How we collect and check GIC rates

Every rate is read directly from the issuing institution's own posted rate page. We do not take figures from other comparison sites, from press releases, from aggregated feeds, or from advertising.

The source page for each rate is linked on the row that carries it, so any figure on this site can be checked against its origin in one click.

This is not a theoretical preference. When the table was last cross-checked against two large comparison sites, three of their rows disagreed with what the issuer itself posted.

Unless a page says otherwise, the published figure is the standard posted annual rate for a non-registered, non-redeemable GIC held to maturity, compounding annually, at the institution's stated minimum deposit.

• Promotional and limited-time rates are labelled as such rather than used to top the table, because they usually expire before the term does.
• Registered rates (RRSP, TFSA, RRIF) are listed on their own pages, since they often differ from the non-registered rate.
• Where an institution posts a lower rate for interest paid monthly rather than compounded, both are recorded. The two are never mixed, because the monthly-pay rate is always lower.

This is the distinction that most often makes two comparison sites disagree. A site quoting a promotional rate will always look better than one quoting the posted rate, and the promotional rate is usually the one you cannot get.

We track institutions that any Canadian resident can open a GIC with directly. That means CDIC member banks and trust companies, plus provincially insured credit unions where membership is open.

• Brokered-only GICs are excluded, because you cannot buy them without an investment account at a participating dealer.
• Advisor-access and institutional products are excluded for the same reason.
• Deposit protection differs by regulator, not by rate. CDIC covers $100,000; Ontario credit unions are covered by FSRA and Manitoba credit unions by DGCM, whose guarantee is unlimited.

A full sweep of every tracked institution takes place each month, by hand, by one person. The verification date shown on each table is the date of that sweep, not the date the page was generated.

Between sweeps, individual rates are corrected as soon as we learn they have changed. Rates can move without notice, so the figure you see should always be confirmed with the institution before you deposit.

Each sweep is archived rather than overwritten. That accumulating record is what the rate history draws on, and it is the reason we can show where rates have been rather than only where they are.

The dataset is published under a CC BY licence with Dataset structured data. You are free to reuse it with attribution.

It is not funded by the institutions listed. There are no affiliate links, no referral fees, no sponsored placements and no paid rankings anywhere on this site. No institution has a commercial relationship with us, and none can buy one.

If a rate here is wrong, tell us. We will check it against the issuer's page, correct it, and note what changed. Accuracy is the only thing this site has to offer.

Nothing here is personal financial advice, and the author holds no CFP or CFA designation. See the author page for what that means.