The Physician Mortgage Guide.
Canada, 2026.

A physician mortgage in Canada is not a single product. It is a category of specialty programs offered by major banks and several monoline lenders that qualifies physicians using criteria standard mortgages reject: projected attending income, signed training contracts, alternative income documentation, structured student debt treatment, and corporate income for incorporated doctors.

The core value is not rate discount, though small discounts often apply. The real value is qualification flexibility. A PGY-2 resident on a $70,000 stipend cannot qualify for a Toronto condo under standard rules. Under a physician program, that same resident with a signed residency contract and a projected $320,000 attending income can qualify for $900,000 of mortgage.

Physician programs are offered by Scotia, RBC, TD, CIBC, and National Bank. Similar corporate-income handling is available through monoline lenders like MCAP, First National, and Strive for attending and incorporated physicians. The right lender depends on your training stage, incorporation status, down payment source, and purchase profile.

Canadian physician mortgage programs accept five distinct profiles, each with different qualification paths.

Five major banks offer physician-specific programs. Several monolines handle incorporated and specialty cases. Each has strengths.

Projected income is the single feature that distinguishes physician mortgages from standard ones. Under standard qualification, a mortgage lender uses current T4 income or two-year average self-employed income. A resident on $70K qualifies for a resident-sized mortgage.

Under physician programs, the lender uses projected attending income based on a signed residency contract, specialty career averages, and a reasonable ramp assumption. The PGY-2 on $70K becomes qualifiable on a projected $320K attending income even years before attending status.

The practical effect: residents and fellows can buy at attending-level prices during training, not years after. This matches the reality of medical careers, where the highest-earning decades follow the lowest-earning decades with a hard line between them.

The mechanics vary by lender. Scotia uses a specific projection formula based on specialty and PGY level. RBC and TD use signed contract income with specialty adjustment. Monolines handling incorporated files use post-training averages with underwriting discretion.

A Physician Line of Credit is a high-limit unsecured line of credit offered by Scotia, RBC, TD, CIBC, and National Bank. Limits range from $150K to $350K depending on lender, stage, and specialty. Rates are prime-linked, typically prime minus a small discount.

For mortgage purposes the PLOC has four uses:

1. Down payment source. Documented PLOC draws are accepted by most physician lenders as down payment, subject to lender-specific cap ratios.
2. Closing cost cushion. Land transfer tax, legal, and adjustment costs can run $20K-$60K on a typical physician purchase. PLOC covers these without depleting savings.
3. Bridge financing. When selling one home and buying another, PLOC handles the gap between close dates.
4. Post-close cash flow buffer. Available balance acts as a cushion against variable income months or unexpected expenses.

The key feature is that PLOC balances do not require amortization. Interest accrues only on the drawn balance, payable monthly, and principal can sit indefinitely without a forced pay-down schedule. This makes the PLOC a genuine long-term tool rather than a short-term loan.

Many attending Canadian physicians incorporate as Professional Corporations for tax efficiency. Incorporation changes the mortgage qualification picture substantially.

Under standard qualification, an incorporated physician is qualified on personal T4 income. The T4 is typically set by the physician to the minimum needed for lifestyle and RRSP room, keeping most practice income inside the corporation for tax deferral. A physician grossing $450K through the corporation might take $150K as T4 salary. Standard qualification values that physician at the $150K figure, understating qualification power by roughly 40-60%.

Physician-program and monoline lenders handle this differently. Corporate qualification uses:

• Gross corporate revenue (or net after expenses, lender-specific)
• Shareholder dividend history
• Retained earnings as capacity
• T4 salary as a component, not the whole picture

The practical effect: an incorporated attending often qualifies for 50-80% more mortgage under corporate-income structures than under personal T4 alone. This is the single largest mortgage capacity unlock for mid-career physicians.

Rent or buy during residency depends on training length, city, and career direction. The standard simple rule (buy if you will be there 5+ years, rent if less) oversimplifies the decision. Physician-program qualification flexibility changes the math.

Buy typically wins when:

• Training is four or more years in the same city
• Local housing market is not in acute overvalued territory
• Down payment can come from PLOC without depleting emergency savings
• Partner has stable income or is a co-applicant
• Carrying cost sits near or below rental cost in same neighbourhood

Rent typically wins when:

• Training is two or three years and you are mobile for fellowship
• Local market is inflated or you expect a correction during your stay
• You have zero down payment capacity and would rely entirely on PLOC
• Career direction uncertain across multiple cities

The rent-vs-buy calculator on this site runs the full after-tax comparison with your specific numbers.

Closing costs vary by province, city, and purchase price. The three largest components: land transfer tax, CMHC insurance (for insured mortgages), and legal and adjustment costs.

Most Canadian physicians sign a 5-year fixed mortgage at their initial purchase. Five years later the term matures and the lender sends a renewal letter at their posted rate. Signing that letter without shopping is among the most expensive financial mistakes physicians make.

Posted renewal rates at Canadian banks are typically 30-80 basis points above the best available rate a broker can source at the same moment. On a $1M mortgage over a 5-year term, 50 basis points is roughly $25,000-$30,000 in extra interest paid.

Switching lenders at renewal has zero penalty. The original mortgage matures cleanly, a new lender provides a discharge and assumes the balance, and the physician takes the better rate. The process is administratively lightweight, handled entirely by the incoming lender and the lawyer.

The cost of bank renewal letters guide covers the full math and process for Canadian physicians approaching renewal.