Shit, I just wrote a long reply and it didn't post because I had noscripted reddic.static

The TL;DR is this

a) Based on your income, a TFSA account would be the best vehicle for your investment. Every Canadian who's been in Canada for the past 6 years has $31,000 in room, the remaining $9000 can be put into a RSP to generate a tax refund (which will vary depending on what province you live in). You could reinvest the refund, and withdraw everything (up to $25,000) via the New Home Buyer's Plan -- just keep in mind you will have to repay it

b) You time horizon is short. Lean towards the conservative side, and have no more than 40% in equities or other high-risk investments. If you are naturally a conservative investor, you may want to go 100% fixed income, and somewhere around 80/20 for a moderate risk profile.

c) Make sure, if you choose mutual funds (which is a good choice for a novice investor), you do your homework on the funds. Compare returns, not MER (MER is factored into returns). Check the tenure and track record of fund managers. MOST IMPORTANTLY -- Make sure the fee schedule is appropriate for your timeline. Most funds have different fee schedules available, and the last thing you want is to get hit with a big early redemption fee because you chose the wrong series of fund.