Instead of buying physical gold bars and coins, you can get exposure through gold-related funds that trade like stocks on major exchanges. This is often the simplest route if you’re looking for a gold ETF in Canada you can hold inside a brokerage RRSP or TFSA. Some products hold physical gold bullion, while others use futures contracts or give you exposure to gold mining stocks, each with different risk and return profiles.

If you’re still weighing funds vs physical, start here: buying physical gold and why add gold to your RRSP. If you specifically want ETFs, this guide pairs nicely with how to invest in gold ETFs in Canada.

Exchange Traded Funds Backed by Gold

If you want a gold bullion ETF that closely follows the gold price, you’ll generally look for funds that buy and store physical bullion on your behalf. For many Canadians, this is the most straightforward “gold ETF Canada” approach because it trades like a stock and can be held in an RRSP or TFSA (depending on your brokerage and the product). For registered-plan rules and what counts as a qualified investment, see the Government of Canada guidance here: Qualified investments for registered plans.

How to choose the best Canadian gold ETF (quick checklist): compare the MER, whether it’s physical bullion or derivatives, whether it’s currency hedged, the fund’s average trading volume (spreads matter), and where/how bullion is stored and audited. If you’re new to ETF disclosure docs, the Canadian Securities Administrators have a helpful overview of ETF Facts and what to look for: CSA guide to ETFs.

If your goal is long-term portfolio diversification, it’s also worth reading why invest in gold and deciding whether you want exposure via bullion, miners, or a mix.

ETFs Backed by Gold Futures

Gold futures are standardized contracts that trade on exchanges. Futures-based gold ETFs can track gold closely over short periods, but they may experience tracking differences over time due to futures “roll” costs and market structure. This doesn’t make them “bad,” but it does mean they’re not always identical to holding physical bullion.

A long-running Canadian example is the fund commonly known by its TSX ticker HUG (now under the Global X brand). It aims to track gold exposure through futures-based positioning and is often compared directly against bullion-backed choices when investors search for gold ETFs Canada.

• Global X Gold ETF (HUG) – product page: HUG overview. Recent disclosures show a reduced management fee versus older versions of this product.
• Leveraged / inverse gold ETFs (examples include GLDU and GLDD) reset daily and are generally designed for short-term trading rather than long-term holding.

The graph below (from the original post) is still useful for understanding how different gold-linked products can move similarly day to day, but diverge over longer periods due to fees, hedging, and (for futures-based products) roll effects.

Gold Stock Index Funds

Gold mining stock ETFs can outperform bullion in strong bull markets, but they can also fall harder because you’re taking on business risk, operational risk, and broader equity-market risk. If you specifically want stocks, start with our overview of gold mining stocks and decide whether you want senior producers, juniors, or a blend.

Examples that are often used for broad mining exposure include:

• iShares S&P/TSX Global Gold Index ETF (XGD) – TSX-listed miners exposure: XGD fund page. This index and its constituents change over time, so always check current holdings.
• BMO Junior Gold Index ETF (ZJG) – junior miners exposure: ZJG fund page.
• BMO Global Gold Index ETF (ZGD) – broad miners exposure: ZGD fund page.
• VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) – popular U.S.-listed miners ETF: GDX overview.

Important update from the original post: the “largest holdings” in mining ETFs change over time, and the industry has consolidated. For example, Goldcorp no longer trades as an independent company (it was acquired), so current top holdings are typically names like Barrick, Newmont, Agnico Eagle, and others depending on the index methodology.

Mutual Funds and Other Gold-Linked Options

Mutual funds (and actively managed ETFs) can offer exposure to bullion, miners, or a blended strategy. The tradeoff is usually higher fees and the reality that consistently beating a benchmark is hard. If you’re paying up for active management, make sure the strategy is clear and the long-term record is worth the cost.

Two other widely discussed “fund-like” approaches are:

• SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) – the well-known U.S.-listed physical gold ETF: GLD fund page.
• Sprott Physical Gold Trust (PHYS) – a physical bullion trust structure (can trade at a premium/discount): PHYS overview.

Finally, if you like the “gold exposure” idea but don’t want the operational risk of miners, you may want to research royalty and streaming companies. A commonly cited example is Franco-Nevada (Toronto-based), which earns royalties/streams from mines rather than operating them directly.

If you’re building a broader precious-metals allocation (not just gold), see options for including other precious metals in your RRSP. If you’re deciding which account to use for your overall plan, see TFSA or RRSP: where to put your money and your gold.

FAQ: Gold ETFs in Canada

Note: This page is for educational purposes only and is not investment advice. Always read the latest prospectus/ETF Facts and consider speaking with a qualified advisor before making decisions

Canadian Gold ETFs Compared (August 2026)

Fees on gold funds look trivial until you hold one for a decade. Here are the main options available to Canadians, with figures taken from each fund provider on August 13, 2026.

MER and asset figures from RBC iShares and Sprott, August 12 to 13, 2026. Assets in Canadian dollars for the iShares funds and US dollars for PHYS.

Hedged or Unhedged? The Data Is Not Close

This is the decision that matters most for a Canadian, and it gets less attention than the fee. CGL hedges the US dollar exposure out. CGL.C and PHYS leave it in. Same metal, same sponsor in the iShares case, identical 0.55% fee, completely different outcome.

Over five years the loonie fell from 1.2514 to 1.3930 against the US dollar, and every point of that weakness flowed straight into the returns of an unhedged holder. A Canadian who paid to hedge that exposure away gave up roughly 28 percentage points. That is not a fee difference, it is a strategy difference, and it dwarfs anything in the MER column. Hedging protects you if the loonie strengthens. It has not, for a long time. Our live gold price page shows the same effect on the underlying metal.

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The Discount Nobody Mentions

Closed end trusts like PHYS do not always trade at the value of the gold they hold. On August 13, 2026 PHYS traded at a 1.92% discount to its net asset value, meaning every dollar bought about $1.02 of gold. That discount swings around and can become a premium, so it is worth checking before you buy rather than assuming.

A 1.92% discount is roughly five years of the MER difference between PHYS and CGL, captured on day one. It can also work against you: buy at a premium and you are overpaying for the same metal. The trust held 3,701,381 ounces of gold at that date, and one unit represented 0.0077 of an ounce.

Bullion ETFs Are Not Mining ETFs

XGD sits in the same conversation but is a different asset. It holds shares in gold mining companies, not gold. Miners carry operating costs, debt, political risk in the countries they dig in, and management decisions. They can fall on a day gold rises. If you want exposure to the metal, buy the metal or a fund that holds it. If you want leverage to the gold price and are comfortable with equity risk, miners are the vehicle. Our page on gold mining stocks covers that side properly.

More Questions About Gold ETFs in Canada