Mortgage rates in Canada today
Our published rate board for August 2026: 4.09% on a 5-year fixed insured mortgage, 4.29% uninsured, 3.94% on a 3-year fixed and 3.35% on a 5-year variable, with prime at 4.45% and the Bank of Canada at 2.25%. What each one means, who gets it, and what moves it.
Today's mortgage rates in Canada
Current mortgage rates in Canada, as we publish them: the best 5-year fixed rate for an insured borrower is 4.09%, the uninsured 5-year fixed is 4.29%, a 3-year fixed is 3.94%, and a 5-year variable is 3.35%. Prime sits at 4.45% and the Bank of Canada policy rate at 2.25%.
These are the rates a well-qualified borrower can expect from the lenders we place with, on the date shown. They are a starting point, not a promise: the rate you are offered depends on whether the mortgage is insured, your credit, your income, the property and the term. The table below is the same sheet our admin publishes, so it cannot show a number we have not put our name to.
| Product | Rate | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| 5-year fixed, insured | 4.09% | Purchases with under 20% down, or insured switches — the lowest rate on the board. |
| 5-year fixed, uninsured | 4.29% | 20% or more down, refinances and most renewals. |
| 3-year fixed | 3.94% | Shorter commitment when you expect rates to fall or plans to change. |
| 5-year variable | 3.35% | Priced off prime; moves with the Bank of Canada. |
| Prime rate | 4.45% | The base for variable mortgages and HELOCs. |
| Bank of Canada policy rate | 2.25% | Set eight times a year; prime follows it. |
| Stress-test qualifying rate | 6.09% | The greater of your contract rate + 2% or 5.25%. |
Insured 5-year fixed. Rate shown is a best-available rate for well-qualified insured borrowers and is not a commitment to lend. Rates shown are best-available rates for well-qualified borrowers as of August 2026 and are subject to change without notice. Rates vary by loan-to-value, credit profile, property type, amortization and lender. O.A.C. — on approved credit. This is not a commitment to lend. All figures are illustrative estimates, not financial advice.
Fixed vs variable mortgage rates: what moves each one
Fixed mortgage rates are priced off Government of Canada bond yields — the 5-year bond for a 5-year fixed — plus a lender spread. They move every day, in both directions, and often before the Bank of Canada does anything, because the bond market prices in what it expects the Bank to do.
Variable mortgage rates are priced as prime minus a discount, and prime moves only when the Bank of Canada moves its policy rate. With the Bank at 2.25% and prime at 4.45%, a 5-year variable at 3.35% is prime minus 1.10%. A variable is cheaper today and carries the risk that it will not be; a fixed is dearer today and carries none.
Insured vs uninsured: high-ratio and conventional mortgage rates
An insured mortgage — also called high-ratio — is one with less than 20% down, where CMHC, Sagen or Canada Guaranty insures the lender against default. Because the lender's risk is covered, insured mortgage rates are the lowest on the board, typically 0.15% to 0.30% under the uninsured rate. The premium is added to the mortgage.
An uninsured mortgage — conventional — has 20% or more down, or is a refinance, or is on a home over $1.5 million. The lender carries the risk, and prices it. Most renewals are uninsured, which is why a renewal rate rarely matches the advertised headline: the headline is usually the insured one.
That is why conventional mortgage rates in Canada sit above insured rates even though the borrower has more equity — 0.20 points apart on our board today. The lender, not the insurer, is carrying the default risk, and the spread is what that costs.
| Insured / high-ratio | Uninsured / conventional | |
|---|---|---|
| Down payment | Under 20% | 20% or more |
| Price limit | Under $1.5 million | None |
| Premium | 2.80% to 4.00% added to the loan | None |
| Amortization | 25 years; 30 for first-time buyers and new builds | Up to 30 years |
| Rate today (5-yr fixed) | 4.09% | 4.29% |
| Refinance allowed | No | Yes, to 80% loan-to-value |
5-year, 3-year and 1-year fixed mortgage rates: choosing a term
The 5-year fixed is the Canadian default because it lines up with the 5-year bond and with how long most people hold a mortgage before something changes. At 4.09% insured it is the rate every comparison starts from.
A 3-year fixed at 3.94% is the term to look at when you expect rates to be lower in three years than in five, or when you know your plans may change — a sale, a refinance, a renovation — and a five-year penalty would be expensive. A shorter term is a bet that renewal will be kinder; today the 3-year is priced below the 5-year, which tells you the market shares that view.
A 1-year fixed is a bridge, not a home: it suits somebody expecting a large lump-sum payment, a sale within the year, or a credit repair that will earn a better rate next year. We quote it on request rather than on the board, because it is rarely the right answer and never the cheapest one.
Mortgage rates in Ontario, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver
Mortgage rates in Ontario are the same as mortgage rates in Canada, for any federally regulated lender: a bank or monoline prices a Toronto file and a Calgary file off the same bond yield and the same policy. The rate you see above is the rate in Toronto, Ottawa, Mississauga, Calgary and Vancouver alike.
What differs by city is everything around the rate. Toronto and Vancouver prices push more buyers over the $1.5 million insured cap and into uninsured pricing; Ottawa and Calgary buyers are more often insured and get the lower rate. Provincial credit unions — large in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta — are regulated provincially, set their own stress test and sometimes their own pricing, which is where a broker can find a local edge a bank cannot offer. And Ontario's land transfer tax, doubled inside Toronto, changes what a rate is worth far more than the last five basis points do.
