Gold ETFs in Canada

WOWA® Simply Know Your Options

Canadian-listed ETFs offer two ways to invest in gold through a brokerage account: funds that hold bullion and funds that own shares in gold producers. Bullion funds track the metal’s price after expenses, while mining funds also reflect the profitability and risks of the companies they hold.

Compare four bullion ETFs and two gold producer ETFs below, including their fees, assets and returns. For broader stock-market exposure, see our guide to Canadian ETFs.

Gold is usually quoted in U.S. dollars. Its Canadian-dollar price also reflects the USD/CAD exchange rate. Use the currency selector to compare the two.

Source: Gold API. The latest price is a spot quote with the provider’s observation time; its CAD price is the provider’s conversion at its current exchange rate. The chart shows Gold API daily average spot prices per troy ounce on weekdays: daily values for 1Y, weekly averages for 5Y and monthly averages for Max. Historical CAD prices are estimates calculated using Bank of Canada exchange rates, available from May 2007.

These four ETFs hold physical gold and trade in Canadian dollars. ZGLD and CGL.C leave currency exposure unhedged; KILO and CGL hedge it. Compare fees and returns within the hedged or unhedged group.

• The fund arranges custody and storage, saving investors from organizing these themselves.
• Those services have costs, handled through the fund’s fee arrangements and included in the MER.
• Ongoing expenses reduce returns and can require the fund to sell small amounts of gold, gradually reducing the gold represented by each unit.

Gold producer ETFs invest in businesses whose profits depend on gold prices, operating costs and production. They also face financing and political risks. XGD tracks an index of gold companies, while GLCC adds a covered-call strategy to generate income.

ETF data as of October 23, 2026.

ZGLD holds physical gold bars in BMO’s Toronto vault, without currency hedging. Its units trade in Canadian dollars, and its return reflects changes in the U.S.-dollar gold price and the USD/CAD exchange rate, less fund expenses.

A weaker Canadian dollar raises gold’s value in CAD; a stronger Canadian dollar reduces it, assuming the U.S.-dollar gold price is unchanged. CGL.C provides similar unhedged bullion exposure.

BMO fund information

CGL.C is the unhedged unit class of the iShares Gold Bullion ETF. It holds physical gold bullion. The fund’s prospectus requires at least 90% of net assets in bullion. CGL.C’s Canadian-dollar returns reflect both gold prices and the USD/CAD exchange rate.

CGL is the currency-hedged class of the same fund. The two classes have separate tickers, assets and return records, so use the figures for the class you intend to buy.

iShares CGL.C fund information

KILO holds allocated, segregated physical gold bars stored at the Royal Canadian Mint and hedges its U.S.-dollar exposure to Canadian dollars. The hedge reduces the effect of USD/CAD movements, so its return more closely follows the U.S.-dollar gold price. Fund expenses and hedging costs also affect returns.

Purpose also offers KILO.B, which trades in CAD without currency hedging, and KILO.U, which trades in USD without currency hedging. The comparison table shows the CAD-hedged KILO class.

Purpose fund information

CGL is the CAD-hedged class of the iShares Gold Bullion ETF. It holds physical gold and aims to reduce the effect of USD/CAD movements on returns.

Currency hedging does not protect against a fall in the gold price. It also has costs, influenced by interest rates, and may not eliminate every exchange-rate effect. Compare CGL with KILO for hedged bullion exposure, or with CGL.C for the unhedged class of the same fund.

iShares CGL fund information

XGD tracks the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index, holding shares in gold miners listed in Canada or the United States. The index gives larger companies greater weight, subject to a cap on each holding.

Mining profits can rise sharply when gold prices increase if costs stay stable. Falling gold prices can squeeze those profits just as quickly. Mine disruptions, rising costs and management decisions create risks beyond movements in the metal’s price.

iShares XGD fund information

Before June 2022 GLCC was an actively managed gold-producer fund that wrote calls on nearly all of its holdings, so earlier returns reflect that strategy.

GLCC holds gold producer shares and sells covered call options on part of its portfolio. It collects option premiums to support distributions, but gives up gains above the strike price on the shares covered by those options.

Option premiums cushion losses but do not prevent them. Compare GLCC’s total return with its distribution yield; total return includes distributions as well as changes in the unit price. For other income-focused funds, see our guide to Canadian dividend ETFs.

Global X fund information

Choose the exposure first. Bullion ETFs provide a direct investment in the precious metal, while mining ETFs offer exposure to company profits and share prices. A covered-call fund generates option income in exchange for giving up some potential gains.

For bullion, decide whether you want currency hedging. If gold rises 10% in USD and the U.S. dollar gains 5% against CAD, unhedged gold rises 15.5% in CAD before expenses. But if the U.S. dollar weakens 5%, the unhedged gold would only rise by 4.5%. The effects compound. A CAD hedge aims to reduce the exchange-rate contribution to your return.

