The 2026 medallists are in, and the way lenders compete for them has changed
Canada's mortgage brokers have picked their lenders. The results are in.
Canadian Mortgage Professional (CMP) has announced the winners of its 20th annual Brokers on Lenders report. The report names the best mortgage lenders in Canada as rated by the brokers who send them business.
Brokers scored lenders across 10 performance categories, including turnaround time, interest rates, product range, broker support, IT and technology, and overall service levels.
This year's medallists include Manulife Bank of Canada, MCAP, Merix, RMG Mortgages, VWR Capital Corp. and Calvert Home Mortgage Investment Corporation. The full list of winners and the complete Brokers on Lenders 2026 report is available now.
For the first time in the survey's history, lenders were split into Alternative and Prime categories, each with its own gold, silver and bronze medallists.
Alternative lenders compete on speed and common-sense underwriting for files outside conventional guidelines.
Prime lenders, particularly bank-affiliated players, face pressure to match broker-channel pricing against what their own branches offer walk-in clients.
What the 2026 winners were recognized for
Manulife Bank of Canada earned silver for product range in the Prime category. Its range rests on two products: the Select Mortgage, a traditional amortizing mortgage in fixed and variable options, and Manulife One, an all-in-one product that works like a home equity line of credit tied to a chequing account.
"It gives you the flexibility like no other product," says Jenn Ruso, vice president and head of residential lending and distribution at the Toronto-based lender.
Brokers must complete certification and onboarding before accessing Manulife's full product suite. The lender resolved more than 100 broker and customer irritants in 2025. It also raised the loan-to-value ratio on its Equity Advantage program to 65% from 50%, fully re-advanceable, in response to broker feedback.
"It took us a little bit of time to change the policy and get everybody aligned internally, but we were incredibly excited to say that we were able to meet their requirements," Ruso says.
In the Prime category, MCAP took gold for IT and technology, Merix earned silver in the overall rankings and RMG Mortgages won bronze for IT and technology.
On the Alternative side, VWR Capital Corp. earned gold for interest rates and bronze for satisfaction with credit policy. The British Columbia-based lender has built its pitch around simplicity.
"I know it sounds boring, but having a one-page policy, a product that doesn't change, and low fees is easy to remember," says Steven Lang of VWR Capital.
Calvert Home Mortgage Investment Corporation rounded out the Alternative overall podium with bronze.
Why brokers are judging lenders harder in 2026
The share of brokers naming past clients as their strongest referral source fell to 44.66% in the 2026 survey from 56.28% in 2025, while realtor referrals rose to a three-year high of 34.86%.
Roughly 78% of brokers submitted deals to five or more lenders in each of the past three survey years. That means every lender is judged against a crowded bench, file by file, as more borrowers turn to the channel.
Speed topped the list of broker frustrations, echoing a year of brokers navigating pricing chaos and slow turnaround times.
"In 2026, anything beyond 24 hours for a live purchase file should be the exception, not the norm," says Micky Khaneka, a mortgage broker with MKG Mortgages in Toronto and a 2026 CMP Top 75 Broker.
He says this year's medallists set themselves apart on more than price. "The lenders standing out are those that pair competitive rates with common-sense underwriting, responsive service, and reliable execution," Khaneka says.
Lenders in each category were ranked by the average score they received from broker ratings. The report is supported by the Canadian Alternative Mortgage Lenders Association.
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