Canadian leverage limits exist for a reason: leverage is how retail accounts die. Here's the framework that keeps accounts alive.
Risk per trade
Risk a fixed fraction of equity per trade — 1% is the common professional standard, 0.5% while learning. At 1% risk, it takes 10 consecutive losses to draw down roughly 10%. At 10% risk, three losses put you down a quarter of your account.
Position sizing, not gut feel
Size from your stop distance: position size = (equity × risk %) ÷ stop distance in currency terms. The stop comes from the chart; the size comes from the math. Never the other way around.
Always use a hard stop
Mental stops fail exactly when they're needed — in fast markets. Place the order. This also protects you from gap risk over weekends and news.
Drawdown rules
Define in advance what happens at -5% and -10% monthly drawdown (reduce size; stop trading and review). Deciding during the drawdown doesn't work — that's the whole point of deciding before.
Leverage is exposure, not opportunity
Using the maximum available leverage isn't a strategy. Most consistently profitable retail traders use a fraction of what regulation permits.