Fixed mortgage rate hikes add about $55 a month per $500K

Several of Canada’s big banks have raised fixed mortgage rates since early September, and a hike of 0.20 percentage points adds about $55 a month for every $500,000 borrowed on a five-year term.

CIBC and TD Bank raised select fixed rates by 0.20 percentage points on Sept. 29, mostly on three- and five-year terms, Money.ca reported on Oct. 3. The site said BMO, National Bank, RBC and Scotiabank had raised rates in the weeks before, and that other lenders had moved rates up by anywhere from 0.05 to 0.40 percentage points.

Immigration News Canada reported on Oct. 9 that CIBC raised one- to four-year fixed rates by 0.15 percentage points and its five-year fixed rate by 0.20 points that day. It said BMO had raised its advertised three-year fixed rate to 4.94 per cent and its five-year fixed rate to 5.14 per cent on Oct. 7. Canada News Media has not independently confirmed the individual lender figures beyond the Sept. 29 CIBC and TD increases, which both outlets reported.

The increases follow a jump in bond yields, which lenders use to price fixed-rate loans. Immigration News Canada said the five-year Government of Canada bond yield reached a 52-week high near 3.73 per cent on Sept. 28 and had eased to about 3.56 per cent by Oct. 9.

The Bank of Canada’s policy rate has been 2.25 per cent since October 2025, according to the same report, and the central bank has not moved it. Economists expect it to hold again on Oct. 28, as Canada News Media reported on Oct. 15. Money markets are pricing in a quarter-point hike by December, Reuters reported, according to our coverage of the September sales data from the Canadian Real Estate Association.

Money.ca gave a hypothetical example of a $500,000 mortgage on a 25-year amortization, with a five-year fixed rate rising from 4.29 per cent to 4.49 per cent. It put the added cost at roughly $55 a month, or nearly $3,300 over the term.

Canada News Media recalculated that example using the standard Canadian method of semi-annual compounding. The monthly payment rises from $2,709 to $2,765, an increase of $55, or about $3,318 over 60 payments. On a $300,000 mortgage the same rate move adds about $33 a month ($1,991 over five years), and on $700,000 it adds about $77 a month ($4,645). These are Canada News Media’s calculations, not lender quotes, and they leave out fees and the mortgage stress test.

The timing matters for homeowners renewing this fall. A C.D. Howe analysis covered by Canada News Media on Oct. 17 said higher bond yields would lift payments for renewing borrowers. Immigration News Canada, citing the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., said about 1.15 million mortgages are due to renew in 2026 and 940,000 in 2027.

Inflation is part of the pressure. Statistics Canada said consumer prices rose 3.1 per cent in September from a year earlier, above the central bank’s two per cent target.

The Canadian Real Estate Association said Oct. 16 that September home sales fell 2.3 per cent from August, and its senior economist Shaun Cathcart said the latest jump in fixed mortgage rates was behind the pullback. Rates on offer today vary by lender and borrower, and advertised specials often differ from what a bank offers a borrower at renewal.

Readers can compare current offers on lender websites and through mortgage brokers. The Bank of Canada’s next rate announcement is on Oct. 28.

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Via Money.ca and Immigration News Canada.