MortgageFest Canada, the world's largest mortgage festival, arrives at the International Centre in Toronto on September 23 and 24 — two full days, two stages, and a line-up that covers everything pressing the Canadian mortgage industry right now.
The event is the successor to the Canadian Mortgage Summit and has expanded to meet the scale of the moment. With the renewal wave still reshaping deal flow, artificial intelligence moving from conference conversation to daily workflow, and lenders reassessing risk appetites across prime, alt, and private channels, the timing is pointed.
Here are 10 reasons mortgage brokers across Canada should be there.
The renewal crunch, mapped in real time
Derek Burleton, vice-president and deputy chief economist at TD Bank Group in Toronto, opens Day 1 with a keynote examining where rates, housing activity, and credit quality are heading over the next 24 months.
According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), an estimated 1.15 million mortgage renewals are expected in 2026 alone, more than in any recent year, with a significant majority of borrowers transitioning from rates well below those available today.
Understanding the data behind that wave is essential for any broker positioning their business for the months ahead.
Prime lending, decoded
A panel on Day 1's Summit Stage — featuring senior representatives from TD Bank, BMO BrokerEdge, First National Financial, and National Bank — will break down where prime lenders are saying yes, where they are pulling back, and how deal packaging affects approval speed and outcomes.
With lenders refining their underwriting standards as the market stabilises, brokers who understand that shift are better placed to move files efficiently.
AI that actually works in your brokerage
Two AI-focused sessions feature prominently across both days. On Day 1, Dalia Barsoum, co-founder and chief executive of Wisely AI Technologies and founder of Streetwise Mortgages in Canada, walks through real workflows her brokerage has built across the full mortgage lifecycle, from lead management to renewals.
On Day 2, a panel featuring Tracey Robinson of Finastra examines where AI is already shifting deal flow and where human judgment stays essential. Roughly 70% of all outstanding Canadian mortgages are expected to come up for renewal by the end of 2026, with mortgages originated between 2020 and 2022 facing payment increases of approximately 40%, a volume that makes AI-driven workflow efficiencies more than a competitive advantage.
Alt lending is no longer niche — treat it that way
Day 1's afternoon panel on the Summit Stage brings together senior figures from WealthONE Bank of Canada, EQ Bank, and MCAN Financial to examine how top alt brokers structure, package, and position deals.
Reaza Ali, national business development manager at Heartwood Financial Group in Canada and chair of Day 2, recently told CMP that brokers need to invest more time in understanding the evolution of the alt space.
Compliance and fraud risk, the practical version
Two compliance-focused sessions take a case-study approach. On Day 1, brokers and a compliance expert will walk through real anti-money laundering (AML), know-your-client (KYC), and disclosure failures and the consequences that followed.
On Day 2's Insights Stage, Joe White, founder and chief executive of the Real Estate and Mortgage Institute of Canada (REMIC) in Toronto, examines real fraud scenarios, AI-generated documentation risk, and where broker liability exposure is growing.
Both sessions are built around situations practitioners are already encountering.
Private and MIC lending, in depth
A Day 2 panel on the Summit Stage, featuring Sebastien Kuperhouse of Sequence Capital, Nick Christopoulos of Hosper Mortgage, and Jason Geall of Peerage Mortgage Capital, will examine how sophisticated mortgage investment corporations (MICs) and private lenders price risk, what audit-ready documentation looks like, and how brokers can position themselves as preferred partners.
As the private and MIC space faces greater regulatory scrutiny, that kind of structural knowledge is increasingly relevant.
Near-prime — the market hiding in plain sight
A Day 2 panel on near-prime lending will examine how brokers misidentify borrower profiles, direct deals to the wrong lending channel, and miss approvals as a result.
Featuring Jake Bannister, senior regional sales manager for Western Canada at Glasslake Funding, the session addresses credit, income, and debt-servicing complexities that sit between traditional prime underwriting and the alt-B market.
Communication strategies that close deals
Denise Laframboise, mortgage broker and principal of Laframboise Mortgage in Canada, leads a Day 1 Insights Stage session on how top-performing brokers structure client conversations from hesitation to commitment — with practical techniques for handling objections, shifting the conversation from rate to value, and keeping clients confident enough to act.
In a competitive environment where the difference between winning and losing a deal often comes down to delivery, the session addresses a skill gap that volume alone cannot fix.
Business-building for the long term
Across both days, several sessions address the structural health of brokers' businesses rather than just their deal flow.
A Day 2 session on succession planning examines the key drivers of value in a mortgage book, including renewal ratios, trailer income, client data quality, and documented processes, and how to prepare for sale, partnership, or transition three to five years out.
A separate new agents bootcamp provides a grounded view of income variability, niche selection, and early-stage business strategy for those building their practice for the first time.
Women in Mortgage Summit runs alongside Day 2
Running concurrently with Day 2 of MortgageFest Canada, the Women in Mortgage Summit Canada brings together more than 500 women across the industry for a dedicated day of programming at the same International Centre venue.
The Summit features its own speaker line-up and networking programming and is accessible with a MortgageFest Canada registration.
MortgageFest Canada is free to register. Further programme details and registration are available at mortgagefest.ca.
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