Best ETFs in Canada for 2026
From a niche product for parsimonious investors a decade ago, exchange-traded funds are becoming ever more mainstream. Though Canadians, more than citizens of most other developed economies, cling to mutual funds as their retail investing vehicle of choice, ETFs now represent more than one-quarter of the investment fund total and attract the lion’s share of new investment—a $122-billion net inflow in 2025, up 62% from the year previous.
The appeal of ETFs lies chiefly in their cost efficiency, as investment products go. Fees and other expenses of owning them are almost universally under 1% of your investment’s value per year and run as low as 0.03%. Competition in categories such as asset-allocation funds continues to drive them lower. And the cost of buying and selling them is going down, too. Almost all of Canada’s largest online brokerages offer at least a selection of ETFs with 0% commissions.
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The best ETFs in Canada for 2026
| ETF | Ticker | Mgt. fee | MER | Holdings | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanguard FTSE Canada All-Cap Index ETF | VCN | 0.05% | 0.06% | 205 | Low fees, highly liquid |
| iShares CORE S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index ETF | XIC | 0.05% | 0.06% | 218 | A standby with a 25-year track record |
| iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF | XIU | 0.15% | 0.18% | 61 | Higher yield (3%) than composite with long-term growth |
| Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF | VTI | NA | 0.03% | 3608 | U.S.-listed version of VUN with miniscule MER |
| Vanguard S&P 500 Index ETF | VFV | 0.08% | 0.09% | 506 | Cdn-listed version of VOO, unhedged for currency diversification |
| iShares Core S&P U.S. Total Market Index ETF | XUU | 0.07% | 0.07% | 2488 u/l | Cdn-listed U.S. total market index, cap-weighted & unhedged |
| iShares Core S&P 500 Index ETF | XUS | 0.08% | 0.09% | 503 u/l | Straight-up, unhedged S&P 500 fund, Cdn-listed |
| Vanguard US Total Market Index ETF | VUN | 0.15% | 0.17% | 3503 | Some mid-cap exposure in addition to S&P 500, Cdn-listed |
| iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF | ITOT | 0.03% | 0.03% | 2482 | U.S.-listed, wide exposure fund |
| Vanguard FTSE Developed All-Cap ex-North America index ETF | VIU | 0.20% | 0.23% | 3,914 | Tracks FTSE Developed All Cap ex-North America Index, includes S. Korea |
| TD International Equity Index ETF | TPE | 0.17% | 0.19% | 908 | Tracks Solactive GBS Developed Markets ex North America Large & Mid Cap CAD Index |
| Vanguard FTSE Developed All-Cap ex-North America index ETF CAD-hedged | VI | 0.20% | 0.22% | 3,733 | CAD-hedged version of VIU for no additional fees |
| Vanguard Canadian Aggregate Bond Index ETF | VAB | 0.08% | 0.09% | 1,257 | Tracks the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Canadian Float Adjusted Bond Index |
| TD Canadian Aggregate Bond Index ETF | TDB | 0.07% | 0.08% | 1210 | Aggregate Canadian bond exposure at a very affordable MER |
| BMO Aggregate Bond Index ETF | ZAG | 0.08% | 0.09% | 1,685 | The most liquid Canadian aggregate bond ETF, tracks FTSE Canada Universe Bond Index |
| iShares Core Equity ETF Portfolio | XEQT | 0.17% | 0.20% | 5 ETFs/8,425 u/l | Global diversified stock fund, ~45% US, 25% Canada, 25% EAFE |
| iShares Core Growth ETF Portfolio | XGRO | 0.17% | 0.20% | 8 ETFs/21,875 u/l | 80% equity/20% bonds portfolio |
| iShares Core Balanced ETF Portfolio | XBAL | 0.17% | 0.19% | 8 ETFs | Classic 60/40 stock/bond portfolio in one affordable package |
| Vanguard Balanced ETF Portfolio | VBAL | 0.22% | 0.24% | 9 ETFs/>30,000 u/l | The original asset allocation fund in Canada, 2.54% yield |
| Global X 0-3 Month T-Bill ETF | CBIL | 0.10% | 0.11% | 6 | Holds GoC treasury bills with maturities <3 months, 2.42% annualized distribution yield |
| BMO Money Market Fund ETF | ZMMK | 0.12% | 0.13% | 420 | Invests in short term govt and corporate paper, 2.28% annualized dist’n yield |
| Global X High Interest Savings ETF | CASH | 0.10% | 0.11% | 5 | HISA holdings, trailing yield 2.38%, current yield 1.7% annualized |
A survey of more than 3,000 Canadians on behalf of the Canadian Exchange Traded Fund Association (CETFA) earlier this year indicated 22% of Canadians now own at least one ETF, with adoption highest among young adults.
