Best Broker for Buying US T-Bills in Canada
The best broker for buying US T-Bills in Canada is Interactive Brokers. It gives Canadians direct electronic access to the US Treasury market, charges a USD 5 minimum commission with no price markup, and converts CAD to USD at close to the interbank rate. Bank brokerages can buy US Treasuries too, but they cost more.
How Can Canadians Buy US T-Bills?
US Treasury bills (T-Bills) are short-term debt issued by the US federal government, sold at a discount and maturing in one year or less. They are considered among the safest securities in the world, which is exactly why Canadians reach for them when they want a parking spot for US dollars.
There are two realistic ways to own them. The first is buying individual bills through a broker that carries US Treasury inventory. The second is buying a US T-Bill ETF that holds a rolling basket of bills for you. TreasuryDirect, the US government's own purchase platform, is effectively closed to most Canadians because it requires a US Social Security number and a US bank account.
Which Broker Is Best for Buying US T-Bills in Canada?
Interactive Brokers, by a wide margin. Three things set it apart.
Direct access. Most Canadian brokers route bond orders through a desk. IBKR lets you see live US Treasury quotes and trade bills, notes and bonds yourself inside Trader Workstation, with extended trading hours on Treasuries.
Cost. IBKR charges 0.2 basis points on the first USD 1 million of face value, with a USD 5 minimum per order and no markup baked into the price. On a normal retail order, the USD 5 minimum is simply what you pay. There is no hidden spread.
Currency conversion. This is the cost most people miss. To buy US Treasuries you need US dollars, and IBKR converts CAD to USD at close to the interbank rate, a fraction of a cent on the dollar. A bank brokerage can charge 1.5 percent or more to convert, which on a $10,000 conversion is roughly $150 gone before you buy a single bill.
The one hurdle: you have to enable Fixed Income trading permissions and subscribe to US bond market data inside your account before you can trade. Our Interactive Brokers review walks through the setup. Ready to go? You can open an Interactive Brokers account directly.
How Do the Top Brokers Compare for US T-Bills?
What About the Big Bank Brokerages?
TD Direct Investing is the strongest bank option. Its Fixed Income Centre carries US Treasuries and US-pay bonds alongside Canadian government and corporate issues. The catch: the commission is built into the quoted price rather than shown separately, some issues trade only through the bond desk by phone, and bond minimums commonly start around $5,000.
RBC Direct Investing, BMO InvestorLine and the other bank platforms lean heavily toward Canadian government and corporate bonds and GICs. US Treasury availability is thinner, and the same buried-markup pricing applies. If you already bank with one of them and want a small individual position, it works, but you are paying for the convenience. For a structured way to weigh these tradeoffs, see our guide on how to choose a Canadian online broker.
Should You Just Buy a US T-Bill ETF Instead?
For most investors, yes. A US T-Bill ETF holds a rolling ladder of short-dated Treasuries and trades like a stock. You get daily liquidity, there is no $1,000 increment to manage, and you sidestep the bond-desk friction entirely. US-listed ultra-short Treasury ETFs (for example, funds tracking 0 to 3 month T-Bills) are widely held, and Canadian-listed USD Treasury ETFs exist too.
Questrade is a clean fit here. Stock and ETF trades are commission-free, so buying a T-Bill ETF costs nothing in commission. Our Questrade review covers the platform in full, and you can open a Questrade account if it suits you. Wealthsimple also charges $0 commission on ETFs, but note one limit: Wealthsimple does not offer individual bond or T-Bill trading at all. ETFs are the only fixed-income route on its self-directed platform. You can open a Wealthsimple account if the hands-off approach appeals.
The tradeoff is real. An ETF charges a small management fee, usually a fraction of a percent per year, and its yield floats as the underlying bills mature and roll. With an individual bill, you lock a known yield to a known maturity date and pay no ongoing fee.
How Are US T-Bills Taxed for Canadians?
The discount you earn on a US T-Bill is treated as interest income, fully taxable at your marginal rate in a non-registered account and reported to the Canada Revenue Agency in Canadian dollars. Unlike US dividends, US Treasury interest paid to a Canadian resident is generally not subject to US withholding tax under the Canada US tax treaty, so there is usually nothing withheld and no foreign tax credit to chase.
Inside a TFSA or RRSP, that interest compounds without Canadian tax. Currency cuts both ways: your gain or loss is measured in Canadian dollars, so a move in the USD/CAD rate changes your actual return regardless of what the bill itself pays. How all of this applies depends on your situation.
The Bottom Line
If you want to own actual US T-Bills and you care about cost, open an Interactive Brokers account. The combination of direct Treasury access, a USD 5 minimum commission, no price markup, and near-spot currency conversion is not matched anywhere else in Canada.
If you already bank with TD and want one or two individual positions without opening a new account, TD Direct Investing will do it at a higher all-in cost. And if you do not truly need individual bills, a US T-Bill ETF bought commission-free through Questrade or Wealthsimple is the simplest path for most people.
All of these brokers are regulated by CIRO and covered by CIPF, so your account carries the same baseline protection within limits no matter which you pick. Compare the numbers side by side in our full broker comparison table before you open anything.
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