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Which Canadian stocks have options, and how do you check?

Canadian stock options trade on the Montreal Exchange. Not every TSX stock has them. The quickest check is your broker's option chain; the official one is the exchange's own list of option classes.

Options guide · 8-minute read · Updated 2026-10-28

The short answer

Options on Canadian stocks and ETFs are listed on the Montreal Exchange, often called M-X. It's part of TMX Group, the same company that runs the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Only some TSX stocks have options. They tend to be the larger, busier names: the big banks, energy companies, railways, telecoms, and a few tech names. A small TSX stock usually has no options at all.

The trades work the same as in the US. One contract covers 100 shares. Prices are in Canadian dollars. Canadian stock options can be exercised any day before expiry. So a Covered call or a Cash-secured put on a Canadian stock is the same deal you'd make in the wheel strategy anywhere else.

How to check if a stock has options

Three ways, from quickest to most official.

1. Your broker's option chain. Type the TSX symbol and open the options tab. If there's no chain, there are no listed options. If a chain shows US prices, you've opened the US listing by mistake.
2. The Montreal Exchange website. M-X publishes the list of option classes it trades, with the symbol and the expiries on offer. This is the place to confirm a name, and to see if it has weekly expiries or only monthly ones.
3. The stock's quote page on a Canadian financial site. Many show an options link when options exist.

If a stock has no options in Montreal but trades in New York too, it may have US options. That's a different contract in US dollars. See "interlisted stocks" below.

The criteria, before any name

Having options isn't enough. For selling, a name has to pass these checks:

• A business you'd own through a bad year. You may end up holding the shares.
• Enough Open interest at the strikes you'd use. A few hundred contracts is a better sign than a few dozen.
• A narrow bid-ask gap. The gap is what you give up to get in and out. On a small premium, a wide gap can take a big share of it.
• Strikes close enough together that you can pick one near your cost, not five dollars away.
• No earnings inside your trade, unless you mean to hold through it.
• A share price that fits your account. One contract means 100 shares. A $60 stock ties up $6,000 per put.

The kind of names that tend to have options

These are examples of the large Canadian names that tend to have Montreal options. Confirm any of them on the exchange's list of option classes before you trade. No ticker here is a recommendation.

• The big banks: Royal Bank (RY), TD (TD), Scotiabank (BNS). See covered calls on Canadian bank stocks.
• Energy and pipelines: Enbridge (ENB), Suncor (SU), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ).
• Railways: Canadian National (CNR).
• Tech: Shopify (SHOP).
• A broad ETF: the iShares S&P/TSX 60 fund (XIU).

Liquidity even among these varies a lot. Check the chain on the day you trade. For the accounts, brokers and tax around these trades, see my map of selling options in Canada.

Why Canadian options are thinner

The Canadian market is much smaller than the US one. Fewer traders means fewer contracts change hands. You'll notice it in three places:

• Wider bid-ask gaps. On a quiet strike, the gap can be a big slice of the premium.
• Fewer strikes and expiries. Many names have monthly expiries only.
• Thin open interest away from the money. Strikes far from the price may have almost none.

The exchange uses market makers who post quotes, so there's usually a price. It just may not be a good one. Use a limit order near the middle of the bid and ask, never a market order. My guide to checking option liquidity shows what to look for on the chain.

A worked example: the spread cost, then the drop (hypothetical)

All numbers are made up.

You own 100 shares of a made-up Canadian stock, XYZ, at $50. On the Montreal chain, the 30-day $53 call shows $0.80 bid, $1.10 ask. The middle is $0.95.

You sell at the bid, $0.80, without trying for the middle. You collect $80 instead of $95. That's −$15 to the gap before anything happens.

A week later you want out. The call now shows $0.50 bid, $0.80 ask. You buy back at the ask, $0.80. You paid $80 to close a call you sold for $80. The gap ate all of it.

Now the case where you don't close, and XYZ drops:

Selling at the middle would have added $15 to every row. That's real money on a small premium, but it doesn't change the $40 row much. On a thin chain, the gap is the cost you control. The stock is the risk you don't.

Interlisted stocks: two chains, one company

Many large Canadian companies trade on both the TSX and a US exchange. Most of the big banks, for example. Those names often have two option chains:

The US chain is often easier to trade. But it needs US dollars, and your call has to match the shares you hold. Shares bought on the TSX back a Montreal call. Our CDR options explained page covers a third route: Canadian-dollar options on receipts for big US companies.

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