More Than a Third Picked Their Lender Because They Already Bank There

What the federal consumer agency found

Most people think of a renewal as a form to sign. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada's research suggests a lot of borrowers treat their lender choice the same way: as something that happens by default.

FCAC's consumer behaviour at mortgage renewal summary, published in March 2026 and updated in June, combines interviews with a survey of mortgage holders. Its headline numbers on how people chose a lender:

• 48% compared lenders themselves.
• 36% had someone else, such as a mortgage broker, compare lenders for them.
• 20% never compared lenders at all.
• 37% chose their lender mainly because they already banked with it, which FCAC links to an “inertia effect”.

FCAC reports that those answers could overlap, because respondents could choose more than one, and that results were weighted. It also reports that nearly 80% of mortgage holders consider comparing lenders important. In other words, most people agree it matters. A meaningful minority did not do it.

The part many people did not know

The same FCAC summary says 13% of mortgage holders did not know that negotiating mortgage terms was an option. It reports the gap was wider among younger mortgage holders, those with lower household incomes, people in Atlantic Canada and the self-employed, and describes the difference as statistically significant.

That matters at renewal because the offer in the envelope is a starting position. It is the lender's proposal for keeping your business. FCAC's own guidance, as the summary describes it, encourages borrowers to compare and negotiate rather than accept the first offer.

What would actually make people switch

FCAC also asked what would motivate a switch. Of the mortgage holders surveyed, 77% said better interest costs, 21% better product terms, 18% perks or offers and 13% better client service. Another 12% said nothing would motivate them to switch.

Why the stakes are higher in 2026

FCAC notes that about 40% of mortgages in Canada are five-year fixed, citing a July 2025 Bank of Canada staff analytical note, and that Canadians renewing in 2026 are likely to face higher monthly payments.

A separate survey shows how that feels. According to Canadian Mortgage Trends, estate-planning platform Willful's Great Delay 2026 report found 15% of Canadians say rising renewal costs are holding back their financial goals, rising to 25% of what the report calls the sandwich generation: people with at least one living parent and a child of any age. Among respondents who have housing payments, 64% said those payments rose this year. Willful commissioned the survey, which was conducted September 1–10 among 1,501 Canadian adults in the Angus Reid Forum. It is sentiment data from a company with its own business interests, so read it as a mood indicator rather than a measurement.

What a sensible renewal comparison looks like

• Start early. Many lenders will allow you to line up an offer well before your term ends. Our guide to the 120-day renewal window covers the timing.
• Ask for the full terms, not only the headline. Penalty formula, prepayment limits, portability and whether the product is a standard charge or a collateral charge. See collateral vs standard charge.
• Know what switching involves. Moving lenders can mean a new application and new paperwork, and there may be costs. Our article on switching lenders at renewal explains where qualification does and does not come back into play.
• Compare the payment, not just the number. Changing the amortization changes the payment and the total interest. Try it in the mortgage calculators.
• Decide on purpose. If your current lender's offer holds up, renewing is a perfectly good outcome. The point is to know that, not to assume it.

A broker can request offers from several lenders on your behalf, which is the “someone else compares” route the 36% in FCAC's data used. Our mortgage renewal page explains how that works.