Are you curious about how investing taxes are calculated on capital gains, dividends, and interest in Canada? I’m not a tax expert, but with tax loss harvesting season coming out, I figured it might be a good time to review some of the basics between how Canadian investment returns are taxed in your RRSP, TFSA, and non-registered accounts. Investing Taxes in an RRSP Let’s start with RRSPs. As you probably know, RRSP contributions and investment growth are taxable only upon withdrawal. A...| Million Dollar Journey
RRSP Deadline/Contribution Limit For those of you coming here through Google search looking for the RRSP deadline for tax year 2018, the deadline is: March 1, 2019. Basically 60 days into the new year. There is an abundance of choice out there for RRSP accounts, but here is a review of the best online brokers for RRSPs. If you're not sure if RRSPs are right for you, check out my article on 'How to maximize an RRSP?'. Also note that your RRSP contribution limit should be on last years Not...| Million Dollar Journey
This is a column by our resident real estate expert Rachelle. I actually live and work in the Toronto area, in Ontario and this post is about different kinds of properties you can invest in and the benefits and pitfalls of developing a portfolio of properties that is not residential. Law Residential Property The law in Ontario for residential property is not kind to investors. Landlords are not protected and a lot of waiting is required before being able to get non-paying tenants out. Twice I...| Million Dollar Journey
Investing on your own is not an easy task. From mutual funds to robo advisors and individual stocks, there are a wide range of strategies, information services and trading platforms to choose from. It can quickly become overwhelming. This is where the simplicity of dividend investing really shines. I started investing in mutual funds when I was 16-year-old. Since then, I evolved into a mix of ETFs and dividend growth investing strategies. This was the beginning of a long investing jou...| Million Dollar Journey
Canadians have fantastic options when it comes to registered accounts. Registered accounts are beneficial for many reasons, the main reason being that they are tax advantaged. Tax advantage accounts are those that allow you to grow your money tax-free or allow you to defer paying taxes until later. However, all registered accounts are not created equal, and before you invest, you want to read our detailed TFSA vs RRSP guide to better understand what these two registered accounts can do for yo...| Million Dollar Journey
What is Wealthsimple? Wealthsimple was founded back in 2014 by Michael Katchen, Brett Huneycutt and Rudy Adler. I gotta say that I really liked the company more in its first few years than in its current iteration. For the first five years of its existence, Wealthsimple was solely focused on the product that is now known as Wealthsimple Managed Investing. Some people called this a “robo advisor,” others called it a “automated wealth manager” – whatever you wanted to call it, Wealths...| Million Dollar Journey
There is a TON of investment advice out there. Some should only be taken into consideration after a thorough investigation and planning. Some - like contributing to a TFSA - is just sound advice that should be acted on quickly. The reason? Two words: tax free. That is not something you hear often, and that’s why we want to help you start contributing to your TFSA as quickly as possible to achieve maximum money saving and investment earning results. If you turned 18 on or before 2009...| Million Dollar Journey
A blue chip stock refers to stocks of high value companies. Think companies that are household names, have a widely recognized brand and are so big that they are unlikely to fail. The top blue chip stocks in Canada include companies from a wide range of sectors; utilities, industrial, financial and consumer staples. These companies often have very little - if any - competition, which is a great thing if you are one of their investors. On top of having a large market capitalization, and the ...| Million Dollar Journey
Dividend earning stocks are appealing for a number of reasons. They can help you earn passive income, are generally more stable in a volatile market, and are a great hedge against inflation. If you are thinking about investing in Canadian telecom dividend stocks, now might be the right time. Canadian Telecom companies have historically been a great choice when it comes to dependable dividends. They might not seem as exciting as some of the other options out there, but with all of us increasin...| Million Dollar Journey
Investing in Canadian REITs can help investors include real estate investments in their portfolios without radically changing their way of life. Sure, you can buy a property and become a landlord, but if that’s not your bag (or if you don’t have that kind of time, energy, and, let’s face it, cash), you can invest in Canadian REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) and gain exposure to the real estate market in bite-sized chunks. Canadian REITs are fairly easy to invest in, given that they...| Million Dollar Journey
The two best Canadian railway stocks are part of an exclusive club in Canada. According to Morningstar Canada, in 2023 there were only five Canadian wide moat stocks. The list is short: RBC, TD, Enbridge, and then our two Canadian railway dividend all-stars: Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) and Canadian National Railway (CNR). The Morningstar wide moat list heading into 2024 includes RBC, TD Bank, Waste Connections and Canadian National Railway. I would certainly suggest that when you look at ...| Million Dollar Journey
