FairRate Canada facts and media assets
Verified background, approved descriptions, downloadable images, methodology, and contact information for journalists, editors, newsletter writers, and researchers.
At a glance
What it is
An independent, consumer-paid educational comparison and reporting product for Canadian homeowners reviewing a supported 3-year or 5-year fixed mortgage renewal offer.
What it is not
Not a lender, mortgage broker, mortgage agent, brokerage, marketplace, law firm, financial advisor, or mortgage underwriter.
Business model
Free initial checker; optional consumer-paid CA$24 Rate Fairness Report and CA$49 Full Renewal Decision Report. FairRate does not sell mortgage inquiries.
Current support
Canadian 3-year fixed and 5-year fixed renewal offers. Other terms and variable-rate offers should not be compared with the current 5-year fixed reference.
Approved company descriptions
One sentence
FairRate Canada is an independent, consumer-paid resource that helps Canadian homeowners place a supported 3-year fixed or 5-year fixed mortgage renewal offer beside dated public market context before signing.
Long description
FairRate Canada provides a free initial check and optional written educational reports for supported Canadian 3-year and 5-year fixed mortgage renewal offers. It compares the homeowner’s stated offer with fresh public Canadian same-term context when a usable source is available, then explains scheduled-payment context and questions to review before signing. FairRate is paid by consumers, does not arrange mortgages, and does not sell mortgage inquiries to lenders or brokers.
Founder
Andy Atchison
Andy Atchison lives in Edmonton, Alberta, and is the founder and operator of FairRate Canada, an independent resource helping Canadian homeowners understand supported mortgage renewal offers and compare them with current market context without broker referrals or lender commissions.
Andy is presented as FairRate Canada’s founder and operator—not as a mortgage broker, mortgage agent, financial advisor, or provider of borrower-specific mortgage advice.
Downloadable media assets
Approved for editorial use about FairRate Canada. Image credit: FairRate Canada.
Evidence brief · checked September 12, 2026
What reporters can say now
Why a written renewal offer merits review
A renewal is a decision point involving the offered rate, term, payment frequency, fees, product features, and switching considerations. FairRate helps a homeowner place a written 3-year or 5-year fixed offer beside dated, same-term public comparison context and identify questions to review before signing. It does not prove another rate is available or recommend accepting, negotiating, or switching.
How to describe the benchmark
Use the value and “as of” date shown on the live methodology page. Describe it as public Canadian same-term fixed-rate comparison context for supported 3-year or 5-year offers—not a lender offer, market average, approval, or guaranteed available rate. Preserve the source and freshness limitations.
External 2026 renewal context
CMHC reported on May 20, 2026 that 35% of surveyed recent mortgage consumers who had renewed said interest-rate changes increased their financial pressure, with their mortgage payments increasing by an average of CA$375 per month.
Source: CMHC 2026 Mortgage Consumer Survey, released May 20, 2026. The survey was conducted in January 2026 among more than 4,100 recent mortgage consumers who had renewed, refinanced, or purchased in the prior 18 months. CMHC's release does not state the renewal-only subsample size. This is external survey context—not FairRate proprietary data—and should not be generalized to all Canadian homeowners.
Current original-data status
The Mortgage Renewal Offer Index has 0 of the 25 valid rolling submissions required before headline findings may be published. Findings are withheld. There is no supportable FairRate lender ranking or national renewal-offer average.
View live index status and publication rules →Federal renewal-statement and consumer guidance is available from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada.
Original-data rule
FairRate Canada does not publish headline Mortgage Renewal Offer Index findings before reaching at least 25 valid, privacy-safe submissions. Any eventual findings must be described as a voluntary, non-representative sample—not as a picture of all Canadian homeowners or verified lender rate sheets.
Useful links for writers
Media contact
Include your publication, topic, deadline, and the specific fact or asset you need.
andy@fairratecanada.caDisclosure
FairRate Canada provides educational comparison context. It does not arrange mortgages, take applications, approve credit, negotiate with lenders, guarantee another rate or savings, or provide personalized financial advice. Public comparison context is not a lender quote, approval, or guarantee that a displayed rate is available to a particular borrower.