You don’t have to look too far to find some truly remarkable high-yield dividend stocks on the Canadian market. These days, you can’t talk about incredibly high yields without at least briefly bringing up shares of Telus (TSX: T). The stock had a yield north of 9% and could sport one that’s closer to 10% if the recent bounce off multi-year lows winds up reversing course in a way that finds T stock back at fresh new multi-year depths.
Can the stock fall below the $17 mark, even after recent moves to free up financial flexibility?
It’s definitely possible, especially if the broad market tanks into a correction. Whether it’s Greenland, AI bubble fears, or something else that markets haven’t yet priced in, there’s certainly no shortage of risk when it comes to Telus. Not just macro and industry risks, but company-specific risks as the firm seeks to execute on a game plan to turn things around. Telus has great managers, but it is not going to be easy to turn things around, given the severity of industry headwinds.
Still, if they can pull it off, Telus stock may very well be the stock to add to every couple of months, as shares look to slowly and steadily bottom out. I have no idea if the bottom is in. Perhaps not. Regardless, investors need to play it safely with the name, especially considering 17.5 times forward price-to-earnings (P/E) isn’t yet a steal, at least in my opinion.
Either way, here are two other dividend stocks worth considering as well if you want yield and don’t want to overpay for it or risk your shirt in the near-future as volatility sticks for the remainder of the first quarter of 2026.
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BCE
Technically, BCE (TSX: BCE) shares don’t have a towering yield. Not after reducing it close to a year or so ago. Still, the current yield is quite bountiful, especially for those seeking something steadier. With a 5.2% dividend yield and room for greater growth (do remember that Telus paused its dividend growth), and negative momentum slowing down (the stock has pretty much gone flat for the past year), I do view the $31.5 billion telecom firm as a great recovery play, just like Telus.
Recently, analysts over at CIBC upgraded the stock to outperform (the equivalent of a buy), noting that a “steady recovery” could be in the forecast. Combined with the modest valuation and promising technicals, I’m inclined to get behind the fallen telecom at around $33 and change for the new year. Of course, such a notable upgrade does not mean it’s time to load up without putting your own due diligence in.
There are still risks at hand, but, for the most part, I think the firm is in some very good hands, especially as the fear becomes a tad overdone. If anything, BCE stock stands out as a deep-value play that growth investors should seek to rotate into. Whether they will, however, remains another question entirely. I have no idea if BCE can bounce back faster than Telus, but I do think that it’s worth considering both options, given their unique risk profiles and, of course, their drastically different dividend yields.
