Silver ETFs in Canada: How They Compare to Physical Silver

Last reviewed: November 11, 2026. Sources are linked in the text.

This article is general educational information only, not investment, tax or legal advice, and not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any specific security. Exchange traded funds (ETFs) and closed end trusts are securities, not bullion, even when they hold physical metal. Gold in Canada is not a registered investment dealer or adviser and gives no personalized financial advice. Gold in Canada has no paid partnership, sponsorship or commission arrangement with any fund manager, ETF or trust named here, a different relationship from the site’s disclosed bullion dealer partnerships, identified separately wherever they appear. Read the fund’s own prospectus and talk to a licensed advisor before acting on anything below.

What a silver ETF or trust actually is

A silver exchange traded fund or closed end trust is a security that trades on an exchange and settles through a brokerage account, the same way a company’s shares do. A unit is a claim on the fund’s assets under a prospectus, not direct ownership of a bar or coin with the investor’s name on it. Some funds back that claim with physically allocated bullion. Others use futures contracts. Others hold shares of silver mining companies instead of metal at all. These are structurally different products, even though all three get called “silver investments,” and the difference matters for what is actually owned and what risk is taken on.

Currently listed Canadian silver funds, verified against each manager’s own site

Checked directly on each manager’s own fact sheet or product page, not a third party blog, on November 11, 2026.

iShares Silver Bullion ETF (SVR, hedged; SVR.C, non hedged), BlackRock Canada

Both units trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The fund holds unencumbered physical silver bullion in 1,000 troy ounce bars. As at August 31, 2026, the portfolio was 99.0% bullion, with the balance in cash and other assets. The MER was 0.66% as of June 30, 2026. The fund started July 15, 2009 (BlackRock Canada, SVR ETF Facts, October 22, 2026; SVR.C ETF Facts, October 22, 2026).

Sprott Physical Silver Trust (PSLV), a closed end trust, not an ETF

PSLV is a closed end trust under Ontario law, listed on NYSE Arca and, in Canadian and US dollar unit classes, on the TSX. Bullion is held by the Royal Canadian Mint. Sprott’s own fact sheet (as of September 30, 2026) shows silver held equal to 99.9% of net asset value, with 207,194,980 total ounces against 608,052,775 units, so each unit represents roughly a third of an ounce. The MER was 0.52% for the period ended June 30, 2026. PSLV lets unitholders redeem units for physical silver monthly, subject to minimums, and Sprott’s own prospectus warns that registered plans doing that in kind redemption, rather than simply selling units, may face adverse tax consequences (Sprott Physical Silver Trust fact sheet, data as of September 30, 2026).

Purpose Silver Bullion Fund (SBT, FX hedged; SBT.B, non hedged; SBT.U, US dollar), Purpose Investments Inc.

An open end mutual fund trust with an ETF series on the TSX. It holds unencumbered silver bullion in 1,000 ounce bars, fully allocated and segregated at a Canadian chartered bank. The management fee on the ETF (FX hedged) series is 0.40%, with $117.9 million in assets and a $25.30 NAV per unit as at November 6, 2026, per Purpose’s own fund page. Purpose’s continuous offering prospectus states units are intended to be qualified investments for RRSPs, RRIFs, DPSPs, RDSPs, RESPs and TFSAs, while telling investors to confirm with a tax advisor (Purpose Investments, Silver Bullion Fund overview page, accessed November 11, 2026).

Global X Silver ETF (HUZ), futures based, not bullion backed

HUZ holds no physical silver. It tracks the Solactive Silver Front Month MD Rolling Futures Index through forward agreements referencing COMEX silver futures, with cash held as collateral. Global X’s own product page lists a management fee of 0.65%, an MER of 0.85% as at June 30, 2026, and eligibility for “all registered and non-registered investment accounts” (Global X Investments Canada Inc., HUZ product page, accessed November 11, 2026). Because it rolls futures monthly instead of holding metal, its return can diverge from spot depending on contango or backwardation at each roll.

Global X Silver Miners Index ETF (SLVX), mining equity

Launched May 13, 2026 on the TSX. SLVX holds no silver; it replicates the Solactive Global Silver Miners Index, a basket of global silver producers, developers and explorers. The management fee is 0.50%. Because the fund is new, its ETF Facts lists MER, total value and trading history as not yet available (Global X SLVX ETF Facts, April 21, 2026). A fact checker revisiting this guide after SLVX completes a full year should pull an updated ETF Facts for a published MER.

Note: there is currently no “BMO Junior Silver Mining ETF.” BMO’s dedicated precious metals ETF lineup is gold only (ZGD and ZJG), per BMO’s own gold ETF page. BMO’s silver exposure is limited to a mutual fund, BMO Precious Metals Fund, 86.8% gold and 5.4% silver by sector weight per its own Fund Facts, and to BMO Bullion, a direct physical purchase program, not a fund or security (BMO Global Asset Management, gold ETFs page; BMO Bullion, silver program page, accessed November 11, 2026). SLVX, not a BMO product, is the real example of a Canadian listed silver mining equity ETF.

ETF versus closed end trust: a real structural difference

A conventional ETF, like SVR, SBT or HUZ, is open end: the manager creates or redeems units most trading days, keeping market price close to net asset value within a small bid ask spread. PSLV is closed end, so its unit count does not adjust the same way, and its market price can trade at a premium or discount to net asset value, a figure Sprott discloses itself (minus 5.97% as of the date shown). PSLV’s other distinguishing feature is the monthly physical redemption option described above, which open end bullion ETFs generally do not offer.

