September 16, 2025 – A new survey by Pollara shows widespread frustration among Canadians with account transfer fees. Two-thirds (67%) feel it is unfair for financial institutions to charge a transfer fee for closing or moving financial accounts.
Not only are these fees an irritant, but they’re acting as a deterrent. Over one-in-five (22%) Canadians say potential fees have stopped them from transferring an investment account before, a figure that rises to 29% among people under 50.
The research also finds:
- There is widespread support for recent “consumer-friendly” actions taken by the federal government, including cell phone number portability (83% support), capping overdraft fees (80% support), and the Air Travellers Bill of Rights (78% support).
- 81% of Canadians would support mandating that financial companies eliminate fees for financial account transfers.
- 80% of Canadians would support forcing financial institutions to compensate customers if they take longer than a reasonable time period to complete an account transfer.
These findings come from a randomly selected online panel sample of N=3,000 adult (18+) Canadians conducted from June 19 to 25, 2025. For full survey results and detailed methodology, click here.
