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If you've recently moved to Canada, you've probably already been told you need "good credit." But good credit what, exactly? Two terms usually come up: your credit score and your credit history. While they sound interchangeable, they aren't.

Your credit score is a summary number. Your credit history is the underlying file lenders use to assess risk. Lenders derive your score from the your history, and for newcomers, the main issue is usually that your file has no data to base your history on.

It’s also worth knowing that Canada uses two credit bureaus, Equifax and TransUnion, and they operate independently. Not every lender reports to both. So your file at Equifax and your file at TransUnion can look different. And "no Canadian file" is not the same as "low score." A no-hit file means the system has nothing to evaluate. A low score means it evaluated you and you came up short.

Your credit history (also called your credit report) is a record of your borrowing and payment activity in Canada. It's maintained by two national credit bureaus, Equifax and TransUnion. And it includes things like your open accounts, payment records, balances, public records (like bankruptcies), and inquiries from lenders or landlords. TransUnion calls it "a snapshot of your financial history." It can also include alternative data like rent payments and utility bills, if those are being reported.

Your credit score is a three-digit number, typically between 300 and 900 in Canada, calculated from the information in your credit report. Equifax describes it as a number "designed to represent your credit risk, or the likelihood you will pay your bills on time." It's a way for lenders, landlords, and service providers to quickly size up how risky you might be.

The score is calculated from the report. With little or no Canadian reporting data, a score may be unavailable or less useful to lenders.

Five factors feed the score, and they don't carry equal weight. The exact formulas are proprietary, but both Equifax and TransUnion use variants of the FICO and VantageScore models, which weight the factors roughly as follows:

Payment history and utilization together account for roughly two-thirds of your score. For a newcomer with one secured card and a thin file, that means two things matter most: pay every bill on time, and keep your balance well under your limit. Below 30% is good. Below 10% is better.

According to Equifax Canada, you want to aim for the following score ranges:

Below 600 is where you start getting declined or pushed toward alternative lenders.

Different decisions lean on different parts of your credit profile.

Your score is the first filter. But for newcomers with no Canadian file, that filter can prevent an approval. This is why secured credit cards exist. You put down a cash deposit, use the card, and the lender reports your payments to the bureaus.

The Home Trust Secured Visa accepts applicants with no credit history and reports to both Equifax and TransUnion, with deposits starting at $500. The Capital One Guaranteed Mastercard accepts deposits as low as $75 and is known for graduating users to an unsecured card after 12 to 18 months of on-time payments. Most major banks also offer newcomer-specific cards through their welcome packages.

Landlords in Canada can request a credit check with your written consent. Screening typically covers your score, payment history, current debts, and any derogatory marks like collections or bankruptcy. So both the score and the full report matter here. If your file is empty, a landlord has less evidence to assess repayment habits.

One way to address this is to get your rent payments reported. A 2022 Equifax Canada and FrontLobby study found that 48% of renters using FrontLobby became scoreable based on rental data alone. Several services do this in Canada: FrontLobby reports to Equifax, TransUnion, and the Landlord Credit Bureau. Borrowell Rent Advantage and Chexy report to Equifax. Zenbase also reports to Equifax and offers rent splitting.

Post-paid mobile plans (the kind where you pay at the end of the month) often require a credit check. If your Canadian file is limited, a carrier may require a deposit or suggest a prepaid plan. Some providers may make exceptions for newcomers, and prepaid plans skip the credit check entirely.

Buying a home is where both your score and your full history come into play. Many Canadian lenders prefer stronger credit scores, often around the high 600s, though requirements vary and alternative lenders may accept lower scores.

Score is one factor. Lenders also evaluate income, debt ratios, employment record, and your ability to pass the mortgage stress test. Even a passable score can lead to a declined or delayed approval if your file is thin and your employment history is short. Lenders want better than numbers.

Most A lenders want to see your probation cleared before they'll approve a mortgage, and probation typically runs three to six months. If you're self-employed, expect to provide two years of tax returns and Notices of Assessment. B lenders and monoline lenders are more flexible, but you'll usually pay a higher rate.

All six major banks run newcomer mortgage programs that accept limited or no Canadian credit history. Some examples include RBC Newcomer Advantage, Scotiabank StartRight, CIBC Newcomer to Canada, and more. Most are open to permanent residents who've been in Canada five years or less. Some also serve temporary residents with valid work permits.

Many newcomers do not have a Canadian credit file when they arrive. Your credit history from your home country does not automatically transfer to Canada. Equifax says that if you're a recent immigrant or international student, you "probably don't have a credit history in Canada yet," and that this "can make it hard to qualify for a credit card, an apartment lease, or a car loan."

There are now two workarounds. Equifax launched the Global Consumer Credit File in October 2024, which lets newcomers consent to a Canadian lender accessing their credit history from their country of origin. The service started with India and is expanding to cover about 19 countries where Equifax operates. Nova Credit, a San Francisco-based company, has offered similar global credit data since 2023 and partners with Scotiabank, RBC, BMO, and Rogers.

Neither service replaces a Canadian file. But for newcomers from countries Equifax or Nova Credit cover, your home-country history can factor into a Canadian lending decision from day one.

Your scores can also differ between Equifax and TransUnion. Not all creditors report to both bureaus, and reporting timelines vary. So you might see different results depending on which bureau a lender checks.

Building your credit history and improving your credit score usually involve the same steps. Every action that adds positive information to your file also feeds the score calculation.

What to do, roughly in order:

The sooner your file has reporting accounts and on-time payments, the sooner your score reflects that.

If you just arrived, start with the basics: open a bank account, get a secured credit card, and make sure something is reporting to at least one bureau. If you've been here a while but haven't checked your file, pull your reports from both Equifax and TransUnion and see where you stand.

The distinction between score and history matters most when you're early in the process. Over time, as your file fills out, the score catches up. But knowing what each one does, and which one a landlord, lender, or phone company is actually looking at, helps you prepare for the questions before they come up.