How much do mortgage brokers make in Canada?

Salary sites put the average Canadian mortgage broker somewhere between $77,000 and $98,000 a year. That number is close to useless, because it averages a broker in month four with no funded file against one who closed $391 million last year. Nobody earns the average.

Mortgage broker income in Canada is commission. The lender pays a finder's fee when a mortgage funds, the brokerage takes its share, and what is left is yours before fees and tax. So the only formula that matters is:

Funded volume × finder's fee × your split, minus fees = income

Everything on this page feeds that formula with real 2026 figures, so you can price any brokerage offer yourself before you take a call.

Why the salary sites disagree with each other

Three reasons. They mix salaried bank mortgage specialists in with commissioned brokers. They are built from job postings and self reported numbers, and a posting for a commission role shows a guess. And the spread inside the job is enormous: Indeed's own range for a mortgage agent runs from $36,300 to $199,082. Treat these figures as the middle of a very wide road, not a forecast.

How the money is actually made

A lender pays the brokerage a finder's fee when the mortgage funds, quoted in basis points. One basis point is one hundredth of a percent, so 100 bps on a $400,000 mortgage is $4,000.

• Term sets the fee. One published 2026 lender schedule pays 50 bps on a one year term, 65 on two years, 90 on three, and 100 on four and five. Most brokers describe A lender five year fees between 0.75 and 1.1 percent. Short terms pay roughly half.
• Volume bonus sits on top. Lenders add roughly 10 to 25 bps for brokers and brokerages that hit their tiers. A brokerage with top tier status passes that on, which is why lender status matters more than the headline split.
• Trailer models trade now for later. Some lenders pay less up front, then a few basis points each year and 20 to 50 bps at renewal. Highclere Capital's 2026 programme pays up to 50 bps at renewal on a five year term on top of the normal upfront fee.
• B lenders pay less and allow a fee. Alternative lenders often pay a lower finder's fee, and the broker charges the client roughly 1 percent, sometimes more on a small second mortgage.
• Private files are fee based. The lender pays little or nothing, so the broker charges 1 to 3 percent of the loan, occasionally more on a difficult file. It must be disclosed in writing before the client commits, and it is never charged on an A file.
• Insurance is a second cheque. Creditor insurance sold with the mortgage pays its own commission, which is why every network pushes it.

Four worked examples with 2026 numbers

The average new mortgage in Canada was $362,300 in the second quarter of 2026, according to Equifax. In the Lower Mainland and the GTA it is far higher. Each example uses a 1 percent finder's fee and round numbers so you can swap in your own.

What your volume nets

Find your funded volume below. Each figure uses a 1 percent finder's fee and is before brokerage fees and tax. Every five points of split is worth $5,000 for each $10 million you fund, which is why the fee lines matter as much as the headline split.

What comes off the top

The gross figures above are before the costs a self employed broker carries. Budget for these before you compare offers.

• Licence. Ontario renews every year: $841 for a Level 1 agent and $883 for Level 2 agents and brokers, due by March 31. BC currently charges $1,750 per renewal, rising to $2,000 for an individual under the Mortgage Services Act from October 13, 2026. Alberta's renewal is $525 a year, made up of $475 plus the $50 Assurance Fund levy, and a new licence is $575.
• Continuing education. Ontario's even year cycle needs 15 hours for agents and 17 for brokers, and the course itself can cost as little as $30. Alberta's 2025 relicensing course was $229.
• Errors and omissions insurance. Ontario places the requirement on the brokerage. BC's new rules require $500,000 per occurrence and $1 million a year at the brokerage. Ask who pays the premium and whether it comes off each file.
• Brokerage fees. Where brokerages publish them, monthly desk or platform fees run $100 to $150, and some add a per file processing or compliance charge of a few hundred dollars. A 100 percent split with a per file fee can net less than an 85 percent split with none. Our guide to comparing offers on net income does that math.
• Tools and marketing. A CRM, a website, a Google Business Profile that is actually worked, and the coffees that turn into referral partners.
• Tax. Commission income is business income. You collect and remit GST or HST on broker fees, pay both halves of CPP, and once income is steady many brokers incorporate. Our post on personal mortgage corporations in BC covers when that starts to make sense.

Why year one is the hard one

Files take 30 to 90 days from application to funding, so the first pay cheque arrives months after the first client. Most brokerages that publish a figure put first year income between $30,000 and $75,000, and the honest ones say three in four new brokers leave inside two years. The brokers who make it through year one usually had a pipeline plan before they had a licence. Our post on a new broker's first 90 days lays one out, and our guide to commission splits shows why the net matters more than the headline split.