To manage your own funds for retirement, you'll need to open a discount or self-directed brokerage account.  There are a variety of providers in Canada, including all the Candian banks, many credit unions and other independent providers.  Discount brokerages allow you to manage your investments online by logging into a website or over the phone by speaking to one of their representatives.  Personally, I prefer BMO Investorline, but most discount brokerages offer similar services for similar prices.  Here's a list of other major discount brokerage offerings in Canada:

See Stingy Investor at this link for information on most of the discount brokerages offered in Canada.  Stingy Investor is also a great site for good Canadian investment articles, especially for those that want to follow a 'value' approach to investing.

 

After setting up your discount brokerage account, you'll of course need to fund it.  It's pretty simple to transfer funds with most of these providers.  For simplicity, most people tend to choose the discount brokerage offered by their main bank, i.e. if the majority of your banking is with CIBC, you'd sign up with CIBC Investor's Edge.  This is fine and convenient, but you should know that their are differences amongst these offerings, with some being more user friendly, some offering better access to research and others charging less for trades.

 

From here I recommend you move on to Basic Investment Strategy.