The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) reported a year-over-year increase in monetary sanctions in fiscal 2026, according to its annual enforcement report published Wednesday.
The industry self-regulatory organization (SRO) reported that its hearing panels imposed $7.6 million in fines, disgorgement and cost orders against individuals in the latest fiscal year, up from $7.2 million last year. Monetary sanctions against firms also rose to $8.7 million from $3.1 million in 2025.
CIRO’s collection rate for sanctions against individuals increased to 18% this year from 16% in 2025.
In addition to the monetary sanctions, CIRO noted that suspensions and permanent bans were imposed against individual reps in a “majority” of the enforcement proceedings.
“In the past year, CIRO’s enforcement team has continued to pursue cases that address serious misconduct and deliver a strong regulatory message, so regulated firms and individuals know the consequences of violating regulations and investors can feel confident investing for their futures,” Alexandra Williams, senior vice-president of strategy, innovation and stakeholder protection at CIRO, said in a release.
While monetary sanctions increased, the number of investigations completed by the SRO dropped, and a lower proportion of cases were referred to CIRO’s prosecution group.
CIRO completed 151 investigations with 31% referred to prosecution, compared to 176 investigations and a 34% referral rate last year.
In 2026, the investigations ended with 39 decisions against individuals, down from 50 last year, while decisions against firms went up to nine from seven.
The SRO received 6,692 complaints from sources including the public, whistleblowers, the Complaints and Settlement Reporting System, commissions and other regulators, and internal CIRO departments. This was an increase from 4,127 complaints received last year and 3,408 in 2024.
In February 2025, CIRO changed the complaints reporting system for mutual fund dealers, which pushed up the number of complaints lodged for 2026. That’s because ComSet, the new system, includes service-related issues and other events not previously captured under the old system.
“These additional events did not raise regulatory concerns or increase the number of enforcement cases opened,” the report said.
The leading cause of complaints in 2026 was unsuitable investments (17%), followed by supervision (16%), and unauthorized and discretionary trading (13%).
In the past year, CIRO launched its disgorgement distribution program where disgorged funds are directly distributed to investors who suffered financial losses as a result of misconduct in applicable cases.
Correction: A previous version of this article mentioned cases that were referred to law enforcement. In fact, they were referred to CIRO’s prosecution group.