2026 Canadian Banking Bonus Report:
How Much Are Canadians Leaving on the Table?

Bremo Research — Published April 23, 2026 — Methodology: See below

Key Finding: Canadians who open all currently active Big Five and digital bank accounts in 2026 can claim ,545 in welcome bonuses — without investing a dollar in the market.

Overview

Every year, Canada's major banks and digital financial institutions spend hundreds of millions of dollars in customer acquisition incentives — commonly called welcome bonuses or signup bonuses. Bremo tracked and verified every active offer for the 2026 calendar year, analyzing which bonuses require direct deposit, minimum balances, or spending thresholds, and calculating the maximum achievable payout for a single Canadian household.

,545Total claimable bonuses (2026)
23Active bonus offers tracked
Average bonus per account
8.4%YoY increase from 2025

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Complete 2026 Canadian Bank Bonus Tracker

InstitutionBonus AmountTypeRequirementDifficulty
CIBC Smart AccountChequingDirect deposit, 3 monthsEasy
Scotiabank Preferred PackageChequingDirect deposit, 3 monthsEasy
BMO Performance PlanChequingDirect deposit, 2 monthsEasy
Simplii FinancialChequingDirect deposit, 3 monthsEasy
TD Unlimited ChequingChequingDirect deposit, 3 monthsEasy
RBC Signature No LimitChequingDirect deposit, 3 monthsEasy
National Bank ChequingChequingDirect deposit, 3 monthsEasy
HSBC/RBC TransitionChequingBalance transferMedium
TangerineSavingsNew deposit +Easy
EQ BankSavingsFirst deposit +Easy
KOHO (via referral)PrepaidSpend on cardVery Easy
Neo FinancialPrepaid/CardFirst purchaseVery Easy
Wealthsimple CashCash AccountReferral linkVery Easy
PC Money AccountPrepaidNew accountVery Easy
Manulife BankSavingsNew deposit ,000Medium
Oaken FinancialSavings/GICNew deposit ,000Easy
Questrade (investing) tradesInvestmentFund account ,000Medium
Wealthsimple (investing) cashInvestmentReferral, fund accountEasy
goPeer (borrower)Fee waiverLendingFunded loanMedium
BorrowellFree creditMonitoringSign upVery Easy
Neo MortgageMortgageFunded mortgageHard
nestoRate matchMortgageFunded mortgageHard
RatehubInsurancePolicy purchaseMedium

Year-over-Year Comparison

YearTotal Bonuses AvailableAverage BonusNumber of Offers
2022,10018
2023,20020
2024,35021
2025,95022
2026,54523
The average Canadian household that does not actively claim bank welcome bonuses leaves approximately ,545 unclaimed every year. Over a 10-year period, this compounds to over ,000 in missed cash incentives — comparable to a year's salary for many Canadians.

Provincial Adoption Rates (Estimated)

Based on DreamHost web analytics and referral data, Bremo estimates the following regional distribution of bank bonus utilization:

ProvinceEstimated Utilization RateAverage Bonuses Claimed
British Columbia18%3.2 per household
Ontario22%3.8 per household
Alberta15%2.9 per household
Quebec11%2.1 per household
Nova Scotia9%1.8 per household
Manitoba8%1.7 per household
Saskatchewan7%1.6 per household
New Brunswick7%1.5 per household
PEI6%1.3 per household
Newfoundland5%1.1 per household

Key Findings

About This Study

Bremo (bremo.io) is a Canadian personal finance comparison platform founded in 2025. This report was compiled by tracking every publicly available bank account welcome bonus in Canada from January 1 to April 23, 2026. Bonus amounts reflect the maximum achievable by a single Canadian household. Requirements listed are simplified; full terms apply at each institution's website.

Media inquiries: amos@bremo.io

Data access: Full dataset available to verified journalists. Contact amos@bremo.io with press credentials.

Methodology: Bremo researchers monitored bank bonus landing pages, promotional emails, and aggregator sites daily from January through April 2026. Amounts were verified against each institution's official Terms and Conditions as of the publication date. Year-over-year data was compiled from archived tracking records. Provincial utilization estimates are based on anonymized referral traffic analytics and are approximate. This report has not been sponsored by any financial institution.