TFSA: 2 Buy and Hold Canadian Stocks I’d Happily Pick Up for Life

Two essential-service compounders for your TFSA, GFL and FirstService, can grow quietly for decades while paying steady, recession-resistant cash flow.

Amy Legate-Wolfe

Author Bio 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. Her work can also be found at Canada's National Observer, where she writes on the business side of climate action. Before joining Motley Fool Canada, Amy 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. Social Media 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 December 11, 2025 9:30 am EST

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Key Points

GFL runs recession-resistant waste services with rising revenue and free cash flow
FirstService earns steady fees from property management and essential service franchises
Holding essential-service stocks like GFL and FSV in a TFSA lets tax-free compounding turn modest contributions into meaningful long-term wealth.

A Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) is perfect for long-time holds. This platform lets you set your investments on autopilot and watch them grow without worrying about the tax bill that usually eats into compounding. When you’re holding quality stocks for years or decades, the gains can pile up fast. Keeping every dollar makes a huge difference over time. You don’t have to plan around capital-gains tax, dividend tax, or timing your withdrawals in a TFSA.

This means you can simply focus on buying great companies and letting them do their thing. It’s the kind of account that rewards patience. The longer you leave your investments untouched, the more powerful the tax-free compounding becomes, turning even modest contributions into meaningful wealth down the road. But, where should you start?

A worker drinks out of a mug in an office. — Source: Getty Images

Consider GFL

GFL Environmental (TSX:GFL) is a North American environmental services company. It provides comprehensive waste management and environmental services, including residential and industrial solid waste collection, landfill operations, liquid waste management, and soil remediation. Operating across both Canada and the United States, GFL serves municipalities, businesses, and industrial clients. This makes its services deeply embedded in everyday life and, importantly, relatively “recession-proof.”

GFL’s recent results show signs of healthy operational performance and improved profitability. For the third quarter (Q3) of 2025, GFL reported revenue of $1.694 billion, a 9% increase over the same quarter in 2024. This was driven by both core pricing increases and positive volume growth. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) rose by 12% to $535.1 million, and the adjusted free cash flow surged to $180.5 million. Net income from continuing operations for the quarter came in at $108.1 million, more than double 2024 levels. This all led to management increasing guidance moving forward for 2025.

GFL blends essential-service demand with recurring cash flow, giving it a defensive quality rarely found in traditional growth stocks. Waste management and environmental services don’t go out of style. That stability means GFL can deliver predictable revenue over decades, which is ideal for investors who want to “buy and forget” while letting compounding work its magic. Moreover, GFL’s recent financial strength, rising free cash flow, and improved margins suggest it has regained a solid footing after prior periods of heavy debt and rapid expansion. Those are clear signs the Canadian stock is a strong option for investors on the TSX today.

FSV

FirstService (TSX:FSV) is one of North America’s largest property services companies, operating two major divisions. Those are FirstService Residential, which manages condominium and homeowner associations, and FirstService Brands, which includes well-known essential-service franchises in restoration, painting, home maintenance, and cleaning. Its business model is built on recurring service contracts, stable fee income, and a footprint that grows steadily through both acquisitions and organic expansion. FSV has earned a reputation as a durable, quietly compounding company with a long runway for growth.

Recent earnings continued that trend of steady performance, with FSV reporting solid revenue growth across both divisions. This was driven by rising contract volumes in property management and strong demand for restoration and repair services. Margins improved as scale efficiencies kicked in, and management reiterated its confidence in long-term cash flow expansion. The Canadian stock also continued its disciplined acquisition strategy, adding niche service providers that fold neatly into its national platform, further expanding recurring revenue.

FSV is a strong buy-and-hold-for-life stock in a TFSA as it compounds in the background without demanding investor attention. Its recurring revenue, reliable profitability, and long-term consolidation strategy make it the type of business that can quietly double or triple over time — all while avoiding the volatility of more cyclical names.

Bottom line

For investors looking for Canadian stocks that stand the test of time, you need to go essential. That’s why both of these Canadian stocks are solid options. Whether it’s waste or property service, these are simple recession-resistant companies. As long as they stay on an even footing, these can turn even small contributions into massive income in a TFSA.