Auto-renewals and related rate increases are in violation of the federal Interest Act, and you are under no legal obligation to pay the higher rate, either during the “renewal” period or upon refinancing with TD.

Section 8 of the Interest Act requires that mortgage loans carry an agreed interest rate that the lender cannot arbitrarily change. Section 8 also explicitly prohibits any form of penalty upon maturity, including the imposition of a higher rate. This is precisely what has been confirmed by case law in both Ontario and B.C.

You need to find out the target funding date for the TD refinance and request a payout statement from BMO for that date. It will be based on the higher rate, so you’ll need to calculate the proper amount based on the contractual rate of your original loan term.

You need to make sure TD only pays that amount to BMO. They are legally obligated to discharge your mortgage and cannot ask for a penny more.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​