Trading or investing in US stocks may help diversify a portfolio. Also, there are more selections of US stocks and most popular stocks are traded in US dollars.
When opening a Questrade account, both CAD and USD accounts are automatically opened. Questrade will also charge fees when converting to and from USD.
There are two ways to exchange funds from CAD to USD dollars on Questrade. First, by paying 2% fees which are settled within 0-2 days. Another way of exchanging US dollars on Questrade is through Norbert’s gambit which costs around $5-10 in fees but usually takes 4-7 days to process.
Questrade USD Conversion Fees (2% Fees vs Nortbert’s Gambit)
| Conversion Amount | Method 1 (2% Fee) | Method 2 – Nortbert’s Gambit Fee |
| $ 50.00 | $ 1.00 | Around $5 |
| $ 100.00 | $ 2.00 | Around $5 |
| $ 300.00 | $ 6.00 | Around $5 |
| $ 1,000.00 | $ 20.00 | Around $5 |
| $ 3,000.00 | $ 60.00 | $6 – $10 |
| $ 10,000.00 | $ 200.00 | $7 – $10 |
| $ 15,000.00 | $ 300.00 | $8 – $10 |
Overall, the first method (2% exchange rate fee) on Questrade is cheaper when converting less than $300 while Norbert’s Gambit method is cheaper when converting USD/CAD of more than $300.
Norbert’s gambit currency fee (USD or CAD) is determined at the currency after the conversion. Assuming a rate of 1.25 CAD/USD, converting $1,250 CAD to $1,000 USD will have a commission cost of around $5.50 USD. On the other hand, it would cost $20 USD (2% fee) on the default method.
Also, converting $1,000 USD to $1,250 CAD will have a commission cost of around $5.50 CAD since CAD is the currency after the conversion is complete. However, Norbert’s Gambit usually takes a week to complete while the 2% fee method only takes 0-2 days to complete.
Savings through the second method becomes higher as the amount of funds converted is higher. When converting $10,000 CAD to USD, savings would be around $190 through Method 2 (Norbert’s Gambit).
| Fee | Processing Time | |
| Method 1 | 2% | 0-2 days |
| Method 2 – Nortbert’s Gambit | $5-$10 | 4-7 days |
Method 1 (2% Fee): Converting CAD to USD (Step by Step)
- From the main menu, go to Requests, then click Exchange Funds.
- Choose what type of account (margin, TFSA, etc.), then specify whether to exchange USD to CAD, or CAD to USD.
- Enter the amount of USD or CAD to exchange.
- Click Submit. Most requests complete the same day or the next day. Depending on volume, some requests may complete longer than 1 day.
- On the Request history tab, Questrade will update the status section as “Processed” when funds are exchanged. Requests may be available to cancel within the first hour.
How Long to Process: Exchanging funds using this method usually takes between 0-2 days. Most requests to exchange funds before 2:30 pm Eastern Time (11:30 am PT) will be processed the same day.
Questrade charges a 2% exchange rate fee when converting US dollars (USD) to Canadian dollars (CAD), or when converting CAD to USD. This first method is more common when exchanging funds on an investing platform in Canada.
Other platforms in Canada charge a 1-2% exchange rate fee. Fees are usually deducted from the amount of the exchange rate.
Stock Investing Platforms in Canada
| Investing Platform | Commission Fees (Stock Buy or Sell Trade) |
| RBC Direct Investing | $9.95 per trade (Lower pricing of $6.95 for active traders, 150+ trades every 3 months) |
| TD Direct Investing | $9.99 per trade (Lower pricing of $7.00 for active traders, 150+ trades every 3 months) |
| Wealthsimple Trade | $0 free commission fees for CAD stocks 1.50% exchange rate fee for US stock trades |
| Questrade | Around $5 for most trades (Lower pricing available for active traders) |
Wealthsimple Tutorial – How to Trade Stocks
Questrade – How to Buy and Sell Stocks
Method 2: Converting CAD to USD through the Norbert’s Gambit (Step by Step)
Norbert’s Gambit is developed by Norbert Schlenker of Libra Investment Management in B.C. The method is done by using the same shares listed on both the US and Canadian exchanges.
