TFSA Blueprint: Why Waste Connections, Fairfax, and Cameco Are My Go-To Picks

Are you looking for safety? Then these are the stocks you can easily pick up right now.

Amy Legate-Wolfe

Amy became interested in investing in 2018 after having her first daughter. After receiving a masters degree in journalism from Western University, she became frustrated that the finance industry remained a confusing place for Canadians like her: new parents, millennials, and other young people who needed to understand their finances. Now, Amy focuses on tech companies and renewable energy for growth opportunities, coupling that with long-term investing strategies and equities. She also provides investors with a daily newsletter, Canada Stock Digest, for daily market updates. Before joining Motley Fool Canada, she wrote for major news organizations including HuffPost, CTVNews.ca, and CBC. When she’s not researching investing strategies, Amy’s time is pretty much monopolized by her two wild daughters, but in what little spare time she has she loves to do yoga, go on walks with her dog, and travel with her husband. Follow Amy on LinkedIn and Canada Stock Digest. Favorite Investment Quote: “October: This is one of the particularly dangerous months to speculate in stocks. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February.” – Mark Twain

Published August 8, 2025 4:00 pm EDT

Building a winning Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) portfolio doesn’t need to be complicated. But it does need to be deliberate. Whether you’re aiming for long-term growth, steady income, or a defensive hedge, picking the right stocks makes all the difference. And in my view, three TSX giants check every box for the type of performance I want in a TFSA. Those are Waste Connections (TSX:WCN), Fairfax Financial (TSX:FFH), and Cameco (TSX:CCO).

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WCN

Let’s start with Waste Connections. Garbage might not be glamorous, but this TSX stock makes it pay handsomely. The waste management firm posted second-quarter (Q2) revenue of $2.41 billion, up 7.1% year over year, with adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) hitting $786.4 million, or a 32.7% margin. Adjusted net income came in at $333.1 million, or $1.29 per share. Those are solid numbers, but it’s the consistency that matters more. Waste Connections reaffirmed its full-year 2025 outlook, calling for $9.45 billion in revenue and $3.12 billion in adjusted EBITDA.

This isn’t a company relying on boom-or-bust growth. With a beta of just 0.57, WCN is stable during market swings and benefits from built-in pricing power. Its core pricing growth in Q2 hit 6.6%, even as parts of the economy dragged. While it’s not a huge dividend payer, it does deliver over $1.3 billion in free cash flow, which supports share buybacks and acquisitions. For a TFSA, that means long-term capital appreciation with downside protection.

FFH

Then there’s Fairfax Financial. In Q2 2025, Fairfax delivered net earnings of $1.44 billion, or $61.61 per diluted share, up sharply from $915 million a year ago. Book value per share jumped 10.8% to $1,158.47, even after paying a $15 dividend earlier in the year.

What drives this? Several things. First, strong underwriting, with Fairfax posting an excellent underwriting profit of $426.9 million in its P&C operations with a combined ratio of 93.3%. Then there are the investments with net gains of $952 million in Q2, largely thanks to $800 million in equity gains. The TSX stock holds $10 billion in cash and short-term investments and owns a diversified set of businesses, including a major stake in Westinghouse via Cameco. Its forward price-to-earnings (P/E) is under 10, and it’s up over 63% in the past year. In my TFSA, that kind of all-weather, asset-backed growth engine is essential.

CCO

Finally, Cameco rounds out the trio. This one adds the “sizzle” to the portfolio, but it’s backed by plenty of steak. Q2 earnings came in at $321 million, with adjusted EBITDA of $673 million. Its uranium and fuel services segments are thriving, with 46.5% year-over-year revenue growth and a jump in average realized prices. Cameco also raised its uranium price forecast to $87 per pound, and its Westinghouse investment is pulling more weight than ever, expected to deliver US$525 to US$580 million in adjusted EBITDA this year.

Nuclear energy is undergoing a global rebrand, and Cameco is riding that wave. Its share of a massive new Westinghouse contract in the Czech Republic added US$170 million to Q2 revenue. Its long-term contracts are designed to smooth out volatility, and its financial discipline is helping Cameco build one of the cleanest balance sheets in the industry, with $716 million in cash and just $1 billion in debt.

Bottom line

Now, no investment is perfect. Waste Connections trades at a premium multiple, Fairfax’s results can be lumpy due to market swings, and Cameco’s valuation reflects a lot of future optimism. But together, these stocks complement each other. One offers defensive growth, one is a deep-value compounder with dividends, and the third is a clean energy play with global exposure.

That mix of resilience, reinvestment, and reward is exactly what I want in a TFSA. This account is tax-free for life, which makes it ideal for stocks that can grow quietly and compound reliably. Waste Connections, Fairfax, and Cameco may not grab headlines like tech stocks, but in a well-structured TFSA, they shine where it counts.