How the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation protects your money — $100,000 per category, what's covered, and how to maximize your protection
The Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) is a federal Crown corporation created in 1967 to protect Canadians' deposits if a member financial institution fails. CDIC is funded by premiums paid by member institutions (not by taxpayers) and has enough reserves to cover the vast majority of potential failures.
CDIC protection is automatic — you don't need to apply or register. If your money is on deposit at a CDIC member institution in an eligible account type, it's insured. As of 2025, CDIC has 83 member institutions and has handled 43 member failures in its history, with every depositor receiving full reimbursement on insured deposits.
CDIC insures up to $100,000 per insured category per depositor at each member institution. The key insight: these categories are separate. A single person can have up to $600,000 insured at one CDIC member bank by holding funds across all six categories.
Chequing accounts, savings accounts, GICs held solely in your name.
Accounts held jointly with another person (e.g., spouse). Each joint depositor gets their own $100K protection.
All eligible deposits held in Registered Retirement Savings Plans.
All eligible deposits in Registered Retirement Income Funds.
All eligible deposits in Tax-Free Savings Accounts.
Deposits held in trust for a specific named beneficiary. Each beneficiary gets separate coverage.
Not everything you hold at a bank is covered by CDIC. The following are explicitly excluded:
Note: The CIPF (Canadian Investor Protection Fund) protects investment accounts (stocks, bonds, mutual funds) at CIPF member firms up to $1 million per account category if the firm becomes insolvent. This is a separate protection from CDIC.
| Institution | Type |
|---|---|
| Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) | Big Six bank |
| TD Bank | Big Six bank |
| Scotiabank | Big Six bank |
| BMO | Big Six bank |
| CIBC | Big Six bank |
| National Bank | Major bank |
| EQ Bank (Equitable Bank) | Digital bank |
| Tangerine (Scotiabank) | Digital bank |
| Simplii Financial (CIBC) | Digital bank |
| Oaken Financial (Home Trust) | Digital bank |
| Peoples Bank of Canada | Schedule 1 bank |
| HSBC Canada (now RBC) | Bank |
Note: Credit unions (Meridian, Vancity, etc.) are NOT CDIC members — they have provincial insurance.
Each CDIC member institution provides separate $100,000 per category coverage. If you have $200,000 in savings, split it between EQ Bank ($100K TFSA) and Oaken Financial ($100K TFSA, which is a different CDIC member — Home Trust). Both are fully covered.
At a single CDIC member, hold: personal deposits ($100K), joint deposits ($100K), RRSP ($100K), RRIF ($100K), TFSA ($100K), and trust account ($100K) = $600,000 covered at one institution.
For very large deposits (over $600K), consider splitting funds across CDIC members AND provincial credit unions that offer unlimited coverage (Ontario FSRA, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba). This hybrid approach maximizes protection.