How bad access to credit keeps newcomers from getting ahead

According to a 2025 TD survey, 92% of newcomers understood the importance of building credit before arriving in Canada. Yet 82% of those who applied for credit faced immediate barriers. For many, these challenges go beyond inconvenience. They directly affect immigrants’ ability to secure housing, buy a car, start a business, and simply build a life in Canada.

This isn’t just about money. It’s about inclusion. And if Canada sees immigration as important to its future, then removing systemic financial barriers must be part of the national conversation.

A cultural shift, and a credit wake-up call

Like many immigrants, I arrived in Canada financially stable. But the Canadian financial system didn’t recognize that.

I grew up in India and the Middle East with a simple rule: never buy what you can’t afford. Credit cards weren’t necessary, loans weren’t encouraged, and financial independence meant living within your means. That worldview shaped my early adult life—until I met my wife, who was born and raised in Ottawa.

I remember one of our early conversations while we were still living abroad. She was confused about why I booked flights through a travel agent. The answer was simple: I didn’t have a credit card. And I didn’t feel like I needed one. To her, this was strange; in Canada, a credit card is a default tool for everything from booking travel to building rewards points. For me, it felt like a way to buy things I couldn’t afford. We weren’t arguing, just coming at the problem from different cultural angles.

Eventually, I applied for a credit card and, like many people who didn’t grow up using credit, I abused it at first. It felt like free money, but that illusion wore off quickly. Over time, I developed a healthy relationship with credit: using it for convenience, managing payments responsibly, and collecting points for purchases I would have made anyway. When we eventually moved to Canada, all of that learning felt like it didn’t matter anymore.

Credit history doesn’t travel

Here’s a truth most newcomers know, but few are prepared for: your financial history doesn’t follow you.

Despite arriving with a strong financial foundation, I couldn’t qualify for a meaningful credit limit. My first Canadian credit card had a limit of $200, barely enough for half a Costco run. It wasn’t that I had a bad credit score. I didn’t have one at all. And building one from scratch took years.

This wasn’t just a minor inconvenience. It affected every part of our lives.

We couldn’t get a mortgage, not because of our income or how much we had saved for a down payment, but because of a lack of credit history. When we finally did qualify, we had been in the country for years and had done everything right: on-time payments, healthy credit utilization, excellent scores in the 800s. But still, I wasn’t seen the same way the system viewed my wife, who had been born and raised here.

Even now, after more than six years in Canada, my access to credit remains restricted. I don’t get offers for balance transfers, lines of credit, or automatic credit increases like she does. Why? Because she has decades of history, and I don’t. The system rewards longevity, not responsibility.

Harder than it should be

The TD survey confirms what I experienced. Among newcomers:

31% qualified only for credit limits too low to meet basic needs

27% struggled to secure housing

24% couldn’t save or invest for future goals

66% worried about their Canadian credit history

79% found it difficult to start building credit at all

That last stat is crucial. Building credit isn’t just hard, it’s systemically difficult for immigrants. And that’s the problem.

Even though 92% of newcomers say building credit is important, they’re often left without the tools to do it effectively.

Yes, the financial services industry is beginning to acknowledge the unique needs of newcomers, but acknowledgment isn’t enough. It’s like going to a doctor who finally understands your symptoms but doesn’t have a treatment. Empathy without action is still inaction.

If Canada wants newcomers to succeed, we need more than empathy. We need solutions.