Data and analysis on the Canadian mortgage market.
Original, sourced data — and the plain-English analysis behind it — on where Canadian rates are, where they anchor, and what it means for your mortgage. Free to read, free to cite.
Insights covers market data and reports — rate history, Bank of Canada decisions, lending snapshots. Looking for step-by-step help with your own mortgage? See our how-to mortgage guides.
Canadian Lending Snapshot
The three numbers that actually move your mortgage — the Bank of Canada policy rate, chartered-bank prime, and the 5-year Government of Canada bond yield — live from the Bank of Canada, with what each means for borrowers.
View the live snapshotWhat those numbers mean for you: what actually moves your mortgage rate
Market guides & tools
How fixed and variable rates are set, today's market, and the stress test.
ReadCurrent rates across our 100+ lender network, updated daily.
ReadThe decision framework, with the math behind it.
ReadHow a slowing economy flows through to rates and renewals.
ReadHow a Middle East ceasefire and falling oil flow through to Canadian rates.
ReadThe qualifying-rate rules and how they shape what you can borrow.
ReadSee what you'd qualify for at the benchmark qualifying rate.
ReadHow to read Canadian mortgage market data
Almost every mortgage rate in Canada traces back to two numbers. The data pages above track them live, and this is how they connect to what you actually pay.
The policy rate and prime drive variable rates
The Bank of Canada sets its target for the overnight rate, the policy rate, on eight scheduled announcement dates a year. Chartered banks set their prime rate off it, and in recent years prime has sat 2.20 percentage points above the policy rate. Variable-rate mortgages and home equity lines of credit are priced as prime plus or minus a margin, so a policy-rate move reaches those borrowers almost immediately. Our prime rate page explains the link in more detail.
Bond yields drive fixed rates
Fixed rates follow the Government of Canada bond yield for a similar term, because that is roughly what lenders pay to fund a fixed-rate loan. The 5-year yield trades every day and often moves before the Bank does. That’s why fixed rates can rise while the policy rate is falling, or the other way round. The gap between the two sets of rates is the heart of the fixed vs. variable decision.
Rules shape what you can borrow
Rates are only half the picture. Federally regulated lenders qualify borrowers at the greater of the contract rate plus 2% or 5.25% (the stress test). Insured mortgages, with less than 20% down, are available on homes priced under $1.5 million. First-time buyers, and anyone buying a newly built home, can take an insured mortgage with an amortization of up to 30 years.
Where our data comes from
The policy rate, prime and bond yields on these pages are pulled from the Bank of Canada’s public Valet API and refresh automatically. Where we show mortgage rates, they come from our live rate board and are dated; the original reports use stated, dated assumptions instead, and say so. Your actual rate depends on your file: your down payment, credit, income, property, and whether the mortgage is insured. Everything here is free to cite with attribution and a link.
From the market to your mortgage.
The data tells you where the market is. We tell you your actual rate — across 100+ lenders, free, no credit pull to start.