5 Reasons to Buy and Hold This Canadian Stock Forever

Here’s why this top Canadian dividend stock is one of the best investments to buy now and hold for years.

Daniel Da Costa

Daniel joined the Motley Fool Canada team in 2019 with years of experience in banking and investing. Growing up the son of a proprietary stock trader and educator, Daniel’s always found joy in helping Canadians to improve their financial situations. With the Motley Fool, Daniel sees an even more rewarding way to impact Canadians positively. A student and great admirer of Warren Buffett, he’s always looking for investments offering growth at a reasonable price. Outside of finance, Daniel enjoys spending his time with family, sailing, and watching Formula One.

Published October 23, 2025 3:30 pm EDT

The key to success when it comes to investing and building long-term wealth is finding the highest-quality Canadian stocks to buy and hold for the long haul.

These top picks don’t just do one or two things well. They give you multiple reasons why you’ll want to own them in your portfolio for years to come.

And while there are several high-quality stocks to choose from, one of the best to buy in this environment is CT REIT (TSX: CRT.UN). Here are just five reasons why you’ll want to buy and hold this Canadian stock forever.

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CT REIT is one of the best stocks to buy because of its association with Canadian Tire

If you’ve never heard of CT REIT, one of the most important things to know, as well as one of the biggest reasons CT REIT is an incredible stock to buy and hold for the long haul, is its relationship with Canadian Tire (TSX: CTC.A).

Canadian Tire is its largest tenant, accounting for roughly 90% of its income. However, the retailer is also CT REIT’s largest shareholder. Therefore, CT REIT’s relationship with Canadian Tire makes the dividend stock a lot more reliable, especially for a retail REIT.

CT REIT has attractive long-term growth potential

Another reason why CT REIT is one of the best Canadian stocks to buy and hold forever is that it’s not just a reliable REIT that returns cash to investors. It’s also consistently finding ways to increase its earnings, such as organic rent escalations and strategic property developments.

For example, most of its leases include annual rent increases tied to inflation, ensuring reliable growth in net operating income (NOI) each year. On top of that, CT REIT continues to develop and acquire new properties, often in partnership with Canadian Tire, expanding its footprint and improving its long-term growth potential.

These new developments not only grow its asset base but also improve the quality of its portfolio with modern and efficient properties located in key markets all across Canada.

The stock offers both dividend growth and a significant yield

Real estate investment trusts often make excellent dividend stocks because of the cash flow they consistently generate, and CT REIT is no exception.

Because the company’s earnings are so reliable and it’s constantly expanding its earnings, CT REIT not only offers an attractive yield of more than 5.6% today, it also offers attractive and consistent dividend growth.

In fact, since going public just over a decade ago, CT REIT has increased its dividend every single year, showing why it’s one of the best Canadian stocks to buy and hold forever.

CT REIT’s impressive track record shows why it’s one of the best Canadian stocks to buy and hold forever

Investors often look for the fastest-growing or most exciting stocks to invest in; however, consistency is one of the most important yet most underrated traits in investing and CT REIT’s track record shows just how consistent it is.

Not only has it grown its revenue at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.3% since going public and its funds from operations (FFO) at a CAGR of 5.7%, but it has never had a year where both its revenue and its FFO didn’t increase.

Even throughout the pandemic, when retail businesses were hit hard by shutdowns and many retail REITs felt the pressure, CT REIT managed to increase both its sales and FFO.

That reliability goes back to its relationship with Canadian Tire and is what makes CT REIT one of the best stocks you can buy now and have confidence in holding forever.

CT REIT is the ideal stock for dividend investors

The fifth and final reason to buy CT REIT is that you’re a dividend investor. CT REIT is the ideal investment if you’re looking to earn significant passive income that consistently grows year over year.

Unlike Canadian Tire itself, which can be more volatile, CT REIT’s operations are more predictable. Plus, CT REIT is trading at a forward price-to-FFO ratio of 12 times, slightly below its five-year average of 12.1 times.

So, if you’re looking for a high-quality Canadian stock that you don’t have to overpay for in this environment, CT REIT is one of the best to buy now.