Mortgage Types and Products

This section covers the product labels Canadian borrowers see when they compare mortgage offers. The focus is on what the product does, how it changes your flexibility or cost, and where the terminology differs from common U.S. explanations.

Use This Section When

• you are comparing fixed and variable offers
• you need to understand open versus closed flexibility
• you are seeing labels such as insured, uninsured, high-ratio, or conventional
• you want the product structure clear before focusing on rate alone

Start Here

• Fixed-Rate Mortgage
• Variable-Rate Mortgage
• Open Mortgage
• Closed Mortgage
• Conventional Mortgage
• Uninsured Mortgage
• High-Ratio Mortgage
• Insured Mortgage

Common Reader Paths

• “Should I start with fixed or variable?”: Fixed-Rate Mortgage, Variable-Rate Mortgage
• “How much flexibility do I lose in exchange for rate?”: Open Mortgage, Closed Mortgage
• “Is this mortgage insured or just high-ratio?”: High-Ratio Mortgage, Insured Mortgage, Uninsured Mortgage

What to Watch For

Canadian product labels often bundle together rate type, prepayment flexibility, and insurance status. A borrower can misunderstand an offer if they compare only the headline rate and ignore whether the mortgage is closed, insured, or subject to a different penalty structure.

Continue to Nearby Sections

• Use Rates, Payments and Pricing when the next question is rate, payment design, or penalties.
• Use Down Payment and Default Insurance when the next question is insurance eligibility or down payment size.

In this section

• Closed Mortgage
  What a closed mortgage means in Canada and why the lower rate often comes with meaningful break-cost limits.
• Conventional Mortgage
  What a conventional mortgage means in Canada and how it differs from high-ratio insured borrowing.
• Fixed-Rate Mortgage
  A Canada-first explanation of fixed-rate mortgages and how payment stability, renewal risk, and break costs work.
• High-Ratio Mortgage
  What a high-ratio mortgage means in Canada and why a down payment below 20 percent changes the insurance and qualification conversation.
• Insured Mortgage
  What an insured mortgage means in Canada and how it differs from high-ratio mortgage language.
• Open Mortgage
  What an open mortgage means in Canada and why flexibility usually comes with a higher rate.
• Uninsured Mortgage
  What an uninsured mortgage means in Canada and why it matters for qualification, product structure, and renewal switches.
• Variable-Rate Mortgage
  A Canada-first explanation of variable-rate mortgages, including payment design, prime-linked pricing, and trigger risk.