Rates desk
What a Bank of Canada decision does — and does not do — to your mortgage.
The policy rate is the most quoted number in Canadian mortgage coverage and the least useful one taken alone. It moves prime the same week, and it moves fixed rates only through expectations that were often priced in weeks earlier.
Where the policy rate stands
We publish the level with the date we read it, rather than describing it as live. For the Bank's own record of every announcement and its accompanying statement, see the Bank of Canada policy interest rate page. Everything else on this page explains what that number does to a mortgage.
Remaining 2026 announcements
The Bank announces on eight fixed dates a year. The remaining scheduled announcement dates for 2026 are below; the Bank's own schedule is authoritative if a date is changed.
| Announcement date | Monetary Policy Report | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| September 16, 2026 | No | The statement wording. With no report, bond desks trade the language alone. |
| October 28, 2026 | Yes | The updated inflation and growth path, which matters more to fixed pricing than the decision itself. |
| December 9, 2026 | No | The final decision of the year and the tone it sets for early-2027 fixed pricing. |
We do not publish predictions of what the Bank will do. Forecasting the outcome adds nothing you can act on, and the market has usually priced it before you read it.
What a decision actually moves
| Product | Link to the policy rate | Speed of effect |
|---|---|---|
| Variable-rate mortgage, adjustable payment | Direct, via lender prime | Days — the payment changes at the next payment date after prime moves. |
| Variable-rate mortgage, fixed payment | Direct, via lender prime | Days — the payment holds, but the interest and principal split shifts. |
| HELOC | Direct, via lender prime plus a spread | Days. |
| Fixed-rate mortgage | Indirect, via bond yields that price expectations | Often before the decision, sometimes not at all after it. |
| Minimum qualifying rate | None directly | Only moves if your contract rate moves. |
Worked example: what a 25 basis point change is worth
What to do around a decision
- Hold a rate before you need one. A hold backed by real underwriting protects you from an adverse move and usually leaves room to take a lower rate if pricing improves. How rate holds work.
- Watch yields, not headlines, if you want fixed. Fixed pricing follows bond yields with a lag of several business days, and it moves without any announcement.
- Do not restructure on a single move. Breaking a term to chase a quarter point rarely survives contact with the penalty calculation. Model it with the penalty estimator.
- If you renew within a year, start comparing at least 120 days out. See the renewal guide.
Common misreadings
| Claim | Reality |
|---|---|
| A cut means mortgage rates just dropped | Variable rates drop with prime. Fixed rates may already have moved on expectations, or may not move at all. |
| The policy rate is the rate banks charge you | It is an inter-institution overnight target. Consumer pricing sits well above it and includes funding costs, risk and margin. |
| A cut makes it easier to qualify | Only if your contract rate falls, since qualification runs at contract plus two, floored at 5.25%. |
| Every lender's prime is the same | Lenders set their own prime, and they do not always change it by the same amount or on the same day. |
Written and reviewed by the Canadian Mortgage Compass Editorial Desk. This page is general information for Canadian readers and is not mortgage, legal, tax, or financial advice, and not an offer of credit. Rules, rates, and lender policies change; confirm your own situation with a licensed mortgage professional in your province. Editorial policy · Corrections