The investment industry is stepping up to meet the demand. There were 1,848 ETFs from 48 issuers trading on Canadian exchanges as of December 31, 2025, TD Securities reported. ETF assets under management change month to month but are on track to surpass $1 trillion in the next couple of years.
There are now so many choices, many of them dubious—an American fund company, for example, came out with an ETF themed around regime change in Venezuela three days after the capture of President Nicolas Maduro in January—that advisors and pundits have started to use the term “ETF slop” to describe the abundance of unnecessary funds.
Our methodology: How we choose the Best ETFs in Canada
We’ve brought together a panel of 10 investment advisors, analysts, coaches, and finfluencers from across Canada (see their bios below) to nominate, evaluate, and vote for the top funds in seven categories—all you need to construct your own diversified, self-directed portfolio.
Our judges looked for attributes like appropriate exposure to the asset category, low fees, high liquidity and ease of use for Canadian investors. In most cases that means index funds, which, though now in the minority among Canadian ETFs, still account for more than two-thirds of assets under management.
There was plenty of debate, but the list of 23 funds above represents the consensus picks of our panel. We’ve included the top three vote-getters in each category (or more if there was a tie), giving you some options for your portfolio without overwhelming you with choices. For more details and context around which ETFs might be right for you, click on the links to each category. We also encourage you to consult other sources such as fund company websites and fund fact sheets for the most up-to-date information before clicking ‘buy’.
Back again this year, our seventh and final category, Desert-island ETFs, offers our judges the opportunity to highlight funds that would not likely rise to the top in any of the conventional categories, but that they think could end up building serious wealth (or surviving a crash)—just in case you find yourself a castaway for an extended period.
Meet the MoneySense “Best ETFs in Canada” panel
Tony Dong is the founder and owner of ETF Portfolio Blueprint. He graduated in 2023 from Columbia University with a Master’s degree in risk management. He holds the Certified ETF Advisor (CETF) designation from The ETF Institute and has passed both the Canadian Securities Course and FINRA’s Securities Industry Essentials.
Alain Guillot is a retired former financial advisor. Today he maintains his personal finance blog, alainguillot.com.
Travis Koivula is a senior wealth advisor with Island Savings Wealth Management and Aviso Wealth in Victoria. He helps small-business owners and executives make better financial decisions and live with fewer regrets.
Mark McGrath is a retired financial planner, formerly with PWL Capital in Squamish, B.C. For the past decade, he has worked primarily with Canadian physicians and their families, helping them make sound financial decisions around portfolio management, retirement planning, tax planning, estate planning, and risk management.
Aman Raina is an investment coach and founder of Sage Investors. He teaches individual investors how to make successful investment decisions buying/selling stocks and ETFs.
Michelle Robertson is a financial planner, a CPA, and the founder of wealth and financial planning company Ms. Money and Math. She simplifies money for women who want to multiply their net worth so they have the freedom to build a life they love.
Sam Rook is a portfolio manager and managing partner at Q Wealth Partners and founding partner at Bird’s Eye Wealth Planners in Toronto. With a focus on ETFs as part of his investment style, he is a strong supporter of ETFs for all investors.
Mark Seed is the founder and blogger behind the site My Own Advisor, which caters to do-it-yourself investors and takes a hybrid approach to investing. In using this approach—owning ETFs and individual securities—he has reached financial independence and retired from the workforce.
Ioulia Tretiakova is vice-president and director of quantitative strategies at PUR Investing Inc. She specializes in risk management and quantitative portfolio construction, and she is the lead author of several peer-reviewed papers in the Rotman International Journal of Pension Management and the Journal of Retirement.
Mark Yamada is CEO of Toronto’s PUR Investing Inc.. He has written about investment issues for publications, such as Advisor.ca. He speaks regularly at ETF conferences and publishes academic papers about advanced pension strategies.
Read more on investing:
- The best online brokers in Canada
- A guide to the best robo-advisors in Canada
- The best TFSAs in Canada
- The best RRSP investments
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