Free tool
Forex Margin & Leverage Calculator
= 30:1 leverage
Reference
Margin required
$472.46
3.33% of position value
Position value
$14,188.00
10,000 USD
Move that wipes out the margin
3.33%
An adverse move of this size equals your entire margin deposit
Margin in plain English
Margin is the deposit your broker holds while a leveraged position is open. If the margin rate is 3.33%, a $30,000 position needs about $1,000 of margin — leverage of 30:1.
The catch: a 3.33% move against you wipes out that entire deposit. At 500:1 offshore leverage, a 0.2% move does it — something USD/CAD can do in minutes around a jobs report.
How Canadian margin rules work
CIRO sets minimum margin requirements for foreign exchange that depend on the currencies involved and are reviewed as market volatility changes. The most liquid currencies get the lowest rates; exotic currencies and CFDs on indices, commodities and shares need more margin. Canadian dealers can require more than the CIRO minimum, and many use different rates depending on your account's base currency. In practice, retail leverage at Canadian dealers is typically between about 20:1 and 50:1 on the most liquid pairs.
CIRO dealers must also close out positions when your equity falls below required levels — the "margin closeout" — which limits (but doesn't eliminate) the chance of owing more than you deposited.
Check your own dealer's current margin table before trading; the presets in this calculator are illustrations, not a statement of any dealer's current rates.
Questions
What leverage is allowed in Canada?
There's no single number: CIRO sets minimum margin rates by currency and product. Canadian dealers commonly offer up to around 50:1 on the most liquid currency pairs and far less on exotics and CFDs.
Is higher leverage better?
Higher leverage only reduces the margin you must post — it doesn't make a strategy more profitable. It makes it easier to open positions that are too large, which is why most regulators cap it for retail clients.