So whether you searched for current mortgage rates in Ottawa, the best mortgage rates in Toronto, or variable mortgage rates in Toronto specifically, the honest answer is the table above, and the useful question is which lender's guidelines fit your file.
What “best mortgage rates in Canada” actually means
The lowest rate in Canada on any given day goes to a very specific borrower: insured, under $1.5 million, strong credit, salaried income, a five-year term, and willing to take a lender whose penalty and prepayment terms are strict. Change any one of those and the best rate for you is a different number.
A broker's job is not to find the lowest number on the internet. It is to find the lowest rate whose fine print you can live with — a portable mortgage if you might move, a fair penalty if you might break it, a lender that will renew a self-employed file without a fight. A rate 0.10% higher with a penalty that is $9,000 lower is the better rate.
- The rate you are quoted before an application is an advertised rate; the rate you are approved at is a committed one — only the second is real.
- A rate hold of 90 to 120 days protects you if rates rise while you shop, and costs nothing.
- Insured, uninsured and alternative are three different rate boards; make sure you are being quoted the one you will actually get.
The stress test at today's rates
Whatever rate you take, a federally regulated lender qualifies you at the minimum qualifying rate: the greater of your contract rate plus 2% or 5.25%. At 4.09% that is 6.09%. On a $600,000 mortgage over 25 years the payment you make is about $3,180 a month; the payment you must prove you can carry is about $3,870.
The one large exemption: an uninsured straight switch at renewal — moving to another federally regulated lender without adding to the amount or the amortization — has not been stress-tested since 21 November 2024. It is the single best reason not to sign your existing lender's renewal letter without shopping it.
How to get a lower mortgage rate
Shop the renewal rather than signing the letter; the gap between a bank's first renewal offer and a shopped rate is routinely 0.30% to 0.60%. Ask whether your file can be insured — an insurable switch at 80% loan-to-value or under can qualify for insured pricing without your paying a premium at some lenders. Keep the amortization at 25 years on an insured file. Fix your credit before you apply, not after. And bring the whole file to one broker rather than three banks, because every application a bank sees is a hard inquiry and every decline is a story the next lender reads.
When a variable beats a fixed
When the discount to prime is deep, when you expect the Bank of Canada to cut, and when you could absorb payments 1% higher without strain. At prime minus 1.10% today, a variable starts 0.74% under the insured fixed; it needs three quarter-point hikes to lose that lead.
When a fixed beats a variable
When the payment has to be a known number for five years — a single income, a tight ratio, a first home — a fixed is the right answer even when the variable is cheaper on paper. Sleep is a return too.
Sources and further reading
The figures on this page are checked against the following, and the rate board is as published on August 2026.
- Bank of Canada — policy interest rate — The overnight rate that variable mortgages and prime follow.
- Bank of Canada — interest rates for new and existing lending by chartered banks — Insured and uninsured, fixed and variable, by term — the market the rates on this site sit in.
- Bank of Canada — posted interest rates offered by chartered banks — Weekly posted rates, the series the qualifying floor was once tied to.
- OSFI Guideline B-20 — residential mortgage underwriting practices and procedures — The rule behind the stress test for uninsured mortgages.
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Mortgage rates in Canada today — frequently asked questions
On our published board for August 2026: 4.09% for a 5-year fixed insured mortgage, 4.29% uninsured, 3.94% for a 3-year fixed and 3.35% for a 5-year variable. Prime is 4.45% and the Bank of Canada policy rate is 2.25%.
For an insured borrower with strong credit, 4.09% on our board today. The uninsured rate — 20% or more down, or a refinance — is 4.29%. 'Best' depends on being insured, the term, your credit and the lender's fine print.
No. Banks and monolines price nationally, so the rate in Toronto or Ottawa is the rate in Calgary or Vancouver. Provincially regulated credit unions can differ, and local prices change whether you are insured or uninsured, which changes the rate you get.
A 5-year variable at 3.35% starts below the fixed, and the Bank of Canada has held its rate at 2.25% through several decisions. It is the better bet if you can absorb a higher payment and expect cuts; a fixed is the better bet if the payment must be certain. A broker can show you both on your numbers.
Insured (high-ratio) mortgages have under 20% down and a default-insurance premium; the lender's risk is covered, so the rate is lower — typically 0.15% to 0.30%. Uninsured (conventional) mortgages have 20% or more down, or are refinances, and carry the higher rate.
The greater of your contract rate plus 2% or 5.25% — 6.09% at today's insured 5-year fixed. Uninsured straight switches at renewal are exempt.
Fixed rates can move daily with bond yields; variable rates move when the Bank of Canada changes its policy rate, eight scheduled times a year. Our board is republished from the admin whenever a rate changes and always carries its as-of date.
If your file matches the product — insured or not, the term, the credit — yes, that is what these rates are for. If it does not, we will tell you which board your file is on and what the rate there is, before you apply anywhere.
Let's talk about your file
One call, a real broker, and a straight answer about what you qualify for and what it will cost. If we cannot beat what you already have, we will tell you that too.