Fixed mortgage rates are rising. Here’s what Canadian borrowers should know

Mortgage shoppers who haven’t already locked in could be regretting it as fresh tariff confusion pushes bond yields and fixed mortgage rates higher.

While no one will emerge a winner from this convoluted trade war – not investors and certainly not the global economic status quo – the benefit to roiling markets was the downward effect it had on bond yields, which lenders use to determine fixed-rate borrowing costs.

In fact, mortgage shoppers enjoyed some of the lowest five-year fixed-rate options since 2022 – in the 3.7-per-cent range – during the early weeks of April, as investors piled into bonds after U.S. President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal tariff” bristol-board presentation.