Budget 2026 Doubles CDIC Coverage to $250K: What Vancouver Home Sellers and Buyers Need to Know About Their Down Payment Cash

The federal government’s 2026 budget, tabled on November 6, proposes raising the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) coverage limit from $100,000 to $250,000 per depositor—the first increase in more than two decades. The measure is framed as a way to modernize the deposit insurance framework after the limit had been frozen since 2005. Under the proposal, eligible deposits in registered and tax-free accounts would see their insurance cap removed entirely, and the government plans to introduce temporary high-balance coverage for life events such as selling a home. The budget also includes a commitment to legislate a formal review of the framework every ten years, while requiring provincial trust and loan companies to convert to federal charters if they wish to become CDIC members.

For Greater Vancouver buyers and sellers, the existing $100,000 ceiling has long been a quiet concern. In a market where down payments and sale proceeds routinely climb into the mid-six or even seven figures, a six-figure insurance cap leaves substantial cash temporarily exposed during the bridge period between selling and buying. According to DBRS Morningstar, roughly 65 per cent of deposits at Canada’s six largest banks are currently uninsured. The Bank and Trust Companies Association warned in a 2023 letter to former finance minister Chrystia Freeland that Canada’s coverage lagged behind every other G7 nation, and the Department of Finance acknowledged in a 2025 review that inflation had significantly eroded the real value of the 2005 limit. The new $250,000 threshold aligns Canada with U.S. federal standards and certain provincial regimes, offering a wider backstop during a period of economic uncertainty and ongoing trade tensions.