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The Mortgage Renewal Wave Just Peaked — Here's What the Data Actually Shows

Published August 30, 2026 For three years, "the mortgage renewal wall" has been the scariest phrase in Canadian personal finance — the idea that a flood of ultra-cheap, pandemic-era mortgages would come due at much higher rates and trigger a wave of forced sales. That wall is now mostly behind us. Two new 2026 surveys, one from Royal LePage and one from Rates.ca, show what actually happened when it hit. The short version: it hurt, budgets tightened hard for a lot of people, but the mass default many feared simply didn't show up. The last big group is renewing right now Royal LePage's 2026 Mortgage Renewal Survey, released August 19 and based on a Leger poll of 1,127 Canadians renewing this year, pins down where things stand: about 12% of all outstanding Canadian mortgages are five-year, fixed-payment loans taken out during the 2020–2022 ultra-low-rate window, and this is their last major renewal wave. The Bank of Canada's overnight rate sat at just 0.25% through m...

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Trade War Escalates: China Strikes Back at U.S. Tariffs

China has retaliated against U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to increase tariffs on Chinese goods to 145%, raising its own tariffs on American imports to 125%. This tit-for-tat escalation has intensified the trade war between the world's two largest economies, sending shockwaves through global markets.

The turmoil has left foreign leaders grappling with the disruption to international trade and supply chains. Stocks have plummeted, the dollar has weakened, and U.S. government bonds have faced a sell-off. Gold, often seen as a safe haven during economic uncertainty, has reached record highs.

While Trump expressed hope for a deal with China, the uncertainty has fueled fears of a global recession. China's Finance Ministry has condemned the U.S. tariffs as "unilateral bullying and coercion," signaling that Beijing is prepared to fight to the end.

The escalating trade conflict underscores the fragility of the global economy and the challenges of navigating such high-stakes negotiations. What do you think about this unfolding drama?

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