On this page you will find the live silver spot price in Canadian dollars, an interactive CAD price chart covering periods from one month to the full available history, year by year price tables, the current gold to silver ratio, the premiums Canadian dealers actually charge over spot, and answers to the questions we get asked most.

Silver Price Chart in Canadian Dollars

Pick a period below. Stretch it to five years or more and silver's defining characteristic becomes obvious: the peaks are higher and the troughs are deeper than anything gold does.

Source: LBMA Silver Price converted at Bank of Canada daily rates. The CAD series begins in January 2017, when the Bank of Canada current daily USD/CAD series starts.

Silver Price History in Canada by Year

Annual silver prices in Canadian dollars per troy ounce. Look at the gap between the low and high columns in 2025 and 2026 against the quiet years of 2017 to 2019. That spread is the whole silver story.

The three numbers worth remembering:

• Silver in CAD is up roughly 74% over twelve months and about 215% over five years, outpacing gold on both windows.
• It also fell about 42% from its January 2026 peak of $160.09. Gold's drawdown over the same stretch was roughly 15%.
• The 2026 range so far spans $77.48 to $160.09, a more than twofold spread inside a single year.

The Gold to Silver Ratio Right Now

The ratio tells you how many ounces of silver it takes to buy one ounce of gold. It is the oldest relative value gauge in the metals world and the one I lean on most when deciding which metal to add.

• Above 80: silver is historically cheap relative to gold. These have tended to be favourable accumulation zones.
• Between 60 and 80: broadly normal for the modern era, which is where we sit today.
• Below 50: silver is stretched relative to gold. Historically these readings have not lasted long.

The ratio spent much of 2024 above 85, which in hindsight flagged the setup for silver's run. It compressed hard into the January 2026 spike and has since normalised. At current levels neither metal screams obvious value against the other, which is usually the point at which I stop trying to be clever and just keep buying on schedule.

Why Silver Moves Differently Than Gold

Gold is bought almost entirely to be stored. Silver gets consumed. Slightly over half of annual silver demand comes from industry, and according to the Silver Institute the market has run in a structural supply deficit for several consecutive years. That single fact explains most of silver's behaviour.

The demand sources that matter:

• Solar photovoltaics. The largest and fastest growing industrial use. Every panel contains silver paste, and higher efficiency cell designs use more of it, not less.
• Electronics and EVs. Silver has the highest electrical conductivity of any element. An electric vehicle contains roughly twice the silver of a combustion vehicle.
• Investment demand. Coins, bars and ETFs, which swing hardest and fastest, and which drove the January 2026 spike.
• Mine supply. Around 70% of silver is produced as a byproduct of copper, lead and zinc mining, so supply barely responds to the silver price itself.

That last point is worth sitting with. When silver doubles, miners cannot simply produce more, because the decision to mine is driven by base metal economics. Demand shocks therefore hit price rather than volume, which is precisely why the chart above looks the way it does. The LBMA Silver Price auction sets the daily benchmark that flows into everything you see quoted, and the Bank of Canada rate converts it into loonies.

What Silver Actually Costs to Buy in Canada

Silver premiums run much higher in percentage terms than gold premiums, because it costs nearly the same to mint and ship a one ounce silver coin as a one ounce gold coin, but the underlying metal is worth a fraction as much. Buying in bulk is how you fight that.

A practical warning I give every new silver buyer. At today's price, a $25,000 silver position weighs roughly 8.5 kilograms and takes up real physical space. The equivalent in gold fits in a shirt pocket. Storage, insurance and eventual transport are genuine costs with silver in a way they simply are not with gold. If you are weighing the two, our page on the live gold spot price in Canada runs the same analysis on the other side.

One purity note specific to silver. For GST and HST exemption and for registered account eligibility, silver must be at least 99.9% pure, a higher bar than gold's 99.5%. Sterling silver at 92.5% and pre 1968 Canadian coinage at 80% both fail that test, so they are taxable and cannot go into an RRSP. Choosing a dealer who documents purity properly matters, and our comparison of Canadian bullion dealers is the place to start.

Buying Silver Across Canada

Spot is identical nationwide. What varies is shipping economics, and with silver that matters far more than with gold, because weight drives freight and insurance cost.

Holding Silver in a Registered Account

Silver's volatility is an argument for sheltering it, not against it. A metal that can run 74% in a year and then give back 42% generates exactly the sort of taxable events you would rather not deal with in a non registered account.

To qualify, silver must be at least 99.9% pure, produced by an LBMA accredited refiner, and bought through an approved channel. We break down the account choices in our comparison of registered accounts for gold and silver bullion, and if you are choosing between plan types, TFSA or RRSP for your metals works through the trade offs. Investors looking past the two main metals should read including other precious metals in your RRSP. On the dealer side, our reviews of Silver Gold Bull, Sprott Money and Border Gold cover the three most common choices for Canadian silver buyers, and if you are still deciding between metal and paper, buying physical bullion lays out the case.

Silver Price Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

More Questions About Buying Silver at Today's Price