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What to Do with Your Tax Refund: 5 Smart Moves for Canadians

  Tax Season · Personal Finance By MoneySavings.ca Editorial Team • May 7, 2026 • 7 min read Tax season is wrapping up across Canada, and for millions of Canadians, that means a refund cheque — or a direct deposit — is on its way. The average Canadian tax refund hovers around $1,800. That's real money. The question is: what's the smartest thing you can do with it? It's tempting to treat a tax refund like "found money" and splurge. But here's the truth — that refund was your money all along. The government was just holding it for you, interest-free. So before it quietly disappears into day-to-day spending, let's look at five moves that will make it work harder for you. $1,800 The average Canadian tax refund — enough to make a meaningful dent in debt, pad an emergency fund, or kick-start your TFSA for the year. 1 Pay Down High-Interest Debt First If you're carrying a balance on a credit card, this should be your very first call. Most Canadian credit car...
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Canadian Stocks Edge Higher, U.S. Markets Slip on Last Trading Day of 2023

 

Canadian stocks closed slightly higher on Friday, the last trading day of 2023, as gains in the industrials and utilities sectors offset losses in the energy and materials sectors. The S&P/TSX composite index rose 29.06 points, or 0.14%, to end at 20,958.44, capping off a year of strong performance amid the recovery from the pandemic.

Meanwhile, U.S. markets dipped as investors took profits and weighed the impact of the Omicron variant on the economic outlook. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 20.56 points, or 0.05%, to 37,689.54, while the S&P 500 index dropped 13.52 points, or 0.28%, to 4,769.83. The Nasdaq composite index, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, declined 83.78 points, or 0.56%, to 15,011.35.

The Canadian dollar traded lower against its U.S. counterpart, as the greenback strengthened on the back of higher Treasury yields. The loonie was down 0.08 cents at 75.61 cents US.

In commodities, oil prices edged lower as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies agreed to stick to their plan of gradually increasing output in January, despite concerns over the demand outlook. The February crude oil contract was down 12 cents at US$71.65 per barrel. Natural gas prices also slipped, with the February natural gas contract down four cents at US$2.51 per mmBTU.

Gold prices fell as the appetite for safe-haven assets waned, while copper prices also dropped amid a stronger U.S. dollar. The February gold contract was down US$11.70 at US$2,071.80 an ounce and the March copper contract was down three cents at US$3.89 a pound.

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