Townhouses under construction are seen in Delta, B.C., on Aug. 12, 2024. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck
About 11 percent of first-time homebuyers in Canada had their parents co-sign their mortgages in 2025, a sharp increase from about 4 percent in 2004, according to a new report from the Bank of Canada.
The trend toward parent co-signatures is helping more people qualify for mortgages and boosting their buying power so they can buy pricier homes, but it is also increasing financial risks for borrowers and the system as a whole, according to an April 2026 report from Bank of Canada senior economist Shaoteng Li.
