Non-traditional Canadian student - advice for breaking into U.S. or Canadian MM IB?

Hey everyone,

Looking for advice from anyone who's taken a non-traditional route into IB. I’m a Canadian undergrad doing a double major in Financial Economics and Computer Science, on track to graduate in 6 years due to going part-time in 3rd year for personal/family reasons. I’m at Western, not from a target like Ivey or Queen’s, but I’m doing my best to make up for it through relevant experience.

Here’s a quick breakdown:

•  Took part-time status for one year due to personal circumstances.
• Have done 3 unstructured internships at banks in the Middle East, rotating across corporate banking, asset management, Investment Banking, and fintech research.
• Currently interning with Big 4 Audit & Assurance (Middle East) — lots of exposure to large private clients and financial reporting fundamentals.
• Working on a boutique IB internship in Canada (Summer 2026) and then targeting LMM/MM firms like Desjardins or Canaccord Genuity for Summer 2027 - my penultimate summer before graduating in 2028. Not aiming to go FT at either, just looking for experience to pivot into bigger firms.

My GPA is low right now due to some early setbacks, but I'm aiming for at least a 3.6+ by graduation. Unfortunately, most of the Big 5 and BB banks in Canada require transcripts at the application stage, so it feels like ATS automatically filters out sub-3.8 candidates, regardless of context or experience.

Ideally want to break into U.S. IB, especially NYC MM or LMM firms, since I’ve heard they’re more flexible on GPA and more focused on fit and relevant experience. Still open to Canadian options if needed.

My Questions:

1. Is my current path realistic if I continue gaining internship experience and hit a 3.6 GPA by graduation?
2. Do Canadian MMs like Desjardins or Canaccord auto-filter based on transcripts like BBs, or are they more open to broader profiles?
3. What’s the best way to target U.S. MM firms (e.g., Houlihan, Harris Williams, Lincoln, etc.) from Canada without OCR presence? Or if I should even be doing so, given the how restricted the political landscape is becoming in the US.
4. Is cold emailing still viable when coming from a non-target Canadian school?
5. Will having both a boutique and MM IB internship position me strongly enough to break into U.S. FT roles, or even override the GPA wall at Canadian Big5/BB firms during FT recruiting?

Any advice, stories, or suggestions from people who’ve taken an unconventional route would be really appreciated. Thanks in advance.