The short version
- The number of mortgages held by Canada's big banks fell to 4.92 million in June 2026 — the ninth straight monthly decline and the lowest count since October 2020, according to the Canadian Bankers Association.
- The share of bank mortgages in arrears edged down to 0.28% in June, the first monthly improvement in over a year — but the actual number of accounts in arrears is still up 25.2% from a year earlier.
- CBA figures cover roughly 80% of the mortgage market — the big banks — and do not include credit unions, mortgage finance companies or private lenders.
- A shrinking bank-held mortgage book against a barely-improving arrears share is arguably a more cautious signal than either number looks like alone.
- None of this changes what matters for an individual file: income, equity and how a specific household's budget compares with when they last qualified.
What the June data actually shows
Two numbers moved in opposite directions in the latest bank data — and neither tells the full story by itself.
According to Canadian Bankers Association figures reported by Better Dwelling, the number of mortgages held on the books of Canada's chartered banks fell to 4.92 million in June 2026, down 0.02% from May and 0.71% lower than a year earlier. It was the ninth consecutive monthly decline and the lowest count in almost six years, since October 2020.
At the same time, the share of bank mortgages at least 90 days past due edged down to 0.28% in June — the first monthly improvement in more than a year. Looked at closely, though, the move is small: the actual number of mortgages in arrears fell by just 40 accounts, to 14,021, which was barely enough to cross the rounding line between 0.285% in May and 0.284% in June. Measured against a year earlier, arrears accounts are still up 25.2%, or 2,820 more than in June 2025.
Why the number of bank-held mortgages keeps shrinking
A ninth straight monthly decline is a real trend, not noise. Part of it is simply fewer transactions: home sales have been running below year-ago levels in several major Ontario markets this summer, which means fewer new mortgages of any kind getting written. Part of it is existing borrowers renewing or refinancing away from a big bank toward a credit union, a mortgage finance company or a broker-placed lender offering more competitive terms — movement the CBA figures do not capture, because they only cover the big banks.
That last point matters for reading this data correctly. CBA statistics cover roughly 80% of the Canadian mortgage market. They are a strong signal for long-term trends at the big banks specifically, but they say nothing about what is happening at credit unions or non-bank lenders — a shrinking bank book does not necessarily mean fewer Canadians are carrying mortgages overall. It may simply mean the mix of who is holding them is shifting.
What a barely-improving arrears share actually says
Taken at face value, a small monthly improvement in arrears sounds like reassuring news. Set against the broader trend, it reads differently. The current arrears share remains roughly double the record low of 0.14% recorded in 2022, and the number of accounts in arrears has grown by more than a quarter over the past twelve months even as the total number of bank-held mortgages has been shrinking every single month.
That combination — a smaller pool of bank mortgages, with a flat-to-slightly-improving arrears share against it — means the underlying number of troubled accounts is not really easing. It is a signal worth tracking, not a reason for alarm: national mortgage performance remains fundamentally sound, and this is a gradual shift rather than a sudden one.
What it means if you're buying or renewing
For a buyer, a shrinking bank-held mortgage book does not automatically mean it is harder to qualify. It does mean the market is thinner at the big banks specifically, and that shopping across lender types — not just your existing bank — is more likely to turn up a better fit than it would have a few years ago, when bank originations were growing every quarter.
For anyone with a mortgage coming up for renewal, the arrears trend is a reminder that strain in the system tends to concentrate among specific households — larger balances, mortgages financed during the 2022–2023 run-up in borrowing costs, or households where income has become less predictable since they last qualified. If any of that describes your situation, the useful move is reviewing your options months before your renewal letter arrives, not the week it shows up.
- Households renewing a mortgage taken out or last reviewed in 2022 or 2023
- Anyone whose income situation has changed since their last mortgage decision
- Buyers assuming their current bank automatically offers the most competitive option available
Watching this without obsessing over it
Monthly bank statistics are exactly that — monthly. One data point rarely changes what an individual household should do. What's more useful is having someone track the trend on your behalf and flag it when it actually intersects with your own file.
Twenty-five years in Canadian financial services, based in Waterloo Region and working across Ontario. Most people are handed a product — you deserve a plan.
This article summarizes third-party industry data current as of the dates cited. Individual outcomes vary by lender, balance and household circumstances, and everything here is illustrative and subject to lender approval and final terms.
Sources: Better Dwelling — "Canadian Bank Mortgages Near 6-Year Low As Arrears Barely Budge" · Canadian Bankers Association — Mortgages in Arrears statistics