Silver ETF or trust versus physical silver: storage, bulk and liquidity

The case for a silver ETF or trust over bars or coins rests on three points, and silver’s low price per ounce relative to gold makes the first weigh more heavily than for gold.

• Bulk and storage. Silver’s value per ounce is a small fraction of gold’s, so a given dollar amount of physical silver is far heavier and bulkier than the same amount in gold. Using Sprott’s own PSLV figures as of September 30, 2026 (207,194,980 ounces against 608,052,775 units), each unit represents roughly 0.34 ounces, about 10.6 grams. Scale that to a meaningful position held as loose bars or coins, and the real weight has to be stored and insured somewhere; a fund unit carries none of that physical footprint.
• Liquidity. Fund units trade on an exchange during market hours at a quoted bid and ask, like a stock. Selling physical silver means finding a dealer, agreeing a price, and often waiting on assay or settlement, typically slower and with a wider buy sell spread.
• GST/HST works through a different mechanism, not the same exemption. Under the Excise Tax Act, a “precious metal” (a silver bar, ingot, coin or wafer refined to at least 99.9% purity, gold and platinum to 99.5%) is a financial instrument, and its sale is generally exempt from GST/HST (Government of Canada, GST/HST Memorandum 17-1, July 2026). A fund unit is also a financial instrument, but as a security, under a separate part of the same definition, not because the metal inside meets the purity test. Buying fund units on an exchange never involves that test; the exemptions share a label but not a mechanism.

What a fund unit does not give an investor is direct possession of metal: no bar with a serial number belonging solely to that investor, no delivery on demand (PSLV’s in kind redemption is the partial exception, with minimums and tax caveats attached), and ongoing exposure to the fund manager and custodian continuing to operate as described in the prospectus.

Bullion, futures and mining equities track different things

SVR, SBT and PSLV hold physical bullion, so returns track spot silver closely, minus fees. HUZ holds silver futures through forward agreements, so its return tracks a rolling futures index, which can run ahead of or behind spot depending on contango or backwardation at each roll, plus its own fee drag. SLVX holds mining company shares, so its return depends on those companies’ revenue, costs and operations as well as the silver price; a mining equity fund can fall while silver rises if the companies execute poorly, or rise by more than silver if operating leverage works in its favour. They answer different questions: the metal’s price, a futures market’s pricing of it, or the business performance of companies that mine it.

Frequently asked questions

Is a silver ETF the same as owning silver?

No. A silver ETF or trust unit is a security representing a claim on the fund’s assets under a prospectus. SVR, SBT and PSLV back that claim with physically allocated bullion, so their value tracks the metal’s price closely, but the investor holds a security, not a bar or coin. HUZ holds futures contracts rather than metal, and SLVX holds mining shares rather than metal.

Can I hold a silver ETF in my RRSP or TFSA?

Generally, securities listed on a designated stock exchange, a list the Department of Finance maintains that includes the TSX and NYSE Arca, are qualified investments for RRSPs, RRIFs, RESPs, RDSPs, FHSAs and TFSAs under the Income Tax Act (Government of Canada, Income Tax Folio S3-F10-C1). This is a general tax rule, not a guarantee from any single fund manager, and a security can lose qualified status in some circumstances, with tax consequences for the account holder. Confirm current eligibility with the plan trustee or issuer before buying.

What is the difference between an ETF and a closed end trust like Sprott’s?

A conventional ETF is open end, so ongoing creation and redemption of units tends to keep market price close to net asset value. PSLV is a closed end trust, so its market price can trade at a premium or discount to net asset value, a figure Sprott publishes itself. PSLV also offers a feature most open end bullion ETFs do not: unitholders can redeem units for actual physical silver monthly, subject to minimums, though Sprott’s own prospectus flags possible adverse tax consequences for registered plans that do this.

Why might someone choose a silver ETF over physical bars, given how bulky silver is?

Silver’s low price per ounce relative to gold means a dollar amount of physical silver is far heavier and bulkier to store, insure and sell than the same amount in gold. A bullion backed fund unit, such as SVR, SBT or PSLV, removes that handling burden, since the metal sits in vault on behalf of unitholders and the unit trades with ordinary stock market liquidity. The trade off is giving up direct possession of metal for management fees and counterparty and custody arrangements, a question for a licensed advisor, not a general answer.

Sources

• BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited, SVR and SVR.C ETF Facts, October 22, 2026.
• Sprott Asset Management LP, PSLV fact sheet (September 30, 2026) and PSLV prospectus.
• Purpose Investments Inc., Silver Bullion Fund overview page and brochure (September 30, 2026), Fund Facts (May 13, 2026) and prospectus (June 4, 2021).
• Global X Investments Canada Inc., HUZ product page, SLVX ETF Facts (April 21, 2026) and press release (May 13, 2026).
• BMO Global Asset Management, gold ETFs page; BMO Precious Metals Fund Fund Facts, Series I (May 28, 2025); BMO Bullion silver page.
• Canada Revenue Agency, GST/HST Memorandum 17-1, “Definition of Financial Instrument,” July 2026.
• Canada Revenue Agency, Income Tax Folio S3-F10-C1, “Qualified Investments, RRSPs, RESPs, RRIFs, RDSPs, FHSAs and TFSAs.”
• Department of Finance Canada, “Designated Stock Exchanges” page.