A federal OSFI rule (formally the Minimum Qualifying Rate) requiring federally regulated lenders to qualify you at the greater of your contract rate plus 2%, or a benchmark rate of 5.25%.
Your actual payments are based on your real contract rate. The stress test only affects how much you can qualify to borrow, giving lenders confidence you could still afford payments if rates rose.
Have questions about your situation? An advisor can walk you through it.