Canadian retirees and other income investors are searching for solid TSX dividend stocks to add to their self-directed Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) focused on dividend income.
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Enbridge
Enbridge (TSX:ENB) is best known for its oil pipeline infrastructure that carries nearly a third of the oil produced in Canada and the United States. The company is also a major player in the natural gas segment, with extensive transmission and storage assets, along with a large natural gas distribution utilities business. In fact, Enbridge’s US$14 billion purchase of three American natural gas utilities last year made Enbridge the largest natural gas utility operator in North America. Domestic demand for natural gas is expected to rise in the coming years as new gas-fired power plants are built to supply artificial intelligence data centres with electricity.
Enbridge also expanded into exports in the past few years. The company purchased an oil export terminal in Texas and has a stake in the Woodfibre liquified natural gas (LNG) export facility being built on the coast of British Columbia. International demand for North American energy is rising as countries seek out reliable sources from stable producers.
Enbridge is up about 26% in the past 12 months, but the stock is off the 2025 highs. Investors who buy the latest dip can pick up a dividend yield of 6%.
Enbridge raised the dividend in each of the past 30 years. The current $28 billion capital program should drive adequate earnings growth to support ongoing dividend increases over the medium term.
Bank of Nova Scotia
Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX:BNS) has underperformed its large Canadian peers in recent years. The company is now in the middle of a turnaround program that will see the Bank focus more on growing in the United States and Canada and less on Latin America. In 2024, the bank spent US$2.8 billion to buy a 14.9% stake in KeyCorp, an American regional bank. At home, Bank of Nova Scotia has created a new executive position to lead expansion in Quebec. The bank has also partnered with ICICI Bank Canada, a division of a major bank in India, to provide clients of ICICI Bank Canada with access to Bank of Nova Scotia’s wealth management products through a referral program.
Earlier this year, Bank of Nova Scotia sold its operations in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama. It still has significant assets in Mexico, Peru, and Chile. Investors will watch the coming earnings reports to see if additional asset sales could be on the horizon as the strategy shift continues.
BNS stock trades close to $71 per share at the time of writing. The stock is down from $80 last fall and is still well off the $93 it reached in early 2022. Near-term volatility should be expected as U.S. tariffs on Canada and Mexico could have negative economic impacts on these countries. That being said, Bank of Nova Scotia remains very profitable and has a solid capital position to ride out the turbulence.
The bottom line
Enbridge and Bank of Nova Scotia pay attractive dividends that should continue to grow. If you have some cash to put to work in a TFSA targeting passive income, these stocks deserve to be on your radar.
