Canada's prime rate is the base interest rate that major banks charge their most creditworthy customers. It is directly influenced by the Bank of Canada's policy interest rate.
Changes in the prime rate affect loans, mortgages, and lines of credit across the country, making it a key measure of borrowing costs.
Almost all residential floating-rate mortgages are based on the respective lender's prime rate. Well-qualified variable-rate mortgage borrowers always get a discount to prime rate, with one exception being during economic crises.
Canada's benchmark prime rate, the mode average of Big 6 bank prime rates, is tracked weekly by the Bank of Canada here.