Best 5-year fixed mortgage rates in Canada
The five-year fixed is the default Canadian mortgage — one rate, one payment, locked for five years. It is the most popular term in the country because it removes the guessing. The trade-off is the break penalty: leave a five-year fixed early at a big bank and the interest-rate-differential (IRD) math can cost five figures. Here are the verified five-year fixed offers and how to judge whether the certainty is worth it.
The short answer
- What it is
- One locked rate for 5 years — payment never moves
- Why people pick it
- Certainty, and it is the lender’s most-discounted term
- The catch
- IRD break penalty can be brutal at the big banks
- Qualify at
- The greater of your rate + 2% or 5.25%
Verified 5-yr fixed offers
Verified at the source · June 20, 2026| Lender | Product | Rate | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nesto | 5-yr fixed · insured | 4.09% | special | source |
| DUCA | 5-yr fixed · insured high-ratio | 4.24% | special | source |
| First National | 5-yr fixed · insured · conventional 4.84 | 4.49% | posted | source |
| Tangerine | 5-yr fixed | 4.49% | special | source |
| TD | 5-yr fixed | 4.84% | special | source |
| BMO | 5-yr fixed · Smart Fixed — no full payout for 5 yrs except sale; insured 4.74 | 4.84% | special | source |
| National Bank | 5-yr fixed · high-ratio 4.69 | 4.84% | special | source |
| RBC | 5-yr fixed · high-ratio 4.59 | 4.89% | special | source |
| CIBC | 5-yr fixed · high-ratio 4.64 | 4.94% | special | source |
| Scotiabank | 5-yr fixed · specials not published | 6.09% | posted | source |
Advertised special-offer rates for standard residential mortgages, read at each lender's own page. Insured (high-ratio) pricing is typically lower than uninsured; many lenders only advertise one. Brokers and smaller lenders frequently beat every rate in this table.
Why the 5-year fixed is the Canadian default
More Canadian mortgages are written on a five-year fixed than on any other term, and lenders know it — so the five-year fixed is usually the term they discount the hardest from posted rates. You lock a single rate, your principal-and-interest payment is identical for 60 months, and you are insulated from anything the Bank of Canada does in between. For a household that wants to set the mortgage and forget it, that certainty is the whole point.
The five-year term also lines up with the standard 25-year amortization: five renewals of five years. It is the path of least resistance, and for most borrowers it is a perfectly reasonable one — provided you are confident you will not need to break it.
The IRD penalty — the real cost of a 5-year fixed
The danger in a long fixed term is not the rate, it is the exit. Break a fixed mortgage early and you pay the greater of three months’ interest or the interest-rate differential (IRD). At the big banks, IRD is calculated from the posted rate minus your original discount, which inflates the penalty far beyond what a fair-value calculation would give — which is how breaking a $450,000 mortgage with two years left can trigger a five-figure bill.
Life moves: people sell, relocate, divorce, or want to refinance into a lower rate. Roughly half of Canadian fixed mortgages are broken before maturity. Before you sign a five-year fixed, run your scenario through our mortgage penalty calculator so you know what being wrong would cost.
Insured vs uninsured pricing
A high-ratio (less than 20% down) mortgage carries default insurance, which moves the risk off the lender — so insured five-year fixed rates are usually lower than uninsured ones, often by 0.1 to 0.3 points. Many lenders advertise only one of the two. You pay for the lower rate through the insurance premium added to your balance, and above $1.5 million insurance is not available at all, so those borrowers always pay uninsured pricing.
Choose it when
- You value a fixed payment you never have to think about
- You are confident you will keep the mortgage for the full term
- You believe rates will hold or rise from here
- A tight budget cannot absorb a payment increase
Think twice when
- There is a real chance you sell or refinance early (IRD risk)
- You think the Bank of Canada has more cuts coming
- You would rather a shorter commitment to renew sooner
Do something with these rates
Turn a rate into a real payment and amortization schedule.
IRD vs three months' interest — the cost of leaving early.
CMHC's 39/44 limits at the stress-test rate, premium included.
Contract + 2% or the 5.25% floor — the payment you must prove.
Frequently asked questions
Is a 5-year fixed the best mortgage in Canada?
It is the most popular, not automatically the best. The five-year fixed gives you a locked payment and is usually the most-discounted term, which suits borrowers who value certainty and will keep the mortgage to maturity. But if there is a real chance you will sell or refinance early, the interest-rate-differential penalty can be punishing — a shorter fixed term or a variable (capped at three months’ interest) may cost you less overall.
What is the penalty to break a 5-year fixed mortgage?
You pay the greater of three months’ interest or the interest-rate differential (IRD). Big banks calculate IRD from their posted rate minus your original discount, which can produce a five-figure penalty on a mid-sized mortgage with a couple of years left. Monoline and broker lenders often use a fairer IRD formula. Always model it on our mortgage penalty calculator before committing to a long fixed term.
What rate do I have to qualify at for a 5-year fixed?
Federally regulated lenders test your income at the greater of your contract rate plus 2% or 5.25%. So a 4.4% five-year fixed is qualified at 6.4%. Since November 21, 2024, uninsured straight switches at renewal (same amount, same amortization) are exempt from re-testing.
Are these 5-year fixed rates insured or uninsured?
The table notes the lender’s stated basis where they publish it. Insured (high-ratio, less than 20% down) rates are typically lower than uninsured by 0.1 to 0.3 points. Many lenders advertise only one. Confirm which pricing applies to your down payment before locking.
Educational content, not financial advice or a rate guarantee. Lender specials were read at each lender's own page on the stamped date — monoline/digital rows refresh automatically each morning, big-bank rows by hand — and change without notice. Qualification rules per OSFI; insurance rules per CMHC and the Department of Finance.