A new alternative trading system is on the horizon for Canadian equity markets, promising innovations such as fractional trading and extended trading hours.
A notice published by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) sets out a proposal for the launch of a new ATS from CIX Trading Inc. The notice says that its “mission is to foster innovation within the Canadian equity capital markets by enhancing market efficiency, improving liquidity, and increasing accessibility across investor segments.”
According to the notice, the firm — which will trade securities listed on the TSX, TSXV, CSE, and CBOE Canada — will operate three trading books, two “hybrid lit” books (ASPEN and ASPEN VERT) and one dark book (ASPEN MIDPOINT).
The ASPEN VERT book “will support fractional and odd lot trading in a combined … special terms book,” the notice said — noting that, while certain dealers provide fractional trading internally, this would be the first market to offer fractional trading.
“Incoming tradeable fractional and odd lot orders will automatically execute against a fractional liquidity provider (FLP) at the opposite side of the market,” the notice explained. “Fractional orders only trade with the designated FLP. They do not trade with other orders in the book.”
Additionally, the system will allow non-tradeable fractional orders to be entered, which will become tradeable “once their limit price is the price of the opposite side of the market, at which time they will automatically be executed…”
The ASPEN book would allow trading involving both board lots and odd lots in a combined mixed lot book that allows traders to use a minimum order size of one.
“This functionality is unique in Canada as marketplaces that currently offer odd lot trading do so by means of a special terms book dedicated to odd lot trading that does not interact with the regular order book,” the notice said.
The ATS will also offer extended trading hours, which would run from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (Eastern time), for the ASPEN and ASPEN VERT books.
The notice is out for comment until Jan. 5, 2026.