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A mortgage broker is a licensed professional or brokerage that arranges mortgage financing between borrowers and lenders in exchange for a fee or commission, rather than lending money directly.
A broker's job is to shop the market on the client's behalf — comparing A lenders, B lenders, credit unions, and, where needed, private lenders — then packaging the application, pulling credit, gathering documents, and submitting the deal for underwriting, typically through a platform like Filogix.
“Mortgage broker” is also used generically for the whole profession, but licensing is province-specific: the person actually helping a client might hold the title mortgage agent in Ontario, submortgage broker in BC, mortgage associate in Alberta, or courtier hypothécaire in Quebec. All of them work under a licensed brokerage supervised by a principal broker.
Licensed provincially, not federally: mortgage brokering is regulated province by province — FSRA in Ontario, BCFSA in BC, RECA in Alberta, and the AMF in Quebec each set their own licensing rules.
Umbrella term, specific licenses underneath: depending on the province, the person helping a client might hold the title mortgage agent (Ontario), submortgage broker (BC), mortgage associate (Alberta), or courtier hypothécaire (Quebec).
Must work under a brokerage: licensed individuals operate under a brokerage supervised by a principal broker, who holds ultimate compliance responsibility.
Paid by the lender, not the borrower: in most residential deals the lender pays the brokerage a commission on funding, though private and some alternative deals may include a separate broker fee disclosed to the client.
Definitions reflect Canadian federal and provincial rules as of the “Updated” date above. Not advice for any specific file.
Every term a Canadian mortgage professional needs — defined, sourced, and kept current.
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