Prime rate in Canada today

Lender prime rates

The daily rate file covers 25 lenders. Only rows that store a prime field are listed as scraped primes. The big-bank figure is the consensus in the site config: the overnight target plus 2.20 percentage points. It is the prime used for RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO, CIBC, and National Bank on this page, except where a scraped number is different.

TD's uninsured 5-year variable row in the same file stores a posted rate of 4.60%. The site config describes that as TD's separate mortgage prime, last checked against RBC's prime page on the date in the source note below. It is not a new scrape of a TD prime page.

Source note from the prime config: RBC Royal Bank prime rate 4.450% (https://www.rbcroyalbank.com/mortgages/mortgage-rates.html, checked 2026-09-27). Bank of Canada target for the overnight rate held at 2.25% on 2026-09-02 (https://www.bankofcanada.ca/2026/09/fad-press-release-2026-09-02/). Valet series V39079 was 2.25 on 2026-09-24. Big 5 prime = policy rate + 2.20.

Bank of Canada policy rate, 2022 to 2026

The chart and table are Bank of Canada Valet series V39079, the target for the overnight rate. Each row is the first date the series prints a new target, except the opening row, which is the rate already in force at the start of the window. A hold, including the September 2, 2026 hold at 2.25%, does not add a row because the target did not change. Observations in the cached series run through October 22, 2026.

Source: Bank of Canada Valet, series V39079. The series date is the business day the new target appears in the data, which is often the day after the announcement. This page does not attach a separate press-release URL to each row.

Next decision dates

Announcements are at 09:45 ET. The Monetary Policy Report is published with the January, April, July, and October announcements.

Source: Bank of Canada schedule release, July 27, 2026 and the key interest rate page.

What prime means for a mortgage

A variable-rate mortgage and a home equity line of credit are usually priced as prime plus or minus a margin set in the contract. When the Bank of Canada changes the overnight target and the banks follow, prime moves by the same amount and that margin stays put. The payment consequence depends on the product.

On many variable-rate mortgages (often called a VRM), the regular payment stays the same when prime changes, and the split between interest and principal changes instead. If prime rises far enough, the fixed payment may no longer cover the interest, and the amortization can extend. The contract sets the trigger and the lender's options. This page does not state a payment rule for any one bank.

On an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM), the payment itself is recalculated when prime changes, so the amortization stays closer to the original schedule and the monthly amount moves. A HELOC is usually interest-only at prime plus or minus a margin. The minimum payment moves with prime because the interest charge moves. None of these are offers, and the contract, not this page, decides which rule applies.

The September 2, 2026 hold is written up in the Bank of Canada hold note. The glossary entry is prime rate. Fixed rates, which follow bond yields rather than prime, are on the bond-yield spread page.