Variable Mortgage Rates In Canada Right Now

Variable mortgage rates in Canada are being repriced this week. Prime rose to 4.70% on October 29, 2026, so a quote of prime minus 0.90 that read 3.55% on October 28 reads 3.80% now. Aggregators advertised the lowest 5-year variable near 3.41% insured around October 28, about 3.66% once prime is 4.70% if that discount holds.

That gap between a posted number and a number that is still true is the main thing to understand about variable pricing this month. The rows below were mostly written against 4.45% prime. Prime minus the same discount produces a rate 0.25 higher. The sections below show the board, the restated figures and what to ask for.

5-Year Variable Rates Reported On The Board

Every row is a borrower report from r/MortgagesCanada, linked to its source. Rates are as written at the time, against prime of 4.45%. The discount column is simple subtraction. The last column assumes the lender keeps the discount and prime is 4.70%.

The spread between the top and bottom of that column is 0.45 points, from 3.60% to 4.05%. On $500,000 over 25 years that is $120.86 a month between the cheapest and the dearest row. It is a large gap to leave unexamined, and most of it comes down to who is quoting and on what file. The lowest row was a renewal offer with no lender named, followed by fresh approvals at Scotiabank and BMO. The dearest was a broker pre-approval, with an RBC renewal offer and an RBC investment property quote close behind. The lenders named are BMO, Scotiabank and RBC, and two of the rows had no lender named at all.

How A Variable Rate Is Built

A variable mortgage rate is the lender's prime rate plus or minus a discount. The prime part moves; the discount is set when you sign and usually stays for the term. When the Bank of Canada changes its overnight target and banks change prime, the mortgage rate moves by the same amount on the same day or soon after. For the current prime figure and its history, see prime rate in Canada.

That is the answer to how often a variable rate changes: whenever the lender changes prime, which in practice follows a Bank of Canada decision. There are eight scheduled announcements a year, and prime did not move at the July 15 and September 2, 2026 decisions. It moved on October 29, after the October 28 hike. A variable rate might change eight times in a year, or not at all.

Payments At The New Rates

These payments use $500,000 over 25 years with semi-annual compounding, the same method as the payment formula guide.

For comparison, the big banks' advertised 5-year fixed specials around October 28 were RBC about 4.89%, BMO and CIBC about 4.84%, Scotiabank about 4.90% and TD about 5.39%. At 4.84% a $500,000 balance costs $2,862.65 a month. At 3.80% variable it costs $2,576.17, which is $286.48 less. The lowest advertised 5-year fixed, near 4.49% insured, costs $2,764.59. That is the more honest comparison for someone who shops.

Adjustable-Payment Versus Fixed-Payment Variable

Lenders offer two flavours, and the contract says which one you have. In an adjustable-rate mortgage the payment is recalculated when prime changes, so the dollars you pay each month go up on October 29 and the amortization stays on track. In a variable rate with a fixed payment, the payment stays where it was and the share going to interest rises. The loan takes longer to pay off, or stays on the original schedule only until a trigger is reached.

A worked example shows the difference. On $500,000 at 25 years, the payment at 3.55% is $2,509.57. If the rate moves to 3.80% and the payment is not changed, the same payment pays the loan off in roughly 26.1 years instead of 25 when counted from a fresh start. That is about a year added. At 4.05% the stretch grows to about 27.4 years. Neither number is a forecast. They show the mechanism: a fixed payment hides the effect in the amortization, an adjustable payment shows it in the cash flow.

Some contracts also have a trigger point, where the payment no longer covers the interest. Your lender sets it and your contract states it. Ask what yours is, and ask what the lender does when it is reached.

Variable And Fixed Offers From The Same Lender

Two board rows show a variable and a fixed side by side from the same lender, which is the cleanest comparison available. The BMO renewal letter reported October 13 offered a 5-year fixed at 4.79% (insured) and a 5-year variable at 3.58%, written against 4.45% prime. At the new prime the variable is about 3.83%. On $500,000 over 25 years the fixed costs $2,848.54 a month and the variable costs $2,584.23, a gap of $264.32.

The Scotiabank early renewal reported October 23 offered a 5-year fixed at 4.69% and a 5-year variable at 3.65%, about 3.90% at the new prime. The fixed costs $2,820.42 and the variable $2,603.07, a gap of $217.36. The gap narrowed by $66.72 a month in the BMO letter and $66.97 in the Scotiabank one after prime moved, and it is still large. Whether it is large enough to take on the risk is the household's call, and the fixed or variable guide frames that choice.

What A Variable Costs To Leave

Breaking a variable is usually cheaper than breaking a fixed. The usual charge is three months' interest: balance times rate divided by 12, times 3. On $500,000 at 3.80% that is $4,750.00. A fixed mortgage is usually the greater of three months' interest or the interest rate differential, and the big banks often compute the differential from posted rates, which tends to give a bigger number. Your contract and the lender's disclosure set the method. The penalty calculator shows both.

Also check whether the contract lets you convert to a fixed rate, and at what rate. Many do. The conversion rate is whatever the lender offers that day, which may not be the best fixed rate you could find elsewhere. A related question is covered in should you lock in a variable rate after the hike.

How To Read A Variable Quote You Are Handed

A variable quote has four parts that a headline rate hides: the lender's prime, the discount, the term and the product type. When a borrower posts 3.55% on the board without saying anything else, the reader has to guess the first two. The rows above were checked against the thread dates and the October 28 prime, and even so the restated column is an estimate that holds only if the discount holds. A lender is free to change the discount on a renewal or a new application, and some move it the same week a hike lands.

The cleanest habit is to compare quotes by discount and by payment on the same balance and amortization, not by the printed rate. Two lenders at 3.75% and 3.75% may be prime minus 0.70 and prime minus 0.95 if their primes differ. Ask for both numbers.

What To Ask A Broker To Price

Ask for a number that survives a change in prime: the discount. A 3.75% quote with no date and no mention of which prime it was written against is hard to compare to a 4.00% quote written this morning. Ask the broker to state the lender, the discount, whether the product is adjustable-payment or fixed-payment, the penalty clause, and whether conversion is allowed.

Similar products came out very differently across lenders and channels in the table above. A licensed mortgage broker can price your file across variable and fixed in one pass. Request cheaper rates and ask for the variable priced as prime minus a stated number, alongside a fixed quote for the same term. The insured or uninsured guide explains why two borrowers see different tiers, and fixed or variable after a hike sets out the decision.

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