How we research and calculate

Bank facts

For each bank we read its public mortgage, rates, prepayment, penalty, portability and HELOC pages. A fact is published only if we found it on the bank’s own site; each one cites the page and the date we read it (November 2, 2026). Where a page gave no answer we say so rather than fill the gap. Rates are copied exactly, including the “as of” date the bank shows, and never estimated.

Federal rules

Stress-test, insurance, disclosure and penalty rules come from OSFI, the Department of Finance, CMHC, FCAC and the Justice Laws website. Where two official sources disagree (for example, which provinces charge sales tax on insurance premiums) we show both.

Calculator conventions

• Fixed-rate payments use semi-annual compounding (Interest Act s.6); a monthly-compounding option is available for variable rates.
• Accelerated bi-weekly and weekly payments are the monthly payment ÷ 2 and ÷ 4.
• 3 months’ interest = balance × rate × 3/12. IRD = balance × (contract rate − comparison rate) × months remaining / 12, floored at zero, as in FCAC’s example.
• Posted-rate IRD comparison rate = posted rate for the remaining term − original discount. Contract-rate method = the lender’s current rate for the remaining term.
• Stress test: qualifying rate = max(contract + 2, 5.25). GDS includes property tax, heating and 50% of condo fees; defaults use CMHC’s 39% / 44% limits.
• Renewal dates are counted back from the maturity date in calendar days.

The bank-aware penalty analyzer

• Each bank’s posted and special rate tables come from the MITEY Network’s shared lender-rate dataset, read off the bank’s own rates page on November 1–2, 2026 and stored with the page URL and a verbatim quote containing each number. Terms the dataset doesn’t carry yet (BMO’s and CIBC’s posted tables, CIBC’s 1-, 2-, 4- and 7-year specials) use our own read of the same page on November 2, 2026; the two agree wherever both exist. Terms a bank doesn’t publish are left blank.
• Comparison term, by each bank’s own rule: RBC and TD, the posted term closest to the time left (neither publishes a tie rule, so we round up); Scotiabank, the closest term, rounded up if exactly between two; BMO, the closest term, and on an exact tie the higher of the two posted rates (its standard charge terms); CIBC, the months-remaining chart in its standard charge terms (12 months or less uses its 6-month rate, which its fixed table doesn’t show, so we use 1-year); National Bank, its standard rate for the remaining term, interpolated linearly between published terms (guide 28612-002).
• Formulas as each bank publishes them: RBC, TD, Scotiabank and BMO compare your rate with the posted rate for the comparison term less the discount you got at signing; CIBC compares your rate plus your discount with its posted rate and charges 3 months’ interest at your rate plus discount; National Bank charges the higher of 3 months’ interest at the posted rate or 1 month’s interest at the posted rate (max $500) plus the differential between the posted rate at the start of your term and its current rate for the remaining term.
• If you don’t enter the posted rate from your documents, we use the Bank of Canada’s typical posted rate for your signing month and term (1-, 3- or 5-year series) as an estimate.
• IRD uses simple interest over the months left, as in FCAC’s example. RBC and Scotiabank state a present-value basis and CIBC uses interest over the remaining term with your payment, which makes their real figure somewhat lower. Variable rates: 3 months’ interest (CIBC at its prime).
• “Is breaking worth it” compares interest over the rest of the term at your rate and at the new rate on the same balance and amortization; it ignores legal, appraisal and discharge fees.

Head-to-head pages

Verdicts are computed from the same data: lower published 5-year special; larger stated lump-sum privilege; lower penalty for a new $450,000 5-year at each bank’s own special and posted rates, broken after 24 months with posted rates unchanged and 1 point lower; longer stated early-renewal window. They describe published terms, not a ranking.

Rate data

The posted-rate, prime and policy-rate series are fetched from the Bank of Canada’s Valet API (V80691333–35, V80691311, V39079). Charts use the last observation in each month.

No rankings

We do not rank banks. Your priorities (paying down fast, moving, re-borrowing) decide which terms matter, so we show the terms and give you the tools.