Canada’s economy is forecast to grow just 1.2% in 2026, weighed down by trade tensions, tariff headwinds, a soft labour market, and now rising oil costs that are squeezing household budgets further. In an environment like that, the strongest Canadian stocks share three traits: customers who keep showing up no matter what, pricing power that does not depend on a booming economy, and balance sheets that can handle higher-for-longer interest costs. For investors who want to stay invested without betting on a growth rebound that may not arrive on schedule, these four companies belong on your watchlist.
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Essential stocks
Essential stocks earn their keep because life keeps happening.
Waste Connections (TSX:WCN) sits in the unglamorous sweet spot of non-discretionary demand, since communities and businesses still need collection, transfer, disposal, and recycling even when consumers pull back. Over the last year, Waste Connections reported full-year 2025 adjusted net income of $1.33 billion, or $5.15 per diluted share, alongside adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $3.125 billion. It also laid out 2026 expectations that point to continued growth, including revenue of $9.9 billion to $9.95 billion. All to hint that the hits should just keep on coming.
In a 1.2% GDP growth environment, Waste Connections is about as close to GDP-proof as the TSX offers — garbage collection does not slow down in a tariff dispute, and the 2026 revenue guidance suggests the business keeps growing regardless of the macro mood.
Loblaw (TSX:L) gives you a different kind of essential. People may trade down, but still buy groceries and fill prescriptions, and Loblaw’s mix of food, drug retail, and hard-working discount banners can benefit when shoppers get price sensitive. Over the last year, the Canadian stock leaned into value messaging, e-commerce growth, and capital investment, including plans to invest heavily in 2026 to open and renovate stores and expand capacity. Its latest results showed how that plays out in real time, with fourth-quarter retail revenue of $16.38 billion and adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.67. Meanwhile, the Canadian stock bought back 34.8 million shares for $1.875 billion.
Loblaw is the consumer staple pick for a slow-growth Canada — when household budgets tighten, discount grocery and pharmacy traffic tends to rise, and Loblaw owns both ends of that trade.
Infrastructure stocks
Infrastructure stocks can also shine in slow growth, as these get paid for keeping the lights on and the economy moving.
Fortis (TSX:FTS) fits the classic utility playbook with regulated assets, steady rate base growth, and a dividend culture that attracts patient investors. Fortis’s results underline steadiness. In the fourth quarter of 2025, it reported net earnings of $422 million, or $0.83 per share, up from $396 million, or $0.79 per share, and it pointed to rate base growth as a key driver. It also reported full-year 2025 adjusted EPS of $3.53, up from $3.28 in 2024, and it highlighted a $28.8 billion five-year capital plan.
Fortis is the slow-growth anchor — regulated returns, a $28.8 billion capital plan that supports 4% to 6% annual dividend growth through 2030, and a business model that does not need economic momentum to keep compounding.
Canadian Pacific Kansas City (TSX:CP) brings the infrastructure theme onto rails. It can look strong in slow growth since it can protect margins through operating discipline while still finding pockets of volume growth across its Canada-U.S.-Mexico network. In the fourth quarter of 2025, it delivered revenue of $3.9 billion and core adjusted diluted EPS of $1.33, while posting a record core adjusted operating ratio of 55.9%. For full-year 2025, revenue reached $15.1 billion and core adjusted diluted EPS increased to $4.61.
CPKC is the infrastructure compounder — a record operating ratio shows it can wring more earnings from flat-to-modest volume growth, and its three-country network means it can route around the worst of any single tariff dispute.
Bottom line
With Canada’s 2026 GDP forecast sitting at just 1.2%, slow growth is not a possibility to hedge against. It is the base case to build around. Waste Connections, Loblaw, Fortis, and CPKC each have a practical engine underneath the story: non-discretionary demand, essential retail, regulated utilities, and a three-country rail network. None of them are immune to valuation swings, but each one can feel like progress even when the broader economy feels stuck in second gear.