Stocks like Blackberry (BB) and Shopify (SHOP) are both listed on the US and Canadian exchanges, but these stocks are volatile to use for Norbert’s Gambit. After all, the process takes around a week to complete. Stock prices of these stocks may be vastly different after a week.
ETFs DLR.TO and DLR.U.TO are commonly used to exchange funds using this method. The price of DLR.TO will fluctuate depending on the exchange rate between USD and CAD. DLR.U.TO price have been relatively stable.
Assuming DLR.TO has a price of $13 CAD and DLR.U.TO at $10 USD, this will give an exchange rate of 1 USD =1.30 CAD. Since the price of DLR.TO is the one that is fluctuating, the exchange rate will depend on when the DLR.TO is bought or sold.
When converting CAD to USD, the exchange rate when buying DLR.TO (CAD) will apply. On the other hand, the exchange rate when selling DLR.TO (CAD) applies when converting USD to CAD.
How Long to Process: In total, this second method takes 4-7 days to exchange funds to and from USD.
Converting from CAD to USD using the Norbert’s Gambit
Step 1: Buy DLR.TO shares.
Assume DLR.TO is trading at $13. To exchange $1,300 CAD, 100 shares of DLR.TO needs to be bought.
Also, exchanging $6,500 CAD would mean buying 500 shares of DLR.TO for step #1.
Step 2: Ask Questrade to journalize DLR.TO shares to DLR.U.TO.
If using Questrade on a desktop, click the Contact Us page on the bottom left corner of the screen to send an email to Questrade. Fill in the form and select Self-directed account support.
On a smartphone, click help from the menu page. Then, select the email icon on the bottom of the screen. This will bring to a form to send Questrade an email.
In the Tell us more section, write something like “Can you please journalize the 100 DLR.TO shares to DLR.U.TO? Thank you”.
Other stocks or ETFs that are listed in both US and CAD may be available to journalize too, but the price of DLR is generally more stable.
Within a day or two, Questrade will respond through email. Questrade will usually specify the specific date when the journalizing process will be complete. This usually takes 4-7 days from the day DLR.TO is bought.
Step 3: Sell DLR.U.TO shares. Proceeds will be in US dollars. Exchanging funds is complete.
After waiting close to a week, shares will be converted to DLR.U.TO. 100 shares of DLR.U.TO can then be sold to get US dollars.
The fee of around $5-10 for selling ETFs will apply. The $5 USD fee using this method is cheaper than the $20 USD fee when converting the same amount using the first method.
Converting from USD to CAD on Questrade
The process when converting from USD to CAD is similar to the first example. The exchange rate will depend on when DLR.TO is sold (after 1 week) in this second process, while the first example (CAD to USD) will depend on the exchange rate when buying DLR.TO.
- Buy enough DLR.U.TO shares.
- Ask Questrade to journalize DLR.U.TO shares to DLR.TO.
- After a week, sell DLR.TO shares to get Canadian dollars.
Can Other Stocks or ETFs be used to convert US dollars instead of DLR.U.TO?
Technically, stocks that are both listed on US and Canadian stock markets such as Blackberry (BB) and Shopify (SHOP) can be used to convert USD. However, stocks tend to be more volatile. For example, BB and SHOP can easily move 10% gain/loss in a week. DLR.TO tends to be more stable and price movement between DLR.TO and DLR.U.TO is only influenced by the USD to the CAD exchange rate.
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Does Questrade automatically convert CAD to USD?
On registered accounts such as TFSA and RSP, Questrade will automatically convert CAD to USD (most of the time) at the end of the day, while Questrade will not automatically convert CAD to USD on a margin account. Questrade will charge 2% fees on this method. A cheaper way of $5-10 to convert is explained in this article.
Can you put USD in TFSA Questrade?
USD cash, stocks, and ETFs can be held in a TFSA Questrade account. Deposits in USD on a TFSA account will also count on the contribution limit amount, depending on the exchange rate when USD is added.
Can I open a USD account in Questrade?
USD accounts are automatically opened when opening any account (Margin, TFSA, RSP) on Questrade. Exchange rate fees are triggered when exchanging to and from US dollars. USD needs to be converted to Canadian dollars to withdraw funds to a CAD bank account.
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