Canada is certainly more conservative in its lending practices than the US was before their bubble burst. Here is a post I wrote on that topic if you are interested:

http://www.integratedmortgageplanners.com/blog/mortgage-market-updates/how-the-us-lent-its-way-to-a-housing-bubble-and-why-it-didnt-happen-here/

Canadian mortgage brokers (and mortgage planners like me) help our clients choose the best of what a myriad of lenders from coast-to-coast offer to customers. Our job, if we do it well, is to help clients find the best combination of interest rates & terms and conditions. To be clear though, we do not set underwriting policy so it is not up to us to be aggressive with polices or not.

(If you have good credit, strong income and a substantial down payment then you are probably getting the best of what is available – and if so, good for you. Choice and flexibility will work to your benefit.)

HELOCs were a huge contributor to the US housing bubble but some of that was because a features and characteristics in the US market that are not present in Canada (for example, in the US there are no penalties to break an existing mortgage, and borrowers had the ability to refinance over and over etc.). That said, HELOCs do present a significant risk to Canadian lending and real estate markets and I expect them to be much more restricted in future.

Hope that helps answer your questions.
Dave

Best regards,

Alla

Thanks,