The client
A newcomer in Sorel-Tracy working under a federal work permit supported by a Quebec CAQ, buying a $328,000 home at 5% down.
Purchase price
$328,000, Sorel-Tracy
5% down, insured
CAQ expiry
Earlier date
Quebec's own provincial acceptance document
Federal work permit expiry
Later date
The document that actually controls the right to work
Documented Quebec income
$7,300/month
The problem
A CAQ (Certificat d'acceptation du Québec) is the provincial document behind a temporary work permit -- Quebec's own acceptance step, issued on its own schedule. It is not, itself, the document that authorizes someone to work in Canada; the federal work permit is. This applicant's CAQ carried an earlier expiry date than the federal permit it actually supports.
What the first lender got backwards
- ▸The first lender's underwriter read the CAQ's earlier expiry date as the applicant's true remaining work-authorization window
- ▸The federal work permit -- the document that actually controls the legal right to work -- ran considerably longer than the CAQ
- ▸Nothing about the applicant's employment or immigration status had actually changed; only which document the underwriter was reading had
The applicant's job and income were never in question -- a file no harder than any other newcomer purchase walked start to finish. The file stalled on a lender treating the wrong document's expiry date as the one that mattered.
The numbers
Once the correct document was read, the insured purchase math was unremarkable.
| The insured purchase, correctly read | Amount |
|---|---|
| Base mortgage (95% of purchase price) | $311,600 |
| CMHC premium (4.00% at 95% LTV) | +$12,464 |
| Total insured mortgage | $324,064 |
| Ratio check at the qualifying rate | Figure |
|---|---|
| Payment at the qualifying rate (6.95%), 25 years | $2,260/mo |
| GDS (payment + $260 tax + $100 heat) ÷ $7,300 income | 35.9% |
| TDS (GDS numerator + $200 car loan) ÷ $7,300 income | 38.6% |
35.9% and 38.6% sit comfortably inside CMHC's 39% GDS and 44% TDS maximums -- the ratios were never close to either ceiling once the file was actually assessed against the document that controls the applicant's real remaining work authorization.
The solution
A courtier hypothécaire licensed under Quebec's Act respecting the distribution of financial products and services separated what the CAQ actually is from what the federal work permit actually authorizes -- a distinction that matters across the newcomer purchases first-time homebuyer statistics track every year.
First, provided both documents side by side, with a written explanation distinguishing Quebec's own provincial acceptance step from the federal work-authorization document it supports.
Second, confirmed in writing which document's expiry date actually governs the applicant's legal right to work -- the federal permit, not the provincial CAQ.
Third, moved the file to a lender whose underwriter correctly read the federal work permit's own later expiry as the real remaining income-continuity window, rather than the shorter provincial date.
The outcome
The purchase funded insured at 35.9% GDS and 38.6% TDS, with Quebec's welcome tax on the $328,000 purchase coming to $3,030.
Both ratios sit comfortably inside CMHC's 39% GDS and 44% TDS maximums; the file was never close to either ceiling once read against the correct document.
What to take from this file
- 01A CAQ is Quebec's own provincial acceptance step behind a temporary work permit -- it is not itself the work-authorization document. The federal permit is what actually controls the legal right to work.
- 02Two documents on the same file can carry two different expiry dates. Confirm which one actually governs before treating either date as the applicant's real remaining runway.
- 03Provide both documents together with a clear written explanation, rather than assuming an underwriter unfamiliar with Quebec's specific immigration documents will read them correctly on their own.
- 04This is a documentation-literacy problem, not an eligibility problem. Once the correct document was read, the file's own income and ratios were never in doubt.
Sources
Every regulatory figure in this file traces to one of these primary sources. Client details and anything that varies by lender are illustrative, as flagged below.
- ▸CMHC — Purchase (Mortgage Loan Insurance) — default-insurance premium schedule by LTV band (25-year amortization).
- ▸CMHC — CMHC Home Start — minimum down payment tiers (5%/10%) and the $1.5M insured price cap.
- ▸OSFI — Minimum qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages — the minimum qualifying rate — greater of contract rate + 2% or 5.25%.
- ▸CMHC — CMHC Reviews Underwriting Criteria — GDS 39% / TDS 44% maximums and the 600 credit-score floor for insured files.
- ▸Provincial/territorial mortgage-broker legislation fetched directly (bclaws.gov.bc.ca, legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca, fcaa.gov.sk.ca, web2.gov.mb.ca, nslegislature.ca, assembly.nl.ca) plus FCNB's own site for NB and CanLII's index for PE — see notes for per-province method — provincial mortgage regulators and licence titles.
- ▸Gouvernement du Québec — Droits sur les mutations immobilières — Quebec's transfer duties ('welcome tax') — 2026 indexed brackets.
Illustrative in this file — lender-specific, not rules:
- ▸4.95% contract rate — rates move daily; not a quote.
- ▸the first lender's reading of the CAQ date as controlling — each lender sets its own policy for reading provincial immigration-related documents; this reflects unfamiliarity with the CAQ specifically, not a published rule.
Authority & provenance
How this case file was built
We publish the origin, the verification method and the reviewer for every case file, so you can judge how far to trust it before you rely on it with a client.
Where it comes from
Derived from files handled by Treadstone’s fulfillment desk and from scenarios contributed by partner brokerages. Names, employers, exact amounts and dates are changed so no client or file is identifiable.
Provenance: Composite — a pattern seen repeatedly on fulfilled files, not a single transaction.
What is verified
Every regulatory figure traces to a primary source listed above and was checked against it on the date shown. The arithmetic is recomputed by machine on every rebuild.
Anything that varies by lender is labelled illustrative rather than stated as a rule.
Who reviewed it
Reviewed for Canadian regulatory accuracy before publication, and re-checked whenever a cited rule changes.
Reviewed by: Nicholas Parson, Treadstone Associates — reviews every case file before publication.
This case file is professional reference material for licensed mortgage professionals. It is not advice to a borrower, and it is not a lender commitment. Insurer rules, qualifying rates and provincial taxes change — confirm the current position with the insurer, regulator or lender before you rely on any figure here in a live file.