Mortgage Types and Products
Canadian mortgage product terms including fixed, variable, open, closed, insured, and high-ratio borrowing.
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 how leverage or insurance status can change the conversation even when two rates look similar.
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 headline rate alone
Start Here
Product Map
Canadian mortgage product labels usually answer one of four different questions. Keep the questions separate before comparing offers.
| Product question | Common labels | What it changes |
|---|
| How does the rate behave? | Fixed rate, variable rate | Payment stability, rate risk, and renewal planning |
| How flexible is early repayment? | Open, closed | Prepayment rights, break costs, and pricing tradeoffs |
| How much equity is in the deal? | Conventional, high-ratio | Default-insurance need, leverage label, and eligibility context |
| Is default insurance attached? | Insured, uninsured, insurable | Lender risk, funding treatment, and some qualification conversations |
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 conventional, high-ratio, insured, or uninsured?”: Conventional Mortgage, High-Ratio Mortgage, Insured Mortgage, Uninsured Mortgage
- “Why does insurance status matter even when the down payment is large?”: Insurable Mortgage, Uninsured Mortgage, Mortgage Default Insurance
What to Watch For
Canadian product labels often bundle together rate type, prepayment flexibility, leverage, and insurance status. A borrower can misunderstand an offer if they compare only the headline rate and ignore whether the mortgage is closed, insured, high-ratio, or subject to a different penalty structure.
Continue to Nearby Sections
In this section
- Closed Mortgage
Lower-flexibility mortgage structure that often offers better pricing in exchange for break-cost limits.
- Conventional Mortgage
Low-ratio mortgage with at least 20 percent down and no required default-insurance premium.
- Fixed-Rate Mortgage
Mortgage structure with a rate that stays constant through the term, supporting stable payment planning.
- High-Ratio Mortgage
Mortgage with less than 20 percent down, typically requiring default insurance under Canadian rules.
- Insured Mortgage
Mortgage backed by default insurance, often because the borrower made a smaller down payment.
- Open Mortgage
Higher-flexibility mortgage that allows easier prepayment or early payout, usually at a higher rate.
- Uninsured Mortgage
Mortgage without borrower-paid default insurance, common on low-ratio deals and many renewals.
- Variable-Rate Mortgage
Mortgage priced off a floating benchmark, with changing rate exposure through the term.