There is a reason why so many of Canada’s best utility stocks are also on our overall list of best dividend stocks in Canada: They are natural oligopolies/monopolies, meaning that can pass along increasing costs almost instantly, and have really solid yields for income-seeking investors. This combination makes them a natural fit for Canadian investors looking for inflation hedge stocks. Some people consider Canadian utility stocks “boring” compared to high volatility “get rich/poor qu...| Million Dollar Journey
It’s no secret that we’re big fans of Canadian dividend stocks here at MDJ, and while we have given some shine to Canadian energy stocks over the last couple of years, we have always just sort of tossed the Canadian pipeline stocks in alongside those big energy producers. The fact is the Canadian pipeline stocks - often described as “mid-stream” due to their place in the supply chain - actually offer superior dividend cash flow relative to their energy producer cousins. Their busine...| Million Dollar Journey
Canada’s best robo advisors are an excellent investing solution for the many folks who are intimidated by the thought of buying and selling shares on their own - but who don’t want to pay the outrageous mutual fund fees that come with the traditional investments recommended by banks and credit unions. There is incredible value in automatically taking a piece of your paycheque every month and automatically turning it into a diversified investment portfolio. Way too many of us hesitate to g...| Million Dollar Journey
I recently received an email from a reader with a bright financial future. They have a maxed out TFSA and has recently maxed out her RRSP as well. Here’s a snippet of the email below (edited for brevity). First of all, thank you for sharing your wisdom and financial journey. I love reading your blog and I learn so much from it! I was wondering if you could give some advice on where to put my money after maxing out my RRSP and TFSA contributions. I saw on MDJ that you like all-in-one ET...| Million Dollar Journey
Canada’s all-in-one ETFs (also called portfolio ETFs) have been the single most important investment product innovation since I’ve started writing about this stuff nearly two decades ago. The Vanguard, iShares, and BMO all-in-one ETFs are the perfect marriage of index investing strategy, convenience, asset allocation math, and behavioural safeguards. These ETFs - which are actually a collection of smaller ETFs - are so diverse that they actually include several of the Best ETFs in Canada,...| Million Dollar Journey
Investing in Canadian Dividend Kings (sometimes known as Dividend Aristocrats) tends to come back into fashion when bond yields and GIC rates start to go down. With safer assets generating so little income, dependable dividend payers begin to look more and more attractive. Of course, staying committed to dividends can be a challenge when stocks like Nvidia are soaring. The real test for any dividend investor is sticking to the plan through thick and thin. Click here to jump directly to my 202...| Million Dollar Journey
The best short term investments in Canada continue to reward GIC customers, as well as those interested in the new EQ Notice Account. It’s tough to beat a zero-risk guaranteed 3.65%+ return on your cash! Of course GICs aren’t the only safe, short term investment option in Canada. If you can’t stomach putting your money away for a full year to make use of a GIC, then Canada’s best high interest savings accounts are where you would want to look. So, what makes a short term investment d...| Million Dollar Journey
Now that second quarter earnings are in, I felt like it was an optimal time to update our 2024 Canadian bank stocks article. Ever since I started this website back in 2008, Canadian bank stocks have been reader favourites. The slow-steady-dependable nature of these companies makes them a natural fit for dividend lovers and Canadian retirees, and that’s why several of the banks occupy prominent spots on our Best Canadian Dividend Stocks List. Interest rates can’t go down fast enough for Ca...| Million Dollar Journey
Is now the time to lock in Canada’s Best GIC Rates? With the Bank of Canada suggesting a potential rate cuts in 2025, and with Trump’s tariffs knocking on the door, the best GIC rates in Canada may be hovering at their peak -which could mean now’s a great time to snag something above 3.3%. A Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) is essentially the Canadian counterpart to an American CD (Certificate of Deposit), offering a stable way to grow your money. GICs shine when you’re aiming ...| Million Dollar Journey
Current Qtrade New Customer Promotion Qtrade currently has the best cash-back offer on the market in an effort to get you to try their platform. In brief - they want to pay you $150 to open an account with them. Details: Amount in New Qtrade AccountCash Back$1,000-$9,999$50$10,000-$24,999$100$25,000+$150 In order to get your cash back, the minimum you have to invest is $1,000. The good news though is that your amount of “new net assets” can be spread out amongst multiple accounts. In o...| Million Dollar Journey
As we look ahead to summer and the second half of 2025, it’s time for an updated look at the Best Online Brokerages in Canada. With RRSP season in the rearview mirror – and what might be shaping up to be another round of “tariff season” drama ahead – now’s the time to lock in the easy DIY investing wins. I’ve been writing about Canadian online brokers for nearly 20 years, and the changes in the space have been massive. Fees have plunged, platforms are smoother than ever, and com...| Million Dollar Journey
Picking the best Canadian Dividend Stocks for 2025 isn’t an easy task! After such a stellar year in North American equities in 2025, there is much more room to move down than up. That said, my dividend stocks portfolio is all about long-term cash-flowing companies with large financial moats to protect them. Each month I take a look at the stocks that I highlighted at the beginning of the year, and I focus on the following key dividend stock comparison points: Dividend Yield Dividend Growth ...| Million Dollar Journey