I have used Questrade, TOS, IB, VB, NBDB. I highly recommend the OP to stick with either Questrade or TOS. No offense, but if you have issues paying $10 on entry or exit, you need a better edge/strategy.
IB has tons of 3rd party software. They are a really good brokerage for canadians in my opinion. Aaaand its available in BC. Their ui doesnt suck that much ( its very customizable) but like I said there is plenty of software that connects to IB so take your pick.
Gotcha: I've been looking at Sierra Charts. Am I wrong, but this seems to really be a CHARTING software. I know that it can trade futures, but I have not been able to find anything online of how to trade options with it. Could you please advise if you know if that can be done??
My apologies for not reading your original question more thoroughly. Yes, Sierra doesn't do options. I feel that IB does them well enough, but at the same time, when I trade futures, IB is miles behind the customization in Sierra, so I imagine that other platforms that do options probably can do it much better than IB.
OK, thanks a lot. I watched some Sierra videos and I really like the program. (Thanks! -- lol) Seriously though... I'm sitting and playing around with IB TWS and it is becoming easier for me to use now. I think it is just a learning curve that I'm experiencing. I still like TOS for options WAY better. But, I think I might just fund and account with both brokerages. Seeing how TOS doesn't charge for their data feeds or anything, then I'll just do some minor trading in TOS and the majority of my trading in IB. Actually, TOS isn't bad for 4-leg option strategies in Canada. Just the 2-legs are bad because their minimum trade amount is $5.00. With only $1.25 per contract, on a 1-lot, 2-leg strategy, I would be paying $2.50 per contract because there is a $5.00 minimum. Oh, well. It is what it is I guess. And in Canada, the rules have created a closed market with limited players. Therefore, outside brokerages aren't willing to come into Canada.
Yes, I think Canadian firms are really behind the ball in terms of fees and commissions. With Questrade, data fees are huge, and with IB, I am getting pretty much all I need for $10 per month. Questrade is clearly not meant for trading, more so for investing, but the differences are still quite pronounced. I have no experience with TOS so I can't comment. I do also agree that after a bit more experience, IB is manageable, but its just overly complicated compared to Sierra that is simpler, and yet more powerful and offers more customization. And yes, the rules seem to be the problem in Canada, and even rules between individual provinces differ greatly. Also, check out AMP. For Ontario customers, I think they have most of their platforms available, and they certainly seem to offer very many platforms. But I'm not sure about their pricing structure. IB is incredibly cheap if you ask me, without having to even ask for better rates.