Silver and gold bars in a safe deposit room in Munich, Germany, on Wednesday. In times of uncertainty, people tend to flock to safe-haven assets such as gold.Angelika Warmuth/Reuters
The price of gold has been on a hot streak the past year, rallying to another record high in January.
Political instability, economic uncertainty, market expectations for U.S. interest rates moves and central banks increasing their gold purchases amid a global de-dollarization trend have all combined to push the commodity to prices never seen before.
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In the latest record broken on Jan. 28, spot gold increased to US$5,300 ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s rate decision – after prices surpassed US$5,000 for the first time two days earlier.
All of that has investors wondering how they can get in on the gold rush. Here’s what you need to know if you’re interested in gold investing in Canada.
Why is gold so expensive?
In times of geopolitical tensions and uncertainty, people tend to flock to safe-haven assets such as gold. For example, gold surged 518 per cent between July, 1976, and February, 1980, when investors were rattled by world events such as the Iran hostage crisis, the global oil crisis, the overthrow of Argentina President Isabel Perón and the death of Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office last year aggravated tensions worldwide when he began imposing tariffs, disrupting a long-standing practice of open and free trade between countries.
Global tensions have been further strained by Mr. Trump’s attacks on the independence of the U.S. central bank and his threats against countries opposed to his pursuit of Greenland.
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At the same time, the U.S. dollar, the world’s reserve currency, is falling against a basket of global currencies while central banks add more gold to their reserves and governments strain budgets as they beef up their defence spending.
Gold is priced in U.S. dollars. So a weakening in that currency makes it cheaper and more attractive for overseas investors to buy the commodity. One of the biggest influences on gold is that it moves inversely to what the U.S. dollar is doing.
How to buy gold in Canada
There are a handful of ways you could invest in gold in Canada.
The first way is to buy physical bullion, usually in the form of bars, coins and ingots. Bullion can be purchased at your bank, through brokers and online stores, from the Royal Canadian Mint and at many jewelry stores – even Costco carries gold bars.
Bullion differs from jewellery as it is a pure form of the precious metal and not meant for numismatic or artistic purposes. Gold in jewellery, on the other hand, is purely aesthetic and often includes the cost of labour and other metals and precious metals and stones.
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track the price of gold bullion is another way to invest in the commodity. Investing in shares of mining companies is an indirect way of cashing in on the gold rush.
Even if you haven’t bought any of the above, if you’re invested in index funds that track the S&P/TSX 60 and the S&P/TSX Composite Index, you’ve inadvertently got exposure to the commodity. The materials sector, which is comprised mostly of mining stocks, is one of the TSX’s most heavily weighted sectors.
Gold bars and coins at Baird & Co. in London in October, 2025. Physical bullion is usually available in the form of bars, coins and ingots.Hiba Kola/Reuters
Will gold continue to rally?
Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are bullish, expecting the gold rally to continue through 2026. It has already climbed more than 17 per cent so far in January.
Deutsche Bank said gold could hit US$6,000 per ounce this year, but in alternate scenarios it could go as high as US$6,900. Morgan Stanley forecasts a bull-case target of US$5,700 while Goldman Sachs said it sees upside risk to its gold forecast of US$5,400 by the end of the year.
UBS on Thursday increased its price target to US$6,200 per ounce for March, June and September 2026, compared with a prior forecast of $5,000.
However, the bank projected a modest decline to $5,900 per ounce by end-2026.
It’s important to note that there is always risk when investing in any asset, even gold. Assessing your risk tolerance and doing your research is paramount.
With files from Darcy Keith, David Berman and Reuters