TD Canada Trust 5-year variable mortgage, compared.

TD Canada Trust on this term. TD Canada Trust isn't currently posting a broker-channel 5-year variable on our rate board, so the rate above is the best 5-year variable across our 100+ lenders — not TD Canada Trust's own. For this term we shop your file across the full shelf, TD Canada Trust included, and bring back the sharpest fit.

The trade-off. You accept payment uncertainty in exchange for a cheaper exit and upside if rates fall.

What drives the rate. A 5-year variable moves with your lender's prime rate, which tracks the Bank of Canada's overnight policy rate. When the Bank cuts, your rate (and often your payment) falls within weeks; when it hikes, it rises. The variable-versus-fixed gap (the 'spread') widens and narrows with the market's rate outlook.

The fact that shapes a 5-year variable at TD Canada Trust is registration: TD registers most mortgages as a collateral charge. That brings a real benefit — later credit increases at TD can happen without re-registering — but it also changes the exit. A collateral charge can't simply be assigned to a new lender, so moving away from TD when this 5-year variable matures in 5 years can mean a discharge and re-registration (roughly $1,000 in legal fees) rather than a free switch.

Breaking the variable mid-term typically costs three months' interest, so on this term the collateral charge, not the penalty formula, is the bigger switching cost to plan around.

TD's annual privilege on our table: 15% of the original principal as a lump sum each year, plus the right to double payments. That is up to $84,000 a year on a $560,000 mortgage — useful headroom for anyone expecting a bonus, an inheritance or sale proceeds inside the term.

TD is often the right fit when its retention habits suit you: it competes on rate-match when you shop, can hold a rate for up to 120 days while you buy, and is known for sending renewal letters with one of the longest lead times. It is also broad on self-employed files with full documentation.

Against the other Big-6. On a variable, the penalty won't separate TD from the other five big banks — three months' interest is typical across the group. On prepayment TD sits mid-pack at 15% plus double-up — the others: RBC and CIBC (10% lump sum plus double-up), Scotia (15/15), BMO (20/20), National Bank (15% lump sum plus double-up).

Canada's second-largest mortgage lender. Strong on collateral-charge mortgages (built-in HELOC), competitive on rate-match retention, and broad accept for self-employed full-doc files. Known for the longest renewal-letter lead time.

TD Canada Trust runs a consumer 5-year variable sheet and a wholesale broker-channel sheet, usually 15-30 bps lower — on a $700,000 mortgage, 20 bps is roughly $1,400 a year.