A typical Ontario rental project changes lenders at least once. A private or bank lender funds construction, and when the building is finished and leased, a separate lender provides a long-term mortgage, often insured by CMHC. That handoff is where many projects get into trouble: if rates move or lease-up is slow, the take-out can come in smaller or later than planned.
Cameron Stephens Mortgage Capital wants to keep borrowers through that handoff. The Toronto-based investment manager has been approved to offer CMHC-insured commercial mortgages on multi-unit residential properties with five or more units, in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and Manitoba.[1]
What changes for the lender
Cameron Stephens has offered conventional, uninsured loans for developers for years, along with an equity division that offers partnership investments. What it didn't have was CMHC-insured construction and take-out financing.[1] Senior vice-president Riccky Dasgupta described the new capability as a natural complement and next step, and said the goal is to keep borrowers with the firm through the whole project rather than hand them off.[1]
CMHC is the only provider of mortgage loan insurance for multi-unit rental properties in Canada. Insurance lets lenders offer lower interest rates, higher loan-to-value ratios and amortizations of up to 50 years.[1] Dasgupta said that makes the firm "way more competitive," because insured loans have lower rates and higher leverage.[1]
One combination he described: a conventional construction loan from Cameron Stephens, followed by a CMHC-insured take-out loan from the same firm.[1] The insured financing can be used for apartments, townhomes, low-rise homes, student housing and retirement residences.
Three groups of borrowers
Cameron Stephens expects demand from three kinds of clients:[1]
- Long-term apartment owners and institutional investors.
- Value-add buyers purchasing properties that need major renovation.
- Condo owners converting units to rentals as the condo market weakens in cities such as Toronto and Vancouver.
The third group is a sign of the times. Bulk buyers of unsold condos, and developers turning condo projects into rentals, need financing that fits a rental income profile rather than a sales profile.
The firm's scale
Cameron Stephens says it has originated more than $13.7 billion in loan commitments since 2004. Its current portfolio splits into $3.1 billion of institutional capital and over $600 million of private capital.[1] It plans to grow its CMHC business significantly over the next six to 12 months, and has built advisory teams across Western Canada, the Prairies and Ontario.[1]
The insured platform sits alongside its Accelerated Lending Program, launched in 2025 with up to $500 million from its mortgage funds. That program offers single-advance inventory, term, bridge and land loans of up to $15 million, and made $100 million in commitments in its first four months.[1]
Why lifecycle lending is spreading
Private construction lenders and insured permanent lenders have traditionally been different businesses with different capital sources. A few forces are pushing them together:
- Take-out risk has become more visible. With rates and rents both less predictable, borrowers value certainty that a permanent loan will be available on known terms.
- Insured lending is the dominant permanent product for rental. With CMHC programs such as MLI Select offering high leverage and long amortization, lenders without access to insurance can lose the permanent loan, and the relationship with it.[2]
- Competition for good borrowers is intense. Offering construction and permanent financing together is a way to win and keep clients.
For borrowers, a single lender across the lifecycle can simplify things, but it doesn't remove the underlying risk. The insured take-out still has to meet CMHC's underwriting when the building is complete. Rate, leverage and terms at that point depend on the building's performance, not on who funded construction. Borrowers comparing offers will still want to look at both stages separately.
What borrowers may compare
For developers weighing a single-lender approach against separate construction and permanent lenders, the practical comparisons are fairly specific:
- Certainty. Whether the take-out is committed at the start, or only expected.
- Pricing. Whether the combined package is competitive with the best separate offers at each stage.
- Flexibility. What happens if lease-up is slower than planned and the building doesn't qualify for the insured loan on schedule.
- Concentration. Whether relying on one lender for the whole project adds risk if that lender's own funding conditions change.
The broader signal
Cameron Stephens joins a growing group of non-bank lenders that want to be present at every stage of a rental project. As more Canadian rental supply depends on insured financing, access to CMHC programs is becoming a competitive requirement for private lenders, not an optional add-on. For the rental sector, more insured lenders should mean more competition on terms.
Sources
[1] Cameron Stephens unlocks full-lifecycle financing with CMHC approval, RENX (Sept. 11, 2026): https://renx.ca/a-natural-complement-cameron-stephens-approved-for-cmhc-insured-loans
[2] MLI Select, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation: https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/professionals/project-funding-and-mortgage-financing/mortgage-loan-insurance/multi-unit-insurance/mliselect