Heading into late March, Canadian savers are seeing a broadly stable rate environment, with only minor shifts across some guaranteed investment certificate products.
While the Bank of Canada held its policy rate last week, continuing geopolitical conflict and trade tensions have pushed bond yields higher. That pressure is beginning to slowly seep into savings products, with some providers quietly nudging their rates upward.
The best GIC rates have seen some movement this week. WealthONE continues to lead the one-year term at 3.65 per cent, while Achieva Financial holds the top spot for two-year GICs at 3.80 per cent.
The three-year GIC category has seen some movement at the top, with Equitable Bank now leading at 3.72 per cent, followed closely by HomeEquity Bank at 3.71 per cent. Maxa Financial, Outlook Financial, WealthONE, Saven and Achieva all continue to offer 3.70 per cent in this term, giving savers strong options just below the top.
For five-year GICs, Equitable Bank has taken the top position with a new best rate of 3.86 per cent, with Achieva and HomeEquity both offering 3.85 per cent.
To put these returns in context, the relationship between GIC rates and mortgage rates has shifted since our last update two weeks ago. On the three-year term, the top GIC rate of 3.72 per cent now falls marginally below the best mortgage rate of 3.79 per cent – a reversal from two weeks ago, when GIC rates were slightly higher than comparable mortgage rates.
At the five-year mark, GICs continue to come out ahead: The best GIC rate of 3.86 per cent exceeds the lowest five-year fixed-mortgage rate of 3.69 per cent, a spread of 17 basis points, down slightly from 21 basis points two weeks ago.
On the savings-account side, Bank of Nova Scotia leads with the best promotional savings rate offer at 4.65 per cent for three months. It is followed closely by Royal Bank of Canada and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce at 4.60 per cent for the same period, though savers should note these rates drop sharply once the promotional window closes, making them less competitive over longer horizons.
For everyday savings, Saven offers the highest non-promotional rate at 2.85 per cent, with Oaken Financial close behind at 2.80 per cent. Fintech platforms remain competitive too: Neo Financial provides tiered rates up to 3 per cent on balances above $20,000, while Koho advertises returns of up to 3.50 per cent through its paid plan.
With rates holding steady for now, savers may find that locking in remains attractive, especially as future rate moves remain uncertain.
Interest rates are provided by WOWA.ca, which gathers, aggregates and freely disseminates data on mortgage rates, savings accounts and GIC rates from 50+ Canadian financial institutions.
Sanika Purohit is a writer and content developer at WOWA.ca, a Canadian personal finance platform.
