Before you start

Passport and immigration document
Proof of a Quebec address
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 National Bank all run newcomer offers that waive fees for a period and accept applicants without Canadian credit history. Several can be started before you arrive.
In personWho: YouWeek 1
2
Consider Desjardins alongside the banks
Desjardins is a cooperative network, the largest financial institution in Quebec, and its branches are everywhere including small towns the national banks left. Members share in surplus earnings. Service is French-first, which for some newcomers is an advantage and for others a hurdle.
In personWho: You
3
Apply for a secured credit card immediately
You deposit a sum and receive a card with that limit. Used for small regular purchases and paid in full monthly, it builds a Canadian credit file from nothing. There is no faster legitimate route.
In personWho: YouWeek 1–2
4
Ask by name about newcomer credit cards without a deposit
Most banks will issue an unsecured card to a recent immigrant on the strength of the immigration document and employment, but branch staff often default to offering the secured version. Ask specifically.
In personWho: You
5
Open a TFSA and check when your room actually started
Contribution room accrues only from the year you became a Canadian resident, not from the scheme's inception. Over-contributing on the assumption of full historic room is penalised monthly and is a common newcomer mistake.
OnlineWho: You
6
Use a specialist service for international transfers
Canadian banks charge substantial fees and poor spreads on cross-border transfers. Set up a specialist service before you need to move a deposit rather than after seeing the spread.
Mobile appWho: You

Documents you’ll need

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

Things most newcomers don’t know

Your credit history genuinely does not transfer, and here it gates the lease as well as the loan.

Montreal landlords routinely ask for a credit check, mobile carriers require one or a deposit, and lenders will not look at a foreign record. Arriving with twenty years of spotless credit and being treated as a blank file is a real shock. The only remedy is time plus deliberate activity, which is why starting a secured card in month one matters far more than it appears to at the time.

Source: Financial Consumer Agency of Canada

Desjardins is not a small local option — it is the largest financial institution in Quebec.

The caisse network is cooperative rather than shareholder-owned, has branches in places the national banks have withdrawn from, and returns surplus to members. Newcomers arriving with a list of the Big Five often never consider it. Its service and documentation are French-first, which is either exactly what you want or an added difficulty, depending on where your French is.

Source: community-reported

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

Most major banks will issue an unsecured card to a recent immigrant on the strength of the immigration document and an employment letter, without any Canadian score. It is a specific named product at each bank, and staff frequently default to the secured card instead. Asking directly can save a deposit and several months of score-building.

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. 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, precisely because online advice is written for people who have always lived here.

Source: Canada Revenue Agency

Common mistakes to avoid

Waiting months to start building credit and then needing it for a lease application.
Accepting a secured card without asking whether an unsecured newcomer card exists.
Never considering Desjardins because it was 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.