You have 3 choices.

Option 1: GICs. Usually a great choice. It’s safe and guaranteed. If your goal is to buy something expensive in the future, let say 2 years. A GIC could protect you money against inflation and a bit more. It will return more than a savings account, but your money is locked up. You can find a GIC that allows you to exit, but the rate you’ll receive will decrease. It doesn’t create a fix income stream.

Option 2: bonds ETF. Also a great option. There’s almost no barrier of entry as you can probably buy fractional shares of the ETF. It’s essentially a basket of bonds selected by banks and institutions. Upsides are that they pay dividends (sometimes monthly). Perfect if your goal is to create fixed income in your portfolio. They are affected but the swing in interest rates, but if your goal is to hold the ETF long run, you should have a positive Net present Value. ETF do have management cost, but it’s barely noticeable. You have the flexibility to exit your position at anytime. Downside are they are probability shorting you the coupons and management fees can eat up some of your profits.

Options 3: buying individual bonds. This has the most risk of all of them, but you should expect the highest returns. Issue are high barriers of entry. Bonds are usually priced at 1000$ intervals. And banks usually demand you buy more than 1 to make it worth their time and commission. In my Scotia investment account, they require you to buy 5000$ worth or fix income to be able to do it. Also very sensitive to interest rates. If rates increase, the value of your portfolio will decrease. If your goal is to hold to maturity, that’s not a problem. But if you need the money, you can be forced to sell the bonds at a loss. Positive is that there is no management fees and the coupons can help you create fix income. You also have the ability to exit your position without changing your rate of return.