The cost of a low down payment.
If your down payment is less than 20%, Canadian law requires you to purchase default insurance. This protects the lender against loss, but the premium is paid by you—typically by adding it to your mortgage balance.
The minimum down payment is 5% for the first $500k of value, and 10% for the portion between $500k and $1M.
Homes purchased for $1M or more are not insurable. You strictly need 20% down.
Insurance premiums are standardized across providers (CMHC, Sagen, Canada Guaranty). To ensure you are seeing the most current rate tables, BubbleWatch links directly to the CalculatorVillage financial hub, which is updated alongside federal regulatory changes.
Insurance protects the lender, not you. Here's how to manage it.