These are the best-performing Canadian ETFs over the last 3 months, 6 months, one year, three years, five years, and 10 years.
All the Canadian ETFs on the list meet the following basic requirements:
- Trade on a Canadian exchange
- Non-leveraged
- At least 30K in daily average volume.
These criteria are used to avoid ETFs with very low volume. The Canadian exchanges tend to have lower volume than the US exchanges. So the 30K daily average volume is actually quite low compared to many US ETFs, but should provide adequate volume for most investors.
Leveraged ETFs have been excluded. While leveraged ETFs may provide big returns in the short-term, many do not fair well over the long-term.
All data is sourced from StockRover as of May 21, 2025. StockRover is the scanner I use for swing trading, investing, and fundamental analysis.
Returns include dividends and assume reinvestment. The % Performance is the total return over the period. This list is updated near the middle of each month.
If more than one ETF tracking the same investment/industry is on the list, only the top-performing one is included in the numbered list. The tickers of the other ETFs tracking a similar thing, and which have returns higher than the next ETF on the numbered list, are included in the Additional ETFs & Return column.
Best Performing Canadian ETFs Over the Last 3 Months
These are the top-performing Canadian ETFs over the last three months, as of May 21, 2025.
| Ticker | ETF Name | 3-Month Performance | Average Volume (3 Months) | Dividend Yield | Additional ETFs & Return |
| VOLX.TO | BetaPro S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | 33.1% | 0.27 million | 0% | |
| XGD.TO | iShares S&P/TSX Global Gold Index ETF | 15.1% | 0.8million | 0.7% | |
| GLCC.TO | Global X Gold Producer Equity Covered Call ETF | 14.1% | 0.05 million | 9% | |
| CGL.TO | iShares Gold Bullion ETF (CAD-Hedged) | 12% | 0.18 million | 0% | ZGLD: 10.4% |
| BTCX.U.TO | CI Galaxy Bitcoin ETF US$ Series Units | 10.2% | 0.04 million | 0% |
Best Performing Canadian ETFs Over the Last 6 Months
These are the top-performing Canadian ETFs over the last six months, as of May 21, 2025.
| Ticker | ETF Name | 6-Month Performance | Average Volume (3 Months) | Dividend Yield | Additional ETFs & Return |
| XGD.TO | iShares S&P/TSX Global Gold Index ETF | 33.2% | 0.7 million | 0.7% | |
| GLCC.TO | Global X Gold Producer Equity Covered Call ETF | 31.9% | 0.05 million | 9% | |
| ZGLD.TO | BMO Gold Bullion ETF (CAD Units) | 24.1% | 0.04 million | 0% | CGL.C.TO: 23.8% CGL.TO: 23.5% |
| ZCH.TO | BMO MSCI China Selection Equity Index ETF | 23% | 0.04 million | 1.9% | |
| BTCY.TO | Purpose Bitcoin Yield ETF | 20.7% | 0.08 million | 11.3% |
You may also want to check out the Best Performing Stocks list
Best Performing Canadian ETFs Over the Last 1 Year
These are the top-performing Canadian ETFs over the last year, as of May 21, 2025.
| Ticker | ETF Name | 1-Year Performance | Average Volume (3 Months) | Dividend Yield | Additional ETFs & Return |
| BTCX.B.TO | CI Galaxy Bitcoin ETF C$ Unhedged Series Units | 64.1% | 0.39 million | 0% | BTCY.TO: 64.1% FBTC.TO: 63.9% BTCC.B.TO: 63% EBIT.TO: 62.5% BTCX.U.TO: 61.3% BTCC.TO: 57.7% |
| XGD.TO | iShares S&P/TSX Global Gold Index ETF | 43.5% | 0.7 million | 0.7% | |
| GLCC.TO | Global X Gold Producer Equity Covered Call ETF | 42.3% | 0.05 million | 9% | |
| ZGLD.TO | BMO Gold Bullion ETF (CAD Units) | 39.5% | 0.04 million | 0% | CGL.C.TO: 38.8% CGL.TO: 34.9% |
| XCH.TO | iShares China Index ETF | 27% | 0.05 million | 1.3% |
Best Performing Canadian ETFs Over the Last 3 Years
These are the top-performing Canadian ETFs over the last three years, as of May 21, 2025.
