Every question Canadians ask about mortgage pre-approval — answered straight.

To get pre-approved for a mortgage in Canada: gather two years of income proof and 90 days of down-payment statements, run a stress-test calculation against the OSFI qualifying rate, submit the file to a broker or A-lender, consent to a hard credit pull, then receive a rate hold and maximum mortgage figure in writing. Full underwriting takes 24 to 72 hours.

Yes — every major Canadian A-lender now accepts online pre-approval applications, and licensed brokers can underwrite your file end-to-end without a branch visit. What still happens offline is identity verification (video call or e-ID) and signatures on the final commitment letter. Online pre-approvals from a real underwriter carry the same weight as branch-issued ones.

A pre-qualification is a rough estimate based on the numbers you tell a lender — no credit pull, no document review, no rate hold. A pre-approval is an underwritten file: hard credit pull, documents reviewed, rate held for 90-120 days. Listing agents in competitive Canadian markets ask for a pre-approval, not a pre-qualification, and lenders can revoke both.

No — a Canadian mortgage pre-approval is not a final approval. It guarantees the rate hold and confirms your income, credit, and down payment story, but the lender still re-underwrites at funding and reviews the specific property. Common reasons a pre-approval doesn't fund: appraisal below purchase price, changes to employment or debt, or the property itself failing lender criteria.

Yes — a Canadian mortgage pre-approval can be withdrawn any time before funding. The most common triggers: changing jobs (even for more money), opening a new credit line or car loan, missing a bill payment, moving down-payment funds between accounts, or a credit-score drop when the lender re-pulls before closing. The rate hold protects the rate, not the approval itself.

Most Canadian mortgage pre-approvals last 90 to 120 days. The rate hold expires on the earlier of the pre-approval expiry date or the mortgage closing date. If rates fall during the hold, you get the lower rate at most A-lenders. If rates rise, the held rate protects you — provided nothing on your file changes.

Yes — a Canadian mortgage pre-approval usually involves a hard credit pull, which can lower your credit score by 5-10 points for a few months. Multiple mortgage pulls within a 14 to 45-day window are typically treated as one inquiry by both Equifax and TransUnion Canada. Rate-shopping through a broker uses one pull across many lenders.

Yes — Canadians with bruised credit can get a mortgage pre-approval, but not at A-lender rates. B-lenders and alt-A lenders will underwrite scores between 550 and 650 with 20% down and a lender fee of 1–2% of the mortgage. Below 550, private lenders quote 1-year terms at 8–12% while you rebuild. A-lenders start at 600 for insured, 680 for the best rates.

A Canadian mortgage pre-approval needs: two years of income proof (T4s, NOAs, pay stubs or T1 Generals if self-employed), 90 days of statements for every account holding your down payment, government photo ID, a credit consent form, and a signed application. Newcomers add landing paperwork; self-employed add two years of business financials.

Yes — permanent residents can get a standard Canadian mortgage pre-approval on day one, and most A-lenders run dedicated newcomer programs for buyers with less than five years in Canada. Non-permanent residents (work permit holders) can also qualify, usually with 20-35% down. Foreign buyers face the federal Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act, extended through 2027.

Self-employed Canadians get a mortgage pre-approval by submitting two years of T1 Generals with NOAs (or two years of corporate financials for incorporated), 12 months of business bank statements, and either a proof of business or an HST/GST registration. Traditional income is line 150 net; stated-income and add-back programs let you gross up net business income by 15-20%.

There is no fixed minimum income for a Canadian mortgage pre-approval — the question is whether your income services the mortgage under the OSFI stress test. As a rough guide, gross annual income needs to be roughly 25–30% of the mortgage amount to clear the standard 39% GDS and 44% TDS ratios. A $500K mortgage typically needs $130–150K of documented household income.

The most common disqualifiers on a Canadian mortgage pre-approval are: recent missed payments or a collection on file, a credit score below the lender's minimum (usually 600 at A-lenders, 680 for insured files with 5–20% down), unfiled or unpaid taxes with CRA, an income-to-debt ratio above 44% TDS, or a down payment that cannot be source-traced for 90 days.

The Canadian minimum down payment for a mortgage pre-approval is 5% on the first $500,000 of purchase price, 10% on the portion between $500K and $1.5M, and 20% on any home priced above $1.5M. Below 20% down, the mortgage must be insured by CMHC, Sagen, or Canada Guaranty. Rental and second-home purchases require 20% down regardless of price.

A Canadian mortgage pre-approval with two incomes combines both borrowers' qualifying income into the GDS/TDS ratios and pulls both credit bureaus. Both borrowers are jointly and severally liable for the full mortgage. Lenders qualify on the lower credit score of the two applicants, not the average — a strong file plus a weak file can be underwritten at the weaker file's tier.

Yes — contract workers can get a Canadian mortgage pre-approval, but the file is treated as self-employed by most A-lenders. That means two years of T1 Generals with CRA NOAs, or 24 months of T4A contract income. T4 contract workers (paid through an agency payroll) qualify under regular employment rules if the contract is renewable and has 12+ months remaining.

Yes — Canadians with student loans can get a mortgage pre-approval. The monthly student loan payment is added to your TDS ratio, which reduces the maximum mortgage you qualify for. As a rough rule, every $500/month in student loan payments cuts your maximum mortgage by roughly $80,000 at current stress-test rates. The loans themselves are not a disqualifier; the ratio impact is.

A rate hold is the guarantee your lender attaches to a pre-approval, locking today's mortgage rate for 90 to 120 days regardless of market moves. If rates rise, you keep the held rate. If rates fall, most A-lenders re-price you to the lower rate on funding day (the 'rate drop' policy). The hold applies to one product tier — fixed or variable — not both.

No — you don't need pre-approvals from multiple Canadian lenders. A mortgage broker submits your single application to their lender panel on one credit pull, and only the winning lender issues the final approval. Applying separately at three banks means three hard credit pulls (usually treated as one in the 14–45 day rate-shopping window, but not always) and three parallel document reviews.