How Much Can I Borrow in Canada?

How much you can borrow in Canada depends on three things: what you earn, what you already owe, and how much risk the lender is willing to take. For a mortgage — the biggest loan most people ever take — that usually works out to a total debt service ratio ceiling of about 44% at federally regulated lenders, plus a qualifying stress-test rate above the contract rate, as set out in OSFI Guideline B-20 — residential mortgage underwriting. In plain terms: your housing costs plus every other debt payment cannot swallow much more than a bit under half your gross income, and you have to qualify at a rate higher than the one you will actually pay.

Other loans follow different rules. A payday loan is generally up to $1,500 for a term of 62 days or less. A home equity line of credit at a federally regulated lender is generally limited to 65% of appraised property value, with total secured lending usually capped at 80%. A personal loan? That comes down to the individual lender's own underwriting — there is no single national ceiling.

One thing to clear up first: LoanGoose is a loan matching and comparison service, not a lender. We do not make loans, set rates, or decide who qualifies. The figures below are the rules lenders work within; your own result depends on your file.

Mortgage loan affordability: the two ratios that decide it

Mortgage affordability is mostly a ratio question. Lenders compare your housing costs to your gross income, then compare all of your debt payments to your gross income.

• Gross debt service ratio. Housing costs — mortgage payment, property taxes, heat, and half of any condo fees — divided by gross household income.
• Total debt service ratio. Housing costs plus every other debt payment, divided by gross household income.

Federally regulated mortgage lenders generally work to a total debt service ratio ceiling of about 44%, per OSFI Guideline B-20 — residential mortgage underwriting. Landing under that ceiling does not mean yes. It means your application is in the room. Lenders also weigh income stability, where the down payment came from, employment history, and your credit history.

The stress test quietly lowers your number

Fixed-rate mortgages in Canada are compounded semi-annually by law — a technical detail with real consequences for how interest accrues. The bigger factor is the qualifying stress test. Federally regulated lenders must test your application at a rate above the contract rate, under OSFI Guideline B-20 — residential mortgage underwriting. So the figure that decides your borrowing room is not the payment you would sign up for; it is the payment at the higher qualifying rate.

That is why two households with the same income can be offered very different amounts. One carries a car loan and a line of credit balance; the other carries neither. Same salary, different room.

If you want to see where rates currently sit before running your own numbers, the Bank of Canada — rates page publishes them.

The numbers at a glance

Secured borrowing: how much your home can carry

A home equity line of credit is secured against your property. At federally regulated lenders it is generally limited to 65% of appraised property value, and total secured lending against the home is usually capped at 80%. That sounds generous until you remember what sits on the other side of the deal: if you stop paying, the lender's claim is against your house.

Read 80% as a ceiling, not a target. Borrowing to the top leaves you no cushion if your income dips, the roof needs replacing, or local prices fall. Equity you have not borrowed is room you can still use later.

Payday loans and the $14 rule

Where a province operates a licensed payday lending regime, federal regulations cap the cost of borrowing at $14 per $100 advanced, per the Payday Lending Regulations, SOR/2024-114. A province may set a lower cap, and the lower figure applies. Quebec does not license payday lending, which effectively prohibits the model there.

Above all of this sits the federal criminal rate of interest: 35% per year under Criminal Code s. 347 — criminal rate of interest, in force since January 1, 2025. Payday loans sit in their own category, which is how a two-month loan can carry a cost that looks extreme when annualized.

Payday loans are a bridge, not a plan. If the same shortfall shows up every month, the loan is not solving the problem — it is postponing it, at a price.

How to estimate your own borrowing room

1. Add up gross household income, before tax.
2. List every debt payment: personal loans, lines of credit, car loans, student loan payments, and minimum payments on any revolving balance.
3. Pull your credit report. Canada has two national credit reporting bureaus, Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada, and a free copy of your report is available from each — see FCAC — credit reports and scores.
4. Estimate housing costs: mortgage payment, property taxes, heat, and half of condo fees if they apply.
5. Divide housing costs by gross income. Then divide all debt payments plus housing costs by gross income.
6. Stress it. Re-run the mortgage payment at a higher rate and see whether the ratio still holds.

If your second number lands near the ceiling, expect a lender to offer less than you asked for, or to say no. That is underwriting, not a verdict on you. For anything significant, a licensed mortgage professional, a licensed insolvency trustee, or a fee-only financial planner can look at your actual file and tell you what is realistic.

When "how much can I borrow" is the wrong question

Borrowing capacity is a limit, not a recommendation. The maximum a lender will offer is the point where the lender's risk becomes uncomfortable, not the point where your budget stays comfortable. Those are different numbers, and the gap between them is where people get into trouble.

If you are already behind, more debt rarely fixes it. A consumer proposal stays on your credit report for three years after completion, or six years from filing, whichever comes first. A first bankruptcy stays on your credit report for six years after discharge. Only a licensed insolvency trustee can administer a consumer proposal or a bankruptcy, and trustees are regulated by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada.

Where to ask questions or raise a complaint

Consumer complaints about federally regulated financial institutions go to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. Provinces license and supervise most other lenders, and each has a consumer protection office — the FCAC keeps a list at FCAC — provincial and territorial regulators. If you are comparing products in plain language, FCAC — debt and borrowing, FCAC — personal loans and FCAC — mortgages are solid starting points. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada covers how your personal information is handled when you apply.

LoanGoose is a loan matching and comparison service, not a lender. The lowest rates are only available to the most qualified applicants.