Please join First National for a year of purposeful growth

  • Scott McKenzie Executive Vice President, Residential Mortgages

Welcome to 2026!

At First National, we are excited to begin the new year with a renewed sense of purpose and a strong mandate to grow.

Our purpose is to make it easier, faster, and better for you to do business with us. Our growth mandate calls on us to build on the incredible success we enjoyed – thanks to you – in 2025. First National’s total mortgage book recently surpassed $166 billion, a proud milestone that we celebrate enthusiastically but also with humility.

We recognize that we are in the right place, at the right time, serving the right people. By that, I mean we consider ourselves fortunate to lend through the broker channel. Your presence at the apex of our business has made us a far more competitive lender. And it is no accident that our business has benefited from the tailwind you created by gaining the trust of more and more Canadian homebuyers. A case in point: in 2013, when First National reached $50 billion in single‑family mortgages, the broker community’s market share was around 30%. Now that share is approaching 50%.

However, we will not simply ride on your coattails. As entrepreneurs who understand that our work has a very real human impact, we will give it our all to sharpen our edge. This means redoubling our efforts to be the most responsive lender you work with in 2026. It also includes doing new things, like giving our underwriters artificial intelligence tools so they can approve deals with greater speed.

Our rallying cry is to Own the Moment, and with it, we underline the responsible and accountable nature of our service culture. Three decades in the making, that culture of service is deeply entrenched and focused on you.

Looking forward

Not to downplay the risks posed by cross‑border tariffs, but I feel cautiously optimistic about the housing market in 2026. Home prices are more affordable now than they’ve been for some time. New homebuyers’ budgets benefit from 30‑year mortgage amortizations. In historical terms, interest rates are extraordinarily low. The Bank of Canada forecasts that economic growth will pick up in 2026. And the federal government plans on welcoming 380,000 permanent residents in 2026 – all of whom will need shelter.

To me, it all adds up to opportunity, and First National will be there to seize it with our Prime and Excalibur Alt‑A offerings delivered by our team of dedicated professionals. Speaking of which, we congratulate Elena Robinson for being named to the 2025 Canadian Mortgage Professionals Global 100 list of industry leaders for championing the broker community’s growth and success.

Elena is one of many First National veterans whose experience through housing market cycles makes us a more reliable, more effective lender with the expertise and capacity to respond.

Now, more than ever, Canadians need you to be there for them with the right mortgage products and the best advice. First National stands foursquare behind you as the market’s broker‑focused mortgage lender, offering consistent and transparent mortgage adjudication and our always‑popular First National Education Days. These return in 2026, so please speak to your First National representative for additional details.

As the spring market unfolds, you can count on our team to be ready to serve your team with purpose and a strong growth mandate.

Thank you for giving First National the opportunity to shine. We appreciate and value your partnership and wish you a very prosperous New Year.

Yours sincerely,

Scott McKenzie

Executive Vice President, Residential Mortgages

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