Before you start

Passport and immigration document
Proof of a Canadian address, though some newcomer packages waive this initially
Social Insurance Number, for interest-bearing and registered accounts
An initial deposit for a secured credit card, in most cases

Step-by-step

1
Open a chequing account on a newcomer package
RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO, CIBC and ATB Financial all run newcomer offers that waive monthly fees for a period and accept applicants without Canadian credit history. Several can be started from abroad before you fly.
In personWho: YouWeek 1
2
Look at ATB Financial and Servus Credit Union, which only exist here
ATB is owned by the Government of Alberta and operates only within the province; Servus is one of Canada's largest credit unions and is Alberta-based. Neither appears on an internationally written list of Canadian banks, and for anyone intending to stay in Alberta both are worth comparing against the Big Five.
In personWho: You
3
Ask by name whether an unsecured newcomer credit card is available
Most major banks will issue an unsecured card to a recent immigrant on the strength of the immigration document and employment, without any Canadian score — but staff frequently default to offering the secured version with a deposit. Ask specifically; it can save several months of score-building and a locked-up deposit.
In personWho: YouWeek 1–2
4
Use the card lightly and pay it in full every month
A Canadian score is built from consistent low utilisation and on-time payment over time. A small recurring charge paid off automatically is more effective than sporadic large purchases. There is no faster legitimate route and a usable score takes six to twelve months.
Mobile appWho: You
5
Open a TFSA and check when your contribution room actually started
Room accrues only from the year you became a Canadian resident, not from the scheme's inception in 2009. Over-contributing on the assumption of full historic room is penalised monthly and the CRA does find it.
OnlineWho: You
6
Set up a specialist service for international transfers
Canadian banks charge substantial fees and poor spreads on cross-border transfers. Arrange an alternative before you need to move a rental deposit or a house deposit rather than after seeing the spread.
Mobile appWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport
Work permit or Confirmation of Permanent Residence
Social Insurance Number
Proof of Edmonton address
Employment letter, sometimes requested for credit products

Things most newcomers don’t know

Your credit history does not transfer, and in Edmonton it gates renting as well as borrowing.

Whatever your record elsewhere, in Canada you start as a blank file. Alberta landlords run credit checks as a matter of course, and a newcomer competing for a good flat against applicants with Canadian scores is at a real disadvantage. The remedy is time plus deliberate activity started in month one — and in the meantime, offering a foreign credit report, an employment letter and additional rent in advance is the practical workaround. Say up front that you have no Canadian file rather than letting the check come back empty and unexplained.

Source: Financial Consumer Agency of Canada; community-reported

ATB Financial is a provincially owned bank that exists only in Alberta.

It is not a credit union and not a Big Five branch — it is owned by the Government of Alberta, operates only within the province, and has branches in communities the national banks have left. Newcomers working from an internationally written list of Canadian banks never encounter it, and neither do they encounter Servus, one of the country's largest credit unions and Alberta-based. For anyone intending to stay, both are worth comparing.

Source: community-reported

Ask for the newcomer credit card by name — it is rarely volunteered.

Most major banks have a specific named product that issues an unsecured card to a recent immigrant on the strength of immigration documents and employment, with no Canadian score required. Branch staff frequently default to offering the secured card, which ties up a deposit and takes longer to build history. Asking directly is a two-minute conversation that can save several months.

Source: community-reported

TFSA room starts the year you become resident, not the year the scheme did.

Canadians accumulate contribution room every year since 2009 and the cumulative figure is large enough to be tempting. Newcomers accrue it only from the year of arrival. The over-contribution penalty is charged monthly on the excess and the CRA does find it. This is among the most common expensive mistakes newcomers make with Canadian financial products, and it is entirely avoidable by checking your own room in the CRA account before contributing.

Source: Canada Revenue Agency

Common mistakes to avoid

Waiting months to start building credit and then needing it for a rental application.
Accepting a secured card without asking whether an unsecured newcomer card exists.
Never considering ATB or Servus because they were not on an internationally written list.
Over-contributing to a TFSA on the assumption of full historic room.
Letting the newcomer fee waiver lapse into a paid monthly plan unnoticed.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.