and tax reviewerCPA Ontario No. 61040184

Sharad is a CPA Ontario member (No. 61040184) and a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Washington and Montana, with more than 15 years in accounting and tax, a Diploma in Banking and Finance and a Certificate in Small Business Finance. He checks WealthScale content against primary sources. WealthScale is independent of his firm, Gondaliya CPA Professional Corporation, and provides general information only, not personal financial, investment, tax or legal advice.

• Chartered Professional Accountant, CPA Ontario
• Certified Public Accountant, Washington (No. 57629) and Montana (No. PAC-CPAP-LIC-033176)
• Writing on tax and registered accounts since 2021
• Reader’s Choice Award 2025 Winner, Best Accountant (Toronto)

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Neha Gupta, CFAFinancial ReviewerCFA charterholder

Neha Gupta is a CFA charterholder based in Winnipeg who has worked in financial markets since December 2005. She has published more than 2,600 investment articles and is Head of Operations and Finance at Whiteland Real Estate. She reviews WealthScale’s investing pages for accuracy.

• CFA charter, CFA Institute (awarded 2023)
• Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration (Finance), 2008
• In financial markets since December 2005
• More than 2,600 published investment articles

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