With volatility on the rise, investors have plenty of uncertainty to price into their potential future gains. As such, many investors are rightly rotating into more defensive names, to take the sting off of what could be a prolonged sell-off. That is, if these geopolitical conflicts continue to raise the price of oil and, in turn, push inflationary pressures higher around the world.
That said, investors searching for market-beating growth still have a number of excellent options to pursue right now, in my view. Here are two of the best growth stocks Canada has to offer, and what these names could do for a portfolio over the long term.
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Celestica
One of my top AI-related growth darlings in Canada, Celestica (TSX: CLS) has been on a tear in recent years, as the chart below shows.
That’s due in part to the fact that Celestica is quickly transforming from a sleepy contract manufacturer into a core picks-and-shovels play on the AI data-centre boom. In its most recent quarter, the company delivered 28% year-over-year revenue growth. What’s perhaps more impressive is that this top-line growth actually led to an eye-popping 58% earnings-per-share increase, handily beating expectations and showcasing serious operating leverage.
What that means to me is that Celestica is seeing not only margin expansion (key to the investment thesis behind most major growth stocks), but it’s also seeing robust organic growth. Indeed, this isn’t just cyclical froth we’re talking about here. This growth is anchored in long-term programs with blue-chip customers building out AI and cloud infrastructure.
If Celestica can sustain even mid-teens top-line expansion while keeping EPS growth well ahead of revenue, multiple expansion alone could drive significant upside over the next year. For growth investors seeking both momentum and fundamentals, this is a name I’d keep at the top of my buy list right now.
Enerflex
One company I don’t talk about enough (but probably should in this environment) is Enerflex (TSX: EFX).
That’s because this is a company offering everything I like in a growth story. There’s visible, contracted cash flows riding a powerful secular theme (rising global natural gas demand). That provides attractive upside if Enerflex’s management executes. The company benefits from higher North American gas volumes, long-term infrastructure contracts, and a growing base of high-margin recurring service revenue that can steadily expand earnings and de-risk the story.
Fundamentally, Enerflex is set up for operating leverage as it works through its project backlog and leans into more capital-light service and infrastructure income. That mix shift supports improving margins, stronger free cash flow generation, and balance-sheet flexibility. This creates room for debt reduction and, over time, potential capital returns to shareholders.
With structural tailwinds from global electrification and gas-fired power, the market may still be underestimating Enerflex’s medium-term growth runway. If earnings and free cash flow surprise to the upside as projects ramp and service revenue scales, I wouldn’t be shocked to see this stock re-rate sharply higher over the next 12 months.