| Ticker | ETF Name | 3-Year Performance | Average Volume (3 Months) | Dividend Yield | Additional ETFs & Return |
| BTCX.B.TO | CI Galaxy Bitcoin ETF C$ Unhedged Series Units | 284.7% | 0.39 million | 0% | FBTC.TO: 281.4% BTCC.B.TO: 277.2% EBIT.TO: 270.5% BTCX.U.TO: 255.7% BTCC.TO: 230% BTCY.TO: 172.8% |
| TEC.TO | TD Global Technology Leaders Index ETF | 101.9% | 0.13 million | 0.1% | |
| QQC.TO | Invesco Nasdaq 100 ETF CAD Units | 94.6% | 0.15 million | 0.4% | ZNQ.TO: 93.7% |
| CGL.C.TO | iShares Gold Bullion ETF (Non-hedged) | 90.9% | 0.05 million | 0% | |
| TUED.TO | TD Active US Enhanced Dividend ETF | 82% | 0.05 million | 3.2% |
Trades that last a few weeks to a few months more your style? My Complete Method Stock Swing Trading Course shows you how to find explosive stocks that often rally 20% or more within a few weeks of entry.
Best Performing Canadian ETFs Over the Last 5 Years
These are the top-performing Canadian ETFs over the last five years, as of May 21, 2025.
| Ticker | ETF Name | 5-Year Performance | Average Volume (3 Months) | Dividend Yield | Additional ETFs & Return |
| ENCC.TO | Global X Canadian Oil and Gas Equity Covered Call ETF | 294.5% | 0.12 million | 13.9% | |
| XEG.TO | iShares S&P/TSX Capped Energy Index ETF | 267.4% | 2.6 million | 3.8% | |
| XFN.TO | iShares S&P/TSX Capped Financial Index ETF | 145% | 0.3 million | 3.3% | |
| ZEB.TO | BMO Equal Weight Banks Index ETF | 143.8% | 2.5 million | 3.9% | |
| XBM.TO | iShares S&P/TSX Global Base Metals Index ETF | 139.1% | 0.03 million | 1.4% |
Best Performing Canadian ETFs Over the Last 10 Years
These are the top-performing Canadian ETFs over the last 10 years, as of May 21, 2025.
| Ticker | ETF Name | 10-Year Performance | Average Volume (3 Months) | Dividend Yield | Additional ETFs & Return |
| XQQ.TO | iShares Nasdaq 100 Index ETF (CAD-Hedged) | 341.5% | 0.4 million | 0.3% | ZQQ.TO: 340.3% |
| TXF.TO | CI Tech Giants Covered Call ETF Common Units | 270% | 0.07 million | 12.5% | |
| VFV.TO | Vanguard S&P 500 Index ETF | 260.7% | 0.39 million | 1.1% | ZSP.TO: 260% XUS.TO: 258.6% HXS.TO: 258.2% |
| XUU.TO | iShares Core S&P US Total Market Index ETF | 243% | 0.06 million | 1.1% | VUN.TO: 237.2% |
| XGD.TO | iShares S&P/TSX Global Gold Index ETF | 208.8% | 0.72 million | 0.7% |
The Passive Stock Investing Using ETFs eBook shows how to invest using a buy-and-hold strategy to compound money in the background—in good market conditions and bad—with little effort.
No searching for or researching individual stocks. Build that nest egg with a strategy that takes very little work and has been working for more than 100 years.
How to Scan for the Best Performing ETFs
Scanning for the best-performing Canadian ETFs can be a little tricky, as Canadian data isn’t as easy to find as US ETF performance data, for example. But it still isn’t too difficult. Most brokers offer a free screener, and there is also a free ETF screener on the TSX website.
I use StockRover and input the basic criteria such as daily average volume over 30K, Canadian exchanges, and then I select all the categories except leveraged or inverse. I then sort the results based on the various time frames (3 months, 5 years, etc.).
You can use other ETF screeners in a similar way.
Interested in day trading stocks? Learn how and when to capitalize on price patterns that occur multiple times per day in stocks. Learn precise patterns to watch for that present a favorable risk/reward opportunity in the Price Action Stock Day Trading Course.
By Cory Mitchell, CMT
Disclaimer: Nothing in this article is personal investment advice, or advice to buy or sell anything. Trading is risky and can result in substantial losses, even more than deposited if using leverage. Data is sourced from third parties and is intended for information purposes only. This article contains affiliate links. This site may be compensated, at no additional cost to you the reader, if a product or service is purchased via those links.
2 Comments
Leave your reply.