Renewal shopping
The renewal letter your lender mails you is almost never their best rate, and switching lenders at renewal is easier than most people assume.
When your term ends, a federally regulated bank has to send you a renewal statement at least 21 days beforehand. That letter offers a rate and asks for a signature. Here's the part they don't advertise: that posted rate is usually well above what the same bank hands to a new customer who negotiates, and above what a competing lender would offer to win your business. Lenders count on inertia. Signing is the easy button, and a large share of borrowers press it, which is exactly why the letter rate can afford to be uncompetitive.
The fix is to treat renewal as a shopping event, not a form to sign. Start six to eight weeks before your term ends. Get quotes from at least two or three other lenders (a mortgage broker can pull several at once for free, since the lender pays them), then take the best outside number back to your current bank and ask them to match or beat it. Banks routinely discount when they know you have a live alternative, because keeping you is cheaper than replacing you.
If your bank won't compete, moving is more straightforward than it used to be. As of November 21, 2024, OSFI (the federal banking regulator) stopped requiring uninsured borrowers to pass the mortgage stress test on a "straight switch": moving your existing balance to a new lender with the same amortization and no new money borrowed. In practice that means many people no longer have to re-qualify at an inflated rate just to change lenders, though a few banks have chosen to keep applying their own test, so confirm with the specific lender. A switch is not the same as a refinance: you're transferring the loan, not restructuring it, so it's simpler and cheaper.
Two things worth checking before you move. First, a switch to a new lender can carry a discharge or transfer fee (often a few hundred dollars); to win your business many lenders offer to cover some or all of it, but that isn't guaranteed, so ask who pays. Second, if you're still inside your term and breaking early, a penalty applies, which is a different calculation than renewing on schedule. At an on-time renewal there is no penalty to leave, which is precisely why the weeks before your term ends are your moment of maximum leverage.