Compare management expense ratios (MERs) among similar funds, then consider bid–ask spreads and trading fees. Our guide to Canadian trading platforms compares brokerage options; commodity trading platforms offer other ways to invest in raw materials. MER is deducted from the fund’s assets and reflected in its returns. Fund size can help you assess scale, but it does not measure safety or replace a check of trading costs.

Gold can diversify a portfolio, but it remains exposure to a single commodity. Broad Canadian ETFs provide stock-market diversification, while bond ETFs offer exposure to debt securities and interest income.

Gold has shaped North American settlement, trade and monetary policy over the past two centuries. Gold rushes drew prospectors west, and the gold standard tied the value of money to the metal. That monetary role eventually gave way to today’s market, where gold is traded as a commodity and held as an investment.

The discovery of gold in California in 1848 triggered a gold rush that drew prospectors from around the world. The Klondike discovery in 1896 brought another rush to the Yukon. Both transformed local communities and expanded mining in western North America.

Under the gold standard, banknotes could be exchanged for a fixed amount of gold. By the late nineteenth century, gold convertibility was central to the Canadian and U.S. monetary systems. Maintaining that promise constrained monetary policy, particularly during wars and economic crises.

Canada suspended gold convertibility during the First World War and returned to the gold standard in 1926. During the Depression, it banned gold exports in 1931 and formally suspended the redemption of Dominion notes for gold in 1933. The Bank of Canada’s history of the Canadian dollar traces these changes.

In the United States, Roosevelt’s changes went beyond ending dollar-to-gold redemption. His April 1933 executive order required people and businesses to surrender most gold coins, bullion and gold certificates to banks in exchange for dollars at the existing official price of about US$20.67 per troy ounce. Exceptions included certain collector coins, small holdings of gold coins and certificates, and gold needed for industrial or professional uses. Ordinary gold jewellery was not subject to the surrender requirement.

The 1934 gold measures then transferred monetary gold to the U.S. Treasury (under threat of fine and imprisonment) and raised the official price to US$35 per ounce. This reduced the dollar’s gold content by about 41%. People who had surrendered their gold received dollars before the revaluation and did not benefit from the subsequent increase. Ending redemption prevented holders of dollars from continuing to demand gold at the old or even the new rate.

The Bretton Woods agreement of 1944 linked participating currencies to the U.S. dollar, with dollars convertible into gold for foreign monetary authorities. In August 1971, President Nixon closed the gold window, ending that convertibility and a central pillar of the system. Americans regained the freedom to own and trade gold at the end of 1974, opening the way for gold investment without the earlier ownership restrictions.

Gold no longer sets the value of Canadian or U.S. dollars. Investors hold it for diversification and as a store of value, although its price can fall and its returns do not consistently track inflation. Bullion ETFs have made it easier to invest without arranging storage for bars or coins.

To see how the purchasing power of Canadian dollars has changed, try WOWA’s inflation calculator.

For direct exposure to gold, compare bullion funds: ZGLD and CGL.C are unhedged, while KILO and CGL hedge currency exposure to CAD. For exposure to gold producers, compare XGD’s index strategy with GLCC’s covered calls. Within each group, consider fees, trading costs and returns.

No. The trading currency determines how you pay for the units; currency hedging determines whether the fund aims to offset exchange-rate movements. ZGLD and CGL.C trade in CAD without hedging, while CGL and KILO trade in CAD with hedging.

Bullion does not generate income, though a bullion fund may occasionally make a distribution for tax or other fund-related reasons. Mining ETFs can distribute dividends received from companies they own. Covered-call funds also collect option premiums, and their distributions may include several tax components.

Gold has a long history as a store of value, but it does not reliably track inflation over shorter periods. Interest rates, exchange rates and investor demand also affect its price. Our inflation guide explains how changes in consumer prices are measured.

A change in gold prices can produce a much larger percentage change in a miner’s profit when costs stay stable. Mining shares also react to production problems, financing needs and other business risks. A mining ETF’s returns therefore need not match the gold price.

A bullion ETF gives you ownership of fund units backed by gold, with ongoing fund expenses and trading costs. Buying bars or coins gives you direct possession, with dealer markups, storage and security costs. A mining ETF holds company shares and provides a different type of exposure.

The comparisons focus on four bullion ETFs and two gold producer ETFs with substantial assets. Smaller funds and additional unit classes are not listed separately; the KILO profile explains its other currency options.

Use WOWA’s capital gains tax calculator to estimate tax on a gain. Tax treatment depends on the account and the nature of your investment activity. For fund distributions, refer to your tax slips, which identify the different income components.