Understanding Canadian Mortgages

In Canada, the maximum amortization for insured mortgages (less than 20% down payment) is 25 years. Uninsured mortgages can go up to 30 years. The down payment minimum is 5% for homes under $500K, 10% on the portion between $500K and $1.5M.

Choosing bi-weekly payments instead of monthly results in 26 payments per year (equivalent to 13 monthly payments), which can shave years off your mortgage and save thousands in interest.

OSFI's mortgage stress test explained

Every federally-regulated lender (the Big 6 banks, plus credit unions that opt in) must qualify you against a payment calculated at the higher of your contract rate plus 2 percentage points or 5.25%. This is the OSFI B-20 rule, introduced in 2018 to make sure you can still afford the payment if rates rise at renewal.

A practical example: if your contract rate is 5.5%, your real qualifying rate is 7.5%. On a $400,000 mortgage over 25 years, that's a payment of $2,937/mo (qualifying) instead of $2,447/mo (contract) — a $490/mo gap. Toggle the stress-test switch above to run this on your specific scenario. Read why fixed rates ticked up in April 2026.

Bi-weekly accelerated vs monthly — the real math

Many Canadians don't realize there are two kinds of "bi-weekly" payments. Bi-weekly non-accelerated just spreads your monthly payment across 26 periods (monthly × 12 ÷ 26) — same total per year, no savings. Bi-weekly accelerated uses your monthly payment divided by 2 — which means you pay 26 half-payments = 13 monthly equivalents per year, one extra. That's where the savings come from.

Most online calculators (and this one) use the accelerated version. On a $400K mortgage at 5.5% over 25 years, accelerated bi-weekly saves about $34,000 in interest and pays the mortgage off ~3 years early. If you're on the fence between buying and renting, compare both with our rent vs buy calculator.

When CMHC insurance applies

If your down payment is less than 20% of the home price, you're legally required to carry mortgage default insurance from CMHC, Sagen, or Canada Guaranty. This protects the lender, not you, and the premium gets added to your mortgage balance and amortized over the loan term.

The premium tiers are: 4.00% (down payment 5–9.99%), 3.10% (10–14.99%), 2.80% (15–19.99%), and 2.40% (20%+ on amortizations over 25 years). On a $500K home with 5% down, that's $19,000 added to your mortgage — a real cost to factor into your buy-vs-rent decision.