Prime rate in Canada today
The typical prime lending rate of Canadian chartered banks, from Bank of Canada statistics.
Prime rate
4.45%
Data for: November 5, 2025
Previous: 4.70% (September 24, 2025)
What it is
The prime rate is the base rate banks use to price variable-rate loans. Each bank sets its own, but the big banks normally move together within a day of a Bank of Canada decision.
Why it matters
Variable-rate mortgages, home equity lines of credit and many personal loans are priced as "prime plus or minus" a margin.
Rate changes
| Date | Prime rate |
|---|---|
| November 5, 2025 | 4.45% |
| September 24, 2025 | 4.70% |
| March 19, 2025 | 4.95% |
| February 5, 2025 | 5.20% |
| December 18, 2024 | 5.45% |
| October 30, 2024 | 5.95% |
| September 11, 2024 | 6.45% |
| July 31, 2024 | 6.70% |
| June 12, 2024 | 6.95% |
| July 19, 2023 | 7.20% |
| June 14, 2023 | 6.95% |
| February 1, 2023 | 6.70% |
| December 14, 2022 | 6.45% |
| November 2, 2022 | 5.95% |
| September 14, 2022 | 5.45% |
| July 20, 2022 | 4.70% |
| June 8, 2022 | 3.70% |
| April 20, 2022 | 3.20% |
| March 9, 2022 | 2.70% |
| April 1, 2020 | 2.45% |
How to read
Latest: 4.45%
Where it comes from
Bank of Canada, Prime rate (V80691311) (Valet API)
Careful
Information, not advice
What to do
Compare with the related indicators
Reading the prime rate in canada today figure
What the latest prime rate in canada today reading says
The most recent value on this page is 4.45%, for November 5, 2025. Against the previous reading of 4.70%, that is −0.25% — a move down. Weekly is how often Bank of Canada, Prime rate (V80691311) (Valet API) publishes it, so a single reading is a snapshot and not a trend. The 20 observations in the table above, from April 1, 2020 onwards, are what gives the figure context.
Where the prime rate in canada today figure sits in its own history
Across the 20 readings loaded here, the series moved between 2.45% and 7.20%. The latest value sits inside that range, so nothing in this window is exceptional. A window this short cannot show a cycle. It shows the direction of travel and the size of the usual swing, which is enough to tell a normal move from an unusual one, and no more than that.
Who sets the prime rate in canada today and who it affects in Canada
Bank of Canada, Prime rate (V80691311) (Valet API) publishes the prime rate in canada today series, and the page links the exact dataset and its licence below. Nothing here is a second-hand copy: the figure above is read from that source and shown with the date the source gave it. People reach this page searching for "prime rate canada today", and the honest answer is the published figure plus its date. A national figure is an average: your own rate, bill or salary in Canada will sit above or below it.
Why the prime rate in canada today table only shows some dates
This is a policy rate, so the table lists the dates on which it changed, not every day. Between two rows the rate stayed at the earlier value, which is why 4.45% can hold for months.
Glossary
Policy rate
The interest rate a central bank sets to steer the economy, and the floor under most other rates in that currency. It moves only when the rate-setting committee decides, so its history is a series of steps rather than a continuous line.
Basis point
One hundredth of a percentage point. Central banks and markets talk in basis points because "a 0.25 point cut" and "a 25 basis point cut" are the same thing, and the second wording leaves no room for doubt.
Real rate
An interest rate after inflation is taken out, roughly the quoted rate minus the inflation rate. A savings account paying less than inflation has a negative real rate, which means the money loses purchasing power.
Revision
A later correction of a published figure, as the statistics office receives more complete data. Values marked provisional or estimated are the ones most likely to change, which is why the page keeps the source flag.
National average
A figure averaged over a whole country, and therefore not a quote for you. Your own mortgage rate, salary or grocery bill depends on your region, your lender or your shop and will sit above or below the average.
Year-on-year inflation
The change in a price index against the same month a year earlier. It can fall while prices are still rising, because it measures the speed of the increase, not the level of prices.
Yield
The annual return an investor earns by lending money through a bond, expressed as a percentage of its price. Price and yield move in opposite directions: when a bond gets cheaper, its yield rises.
Source: Bank of Canada, Prime rate (V80691311) (Valet API)
Licence: Bank of Canada terms of use: free use with attribution
Update frequency: Weekly
Information only, not financial advice. Figures come from the official source shown and may be revised.