TFSA vs RRSP, the honest answer
Both accounts shelter growth from tax. The difference is timing. An RRSP gives you the deduction now and taxes you on withdrawal. A TFSA gives you no deduction now and never taxes you again. The math is symmetric only if your marginal rate is the same today and in retirement. If your rate is higher today (a high earner), RRSP wins. If your rate is lower today (early career, student, parent on leave), TFSA wins. Both can also be combined: RRSP for income smoothing, TFSA for flexibility.
You earn $60,000 and have $5,000 to invest. Marginal rate is around 30%. RRSP contribution gives a $1,500 refund. If you spend the refund, your net contribution to retirement was $5,000. If you reinvest the refund, your effective contribution is $6,500. Most Canadians forget step two and the RRSP quietly underperforms the TFSA they could have used instead.
Putting money in an RRSP and immediately spending the tax refund. The refund is not bonus cash, it is the tax you will owe when you withdraw in retirement. Reinvest it or the RRSP becomes a wash.
A 60-second lesson on this, with a worked drill, lives inside the Finlo app. Free, forever, on the basics.