A file with nothing in it is not a bad file.

With no Canadian credit history, you do not have a low score. You have no credit report yet, and the first account a lender reports starts one.

That a new arrival starts at 300 and has to climb from there.

The range is real. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada says scores usually range from 300 to 900, and a higher score is better. What does not follow is that you are already somewhere on it.

FCAC says credit bureaus create your credit report when you first borrow money or apply for credit. Before that, there is no report, and so nothing for a score to be built from.

If you have never borrowed or applied for credit in Canada, you do not have a low score. You have no Canadian file yet.

A low score comes from what is written in a file. FCAC lists what affects a score, and the list includes missed payments, how much debt you owe, being close to or over your credit limit, debts sent to a collection agency, and bankruptcy. An empty file has none of those in it.

The two can look alike from the outside, because neither shows a high score. They are different problems.

The six years is FCAC’s figure for information about late or unpaid credit cards and loans. An empty file has no records like that on it. It has less on it, not worse on it.

FCAC says lenders send information about your credit accounts to the credit bureaus. Your report includes your credit cards, loans and mortgages, how much you owe, and whether you make payments on time. That is the record a score is built from.

Paying with a debit card spends your own money. It is not credit, and it is not on that list. A year of careful spending from a bank account can leave you with no Canadian file at all.

What starts a file is one credit account that a lender reports. A credit card is the plainest example, and the limit does not have to be large. Equifax says some scoring models may include mobile phone payment information and others may not, so a phone plan is not something to count on by itself.

Which bureau hears about the account depends on the lender. TransUnion says lenders provide updates to at least one of the two credit bureaus in Canada, and do not necessarily report to both. Equifax says some report to only one, or none at all. Before you apply, ask the issuer which bureau or bureaus it reports to.

Do not expect to see anything on the day you are approved. FCAC says credit bureaus update your report at least once per month, and the account appears once the lender reports it.

FCAC says your credit history includes how long you have had credit accounts, and that lenders want to see a long and stable credit history. Keeping accounts open and active for a long time may help your score.

A balance can come down with one payment. Length is different. It only grows as time passes, and it only starts once the first account exists. Waiting does not lower your score. It means the time you waited is not counted.

It is also why FCAC suggests keeping an older account open, even with a zero balance, when it has no annual fee, is easy to manage, and you can use it now and then. Your first card may become your oldest one.

Missing a payment. FCAC calls your payment history the most important part of your credit score. It says to always pay on time, and to make at least the minimum payment if you cannot pay the full amount. A late payment can stay on your report for up to six years.

Using most of your limit. FCAC suggests using less than 30% of your total credit limit. On a $1,000 limit, that is $300. A small first limit fills quickly, so a few ordinary purchases can take you past it.

The video on this page adds a timing rule: pay the balance down before your statement closes, not just by the due date. The sources this page checked do not support that timing. TransUnion says lenders report to the credit bureaus at different times during the month, and Equifax says the same. Neither ties the reported balance to your statement date. The video also says your bank reports to both Equifax and TransUnion every month, and as above, not every lender does. The advice to keep your balance low stands. To know which day your balance is reported, ask your card issuer. How the reported balance works is set out in the Credit Cards path.

Will checking my credit score lower it

No. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada says checking your own credit report or score does not affect your credit score. What it describes differently is a lender or organization checking your credit when you apply.

Why does one app show a score and another shows nothing

Equifax says not every lender reports to both credit bureaus, and that lenders may report at different times. TransUnion says the same. If your first account reports to one bureau, or has reported to one and not yet to the other, one of your two files can have something on it while the other is still empty. Why yours looks different everywhere covers the two bureaus in full.

Every claim on this page was checked against these documents on 25 September 2026.

• Financial Consumer Agency of Canada: Credit report and score basics · Improving your credit score · How long information stays on your credit report
• Equifax Canada: Why do I have different credit scores?
• TransUnion Canada: What is a credit report

Watch · 11:26

The Real Way to Build Credit Scores in Canada from ZERO. Published 22 July 2026. Loads on click. Nothing is requested from YouTube until you ask.

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