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The prime rate is the base chartered banks use to price variable-rate mortgages, HELOCs and lines of credit — it moves in lockstep with the Bank of Canada's policy rate.
chartered bank prime rate, July 2026
— down from a 7.20% peak in December 2023, a decline of 2.75 points.
Bank of Canada (series V80691311)
Values are the prime rate as of the last business day of each year (mid-2026 for the current year).
Year-end values of the chartered bank prime rate; 2026 reflects the most recent published value as of late July. Source: Bank of Canada.
Prime tracks the policy rate almost one-for-one: banks have kept a consistent ~2.2-point spread over the Bank of Canada's policy rate through this entire cycle.
2023 was the high-water mark: prime peaked at 7.20% in December 2023, the highest level since 2001.
Variable-rate borrowers felt the 2022 shock directly: prime jumped 4.00 points in a single year, the fastest move in the inflation-targeting era.
The gap between prime and the 5-year posted rate has narrowed: by July 2026 the two rates sit only 1.64 points apart, versus a much wider gap during the 2022–2023 hiking cycle.
| Year | Prime rate | Change | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2.70% | — | Post-oil-shock era |
| 2016 | 2.70% | 0.00 pts | Held |
| 2017 | 3.20% | +0.50 pts | Hikes resume |
| 2018 | 3.95% | +0.75 pts | Tightening continues |
| 2019 | 3.95% | 0.00 pts | Held |
| 2020 | 2.45% | -1.50 pts | Pandemic emergency cut |
| 2021 | 2.45% | 0.00 pts | Held at pandemic-era low |
| 2022 | 6.45% | +4.00 pts | Fastest annual rise on record |
| 2023 | 7.20% | +0.75 pts | PEAK — highest since 2001 |
| 2024 | 5.45% | -1.75 pts | Cutting cycle begins |
| 2025 | 4.45% | -1.00 pts | Cuts continue |
| 2026 | 4.45% | 0.00 pts | As of July 2026 |
Source: Bank of Canada, Valet series V80691311 (prime rate). Values are year-end.
Bank of Canada policy rate, July 2026
Bank of Canada
Typical spread of prime over the Bank of Canada policy rate
Bank of Canada
Peak prime rate, reached December 2023
Bank of Canada
Posted 5-year conventional mortgage rate, July 2026
Bank of Canada
Every variable-rate mortgage, HELOC and line of credit a client holds is priced off prime, so this is the number that determines whether a variable-rate payment goes up or down at the next reset. Pairing prime with the policy-rate trend lets a broker explain payment changes in plain terms before the client sees their statement.
Last updated August 1, 2026. Each figure carries its source; projections are labelled. Page reviewed on every major source release. Information only — not advice.
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