One in three mortgage renewers anxious as pandemic-era terms expire
Regional variations paint a mixed picture
The financial pressure is not evenly distributed across the country. Saskatchewan and Manitoba show the highest proportion of borrowers expecting payment increases, at 43 per cent, while Alberta sits at the opposite end at 29 per cent. Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada each come in at 39 per cent, with British Columbia at 37 per cent.
Adil Dinani, sales representative and team lead of the Dinani Group at Royal LePage West in Greater Vancouver, noted that anxiety tends to run higher in British Columbia given the scale of outstanding balances. “Anxiety around mortgage renewals tends to be greater in British Columbia because outstanding mortgage balances are often much larger,” he said.
Conversely, conditions in other markets have proven more stable than expected. Sean Broady, a certified real estate broker at Royal LePage Altitude in Montreal, said the anticipated correction did not arrive. “The mortgage renewal crisis and subsequent market correction many anticipated has not become a reality in Montreal.”
Delinquencies rising but remain historically low
National mortgage delinquency data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Residential Mortgage Industry Report Spring 2026 Edition, published May 12, 2026, shows the 90-days-or-more past due rate rose from 0.21 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2024 to 0.24 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2025. In Toronto, the rate moved from 0.20 per cent to 0.29 per cent over the same period.
Eight per cent of current-term borrowers extended their amortisation period to lower monthly payments, and six per cent missed or deferred at least one payment. Of that latter group, 19 per cent fell 90 or more days into arrears.
