Aaron Broverman is the Managing Editor of Forbes Advisor Canada. He has almost 20 years of experience writing in the personal finance space for outlets such as Bankrate, Bankrate Canada, ...

A variable-rate mortgage has an interest rate that is not fixed for the full mortgage term. It can either have an annual rate update or an initial fixed rate before switching to a variable rate.

For a seemingly endless 27 months, from March 2022 to June 2024, those with variable-rate mortgages watched in dread as Canada’s benchmark prime rate climbed a mountain and then stayed at its peak.