Payday-loan cost caps are set province by province. Ontario caps the cost at $14 per $100 advanced and British Columbia at 14% of the principal; every other province and territory publishes its own current figure through its regulator.
| Province/Territory | Maximum cost of borrowing | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario | $14 per $100 advanced | Ontario O. Reg. 475/24 |
| British Columbia | 14% of the principal | B.C. Reg. 57/2009 |
| Alberta | $14 per $100 advanced | Government of Alberta — payday loans (effective 1 Jan 2025) |
| Saskatchewan | $17 per $100 advanced | FCAA Saskatchewan |
| Manitoba | See the regulator's current published figure | Manitoba Consumer Protection Office |
| Quebec | See the regulator's current published figure | Office de la protection du consommateur |
| New Brunswick | See the regulator's current published figure | Financial and Consumer Services Commission of New Brunswick |
| Nova Scotia | See the regulator's current published figure | Service Nova Scotia (consumer protection) |
| Prince Edward Island | See the regulator's current published figure | Government of Prince Edward Island (consumer services) |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | See the regulator's current published figure | Digital Government and Service NL (consumer affairs) |
| Yukon | See the regulator's current published figure | Government of Yukon (consumer affairs) |
| Northwest Territories | See the regulator's current published figure | Government of the Northwest Territories (consumer affairs) |
| Nunavut | See the regulator's current published figure | Government of Nunavut (consumer affairs) |
Payday loans are one of the most expensive mainstream forms of short-term credit in Canada, and the maximum a licensed lender may charge is set by the province or territory where the loan is made. Two caps can be quoted directly from the official regulations: Ontario limits the total cost of borrowing to $14 per $100 advanced, and British Columbia caps it at 14% of the principal. Everywhere else, the ceiling is set by the local regulator and can be changed by regulation, so the only reliable figure is the one that regulator currently publishes. This page explains what the cap covers, shows the confirmed values, and walks you through confirming the rule where you live.
What a payday-loan cost cap includes
A payday-loan cost cap is a legal maximum on what a licensed payday lender may charge for a loan, usually expressed either as a dollar amount for every $100 advanced or as a percentage of the principal. In most provinces the cap is designed to capture the whole cost of borrowing, meaning the interest plus the fees that would otherwise appear as separate charges. Because it is a ceiling rather than a fixed price, a lender may charge less, and the amount you actually pay depends on the lender, the province, and the term of the loan. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada explains the basic mechanics of these short-term loans on its payday loans page.
Federal law sits underneath the provincial rules. Section 347 of the Criminal Code makes it an offence to enter into an agreement for interest at an effective annual rate above the criminal rate, and the Criminal Interest Rate Regulations, SOR/2024-114, set that rate at 35% per annum. Provincial payday rules then add a separate, generally lower cap for licensed payday loans. You can read the federal provision at Criminal Code s.347. The two rules are not interchangeable: a payday loan can comply with a provincial cap while still exceeding 35% on an annualized basis, because the provincial cap is a specifically authorized regime.
The confirmed caps at a glance
The table on this page lists the two caps we can quote directly from the regulations and, for every other province and territory, points to the regulator that publishes the current figure. We deliberately do not print a number we cannot attribute to an official source, because a cap that has changed is more misleading than a pointer to the source. Treat the table as a starting point and the regulator's own publication as the final word.
Why the maximum differs from province to province
Consumer credit is largely a provincial responsibility, so each province and territory licenses payday lenders and writes its own cost-of-borrowing rules. Some jurisdictions cap the charge as a flat dollar amount per $100, others use a percentage of the principal, and a few place additional limits on how often a loan can be rolled over or renewed. The result is that the same $500 advance can carry a different legal maximum depending on where you sign the agreement. That is why a national average payday rate is not a meaningful number: the binding figure is always the one in the jurisdiction where the loan is made.
It also means the cap can move. Governments adjust these ceilings periodically, and a figure that was correct a few years ago may not be today. When you are comparing offers, treat any number you read on a commercial website as unverified until you have matched it to the regulator's own publication. If a lender tells you the cap is a certain amount, it is reasonable to ask which regulation or fee schedule that figure comes from.
How to confirm the cap where you live
- Identify the regulator for your province or territory using the source column in the table on this page.
- Open the regulator's official website and search for payday loans or cost of borrowing.
- Look for the current regulation, fee schedule, or licence condition rather than a news article or a lender's marketing page.
- Check the date the regulator last updated the page and note both the maximum and what it includes.
- If you already hold a loan, compare the total cost shown on your agreement with the published cap.
- If the numbers do not match, contact the regulator and ask how the charge was calculated.
What this means for co-signers and guarantors
A co-signer on a payday loan takes on the same legal responsibility as the primary borrower, and the high cost of the product is what makes the risk unusual. If the borrower cannot repay, the lender can generally pursue the co-signer for the balance, and that balance can grow quickly because of the cost of borrowing. Before agreeing, ask the lender for the total cost of borrowing in dollars, the number of times the loan can be renewed, and what happens to the debt if the borrower defaults. New Brunswick's consumer regulator publishes a plain-language guide on what to know before co-signing a loan, and BC's Clicklaw wiki covers co-signing or guaranteeing a loan.
Common mistakes when checking a payday cap:
- Using a number from a lender's or aggregator's website instead of the regulator's publication.
- Assuming the cap is the price, when it is only a maximum and the actual charge can be lower.
- Confusing the provincial payday cap with the federal 35% criminal rate, which are separate rules.
- Forgetting that the cap applies where the loan is made, not where the borrower lives.
- Signing as a co-signer without asking for the total dollar cost of borrowing in writing.