It’s been a great year to be invested in the Canadian stock market. Not even including dividends, the S&P/TSX Composite Index is up just over 15% in 2024 and more than 20% over the past 12 months.
In the short term, we’ll see the market cool off eventually. We’ve already seen a slight dip over the past two weeks. But over the long term, there’s no sense in waiting to pull the trigger on top-quality companies. As long as you’re willing to hold your positions for +10 years, now’s as good a time as any to be loading up on Canadian stocks.
With that in mind, I’ve put together a well-diversified basket of four top Canadian stocks.
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Shopify
It wasn’t all that long ago that Shopify (TSX: SHOP) was the largest company on the TSX. After a massive drop in 2022, it’s since given up the top spot. The tech stock has been slowly grinding its way upward over the past two years, though.
Shares are up over 100% since the beginning of 2023, easily outperforming the broader market’s returns. Even with the strong performance as of late, Shopify still has a long way to go to return to all-time highs, which were last set in late 2021.
If you’re looking to add some growth potential to your portfolio, don’t miss your chance to load up on Shopify while shares continue to trade at a discount.
Toronto-Dominion Bank
This Canadian bank is the perfect stock to balance out high-growth holdings in a portfolio.
Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSX: TD) can provide investors with both stability and a top dividend, which is currently yielding above 5%.
TD Bank won’t be able to compete with Shopify when it comes to growth returns. However, not every stock you own needs to be loaded with market-beating growth potential.
Air Canada
Air Canada (TSX: AC) is an interesting buy for long-term investors right now. The industry isn’t known for its high growth rates, but Canada’s largest airline has a proven track record of outperforming the market’s returns. It also continues to trade far below pre-pandemic prices, even with a strong surge last week.
Shares of Air Canada are down more than 50% since the beginning of 2020. However, the stock is fresh off an impressive quarterly report that sent the stock soaring more than 10% on November 1.
The company beat revenue and earnings expectations, raised its full-year guidance, and announced a share-buyback program.
The stock has been in limbo over the past couple of years, but there’s finally some positive momentum to get excited about.
I wouldn’t sleep on this proven airline stock.
Northland Power
The renewable energy sector is a great place to be bargain-hunting right now. There’s no shortage of discounted stocks that continue to trade far below all-time highs from early 2021, and Northland Power (TSX: NPI) is certainly no exception to that.
Aside from a near-6% dividend yield, Northland Power might not excite investors in the short term. However, over the long term, the growth potential of the renewable energy sector is massive.
Investors who are bullish on the rise of renewable energy consumption should not be on the sidelines today. There are too many top-quality companies like Northland Power trading at discounts that won’t be around forever.
