equifax is the primary credit reporter, and transunion is also able to do it, i think its a fee though. Ive never needed a report, as whenever ive renewed my mortgage the guy just told me what it was.
when buying a house here you need 5% down and pay CMHC a sizeable chunk to insure your mortgage, or 20% down and skip the CMHC fee. I think our rules are strict compared to the US, and if you are going to be on the loan they are going to take a good look at you. I think they care less about your credit score and more about your credit ratios, as in do you owe money and what % of your income goes to repayment of that debt, and also when you are borrowing you cant go over a certain amount of earnings to debt ratio.
that said, in my experience if you want money someone will give it to you... within reason