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.
Related broker reviews
Want to compare your options in more depth? Read our full VT Markets review (9.3/10) and StarTrader review (9.1/10), or see how they stack up head-to-head in our VT Markets vs StarTrader comparison.
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.