At renewal you can stay, straight-switch, or refinance

Stay with your current lender and you are not requalified under the prescribed MQR. An uninsured straight switch — same balance, same remaining amortization, federally regulated lender to federally regulated lender — has been exempt since 21 November 2024. A refinance (new money, longer amortization, or a deal the exemption does not cover) is always tested.

The cluster walkthrough is switch vs stay. What follows is the 2026–27 decision order: payment shock first, then whether a switch is still a switch, then whether a refinance is worth triggering the test.

TL;DR

• Stay: no prescribed stress test. The risk is signing the renewal letter's posted-style rate.
• Straight switch: uninsured exemption 21 Nov 2024; portfolio-insured low-ratio from 16 Dec 2024; no extra principal (uninsured: none; portfolio-insured: at most $3,000 of costs). The receiving lender may still run its own B-20 test.
• Refinance: full MQR, every time. Link the 2026 stress-test rules only for this branch.
• Worked file: $470,980 remaining, 20 years left, 2.19% → 4.14% is $2,880/month, +$457.

Payment shock is the first number

A 2020–21 5-year coupon rolling into today's 5-year fixed is a cash-flow event before it is a product event. On the renewal calculator's reference file:

That +$457 is what you are negotiating against — not a slogan about "the renewal wave."

Stay when the hold is real and the letter is not

Same-lender renewal is not a new origination. You can stay without the MQR. You should not stay because you are afraid of the MQR. Stay if the rate hold you locked 120–180 days out is still the best written number on the table after you have one outside quote.

FCAC's 21-day renewal information rules mean you should see terms in time to shop. The letter is a starting offer. Treat it as one.

Straight-switch when the other lender is cheaper on the same mortgage

A switch is still a switch only if the loan amount and remaining amortization do not increase. Cross that line and you have refinanced. Collateral-charge mortgages can make a later equity take-out easier at the same lender and messier if you wanted a clean title transfer — ask which security you have before you assume a switch is paperwork-light.

Uninsured straight switches have been MQR-exempt since 21 November 2024. That is the current rule, including on the switch vs stay guide. Lenders may still apply their own stressed debt-service test. Ask before you apply. Process notes: renewal switch process. Penalty math if you are not yet at maturity: three months' interest versus IRD — do not switch mid-term without pricing the break.

Refinance only when new money or a longer amortization is the point

Take-out, debt consolidation, or stretching amortization past the existing schedule is a refinance. Then you qualify at contract + 2% (floor 5.25%). On a 4.14% contract that is 6.14%. That is the only branch where you should open the stress test calculator. If the extra cash or the lower payment from a longer amort does not clear that hurdle, wait for a straight switch or a same-lender stay.

Rate-hold window: lock 120–180 days out so you are not negotiating inside the last three weeks. Details: 120–180 day rate strategy.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to pass the stress test to switch lenders?

Not for an uninsured straight switch since 21 November 2024, provided balance and remaining amortization do not rise. The new lender can still apply its own underwriting. See how the stress test affects 2026 renewal options.

When does a switch become a refinance?

New principal beyond the exemption, a longer amortization, or equity take-out. Then it is a refinance and the MQR applies. What a straight switch is.

Should I stay or switch?

Stay if your lender matches a written outside number without changing the mortgage. Switch if they will not, and the new file is still a straight switch. Framework: switch vs stay and switching versus negotiating.

When does a refinance beat waiting until renewal?

When the use of the extra dollars (or the cash-flow from a longer amort) exceeds the cost of qualifying at contract-plus-two and any penalty if you break early. If you can wait to maturity, a stay or straight switch is usually the cheaper qualification path.